Chapter 3

The screeching sound of brakes pierced the darkness beneath the overpass.

After I stood her up, she had her lawyer change the date to three days later .

Today was supposed to be the second day Valentina and I had arranged to meet at the law firm, but it looks like I'll have to break my promise again.

My car was forced to stop by twelve fully armed, black, bulletproof SUVs.

The car door was violently flung open, and a dozen cold tactical rifles were pointed at my head. The Kolob family's most elite law enforcement team was now surrounding me in formation befitting a mortal enemy.

The crowd parted, and Antonio, dressed in a brand-new haute couture white suit, feigning concern by covering his so-called "old injury," walked to my car in his gleaming leather shoes.

"Adrian, it's a pity your trip to the law firm will be postponed indefinitely." He couldn't hide his arrogance.

I didn't resist; I just leaned back in my seat and watched the clown's performance with a cold eye.

Under my watchful eye, Antonio pulled a stack of documents out of his pocket with an air of importance, and then someone brought in a man covered in blood.

"First, we've uncovered a sum of money that flowed overseas from your family over the past three months, and the accounting terminal points directly to your overseas account;" Antonio's voice rose eight octaves, as if he were a messenger of justice, "Second, this is an informant from the rival Gambino family who was just captured. He has confessed that you are the mole who infiltrated our ranks!"

After saying that, he strode to the back of my car and yanked open the trunk floor.

"Thirdly, this is also the most irrefutable and irrefutable evidence!"

He rummaged through the compartment and held up a pure silver badge—a double-headed eagle with outstretched wings, the symbol of the Gambino family.

Everything was too perfect, so perfect that it fit together seamlessly.

I didn't even flinch. In those few seconds, I saw right through the whole scheme. From the accounts to the informant, to the badge shoved into my car, it was all Antonio's doing.

He couldn't wait. He knew that even if I agreed to sign the papers to dissolve the relationship, my influence as Valentina's legal partner of fifteen years would still remain. The only way for him to take absolute control of the family and the mistress's bedchamber was to completely destroy me and pin a death sentence on me for betraying the family.

Antonio opened the tablet's communication.

On the screen appeared Valentina's face, cold to the extreme. Her gaze was fixed on the double-headed eagle badge, then turned to me, her eyes seeming to conceal icy blades.

"Adrian, just because you don't want a divorce, and in order to obstruct Antonio's wedding, have you become so despicable as to collude with foreign enemies to destroy everything?" Her voice revealed extreme disappointment and murderous intent.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't do it, Godmother?" I stared at the screen and spoke calmly.

“The evidence is irrefutable, how can you expect me to believe you?” At this moment, the godmother’s authority completely overwhelmed the years of marital affection. She coldly and firmly issued the order: “Strip Adrian of all privileges, take him to basement number one, and torture him.”

The communication was disconnected.

Antonio could barely contain his elation. With a wave of his hand, the enforcement team dragged me out of the carriage like wolves.

Half an hour later, at the family manor, in basement number one.

The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood and the musty smell of sewers. My hands were tightly bound to the rack by steel chains. The backlash from being deprived of the procedure left my body with a persistent high fever, but at this moment, my mind was clearer than ever before.

Sizzle—!

A red-hot branding iron was pressed against my chest without warning.

Smoke billowed instantly from the burning flesh. The excruciating pain, reaching right to the soul, was enough to make even the toughest man scream and beg for mercy.

But I gritted my teeth and only managed a muffled groan.

“Scream! Why don’t you scream?” Antonio threw away the scorched iron and pulled a red-hot iron rod from the furnace. He completely tore off the weak pretense he had put on in front of Valentina, his face contorted with excitement. “Adrian, so this is what you’ve got? For the past fifteen years, you’ve been high and mighty, looking down on me like I was a dog. And now? You’re nothing but a pig I’ve trampled under my feet, a collusion with foreign enemies!”

I slowly raised my head, and his eyes stared at me emotionlessly, as if I were looking at a long-decaying corpse.

"Is this all the skill you've got?" My voice was hoarse, yet it carried a cold, condescending pressure. "Why is your hand sweating when you're holding the branding iron, when you're about to die?"

Antonio's smile froze on his face. He thought he had won; he thought he would see fear and pleading on my face, but all he saw in my eyes was extreme contempt and mockery.

Enraged, he became like a mad dog and suddenly pressed the red-hot iron against my face!

"I'll show you what's what! I'll ruin your face and see how you dare to see Valentina again, relying on our past relationship!"

My vision was completely consumed by the flames and the stench of burnt flesh; the nerves in half of my face were dying from the intense heat. After the pain reached its peak, it strangely transformed into a numbness.

I did not utter a single word in defense of the framing.

Why should I defend myself? Antonio will probably never understand that the seemingly clever, deadly trap he set was actually the perfect springboard for me to escape this world. I should even thank him for paving the way for my most demanding death.