Chapter 2

"You're about to die and you're still running your mouth!"

Renato was shaking with rage, his pointing finger trembling.

"I am your father! The acting head of the Corsetti family! I could kill you right here and not a single person would say a word!"

He whipped around to the guards. "What are you standing around for? Pin her down! Break her kneecaps and make her beg Celeste for forgiveness on her knees!"

The guards gritted their teeth and moved in, guns up.

On the floor, Celeste pressed her swollen cheek against Nico's back, eyes full of venom.

Nico looked pleased with himself. "Val, this is what happens when you get cocky. You really think you're somebody? Without Father's protection, you're lower than a dog in this family."

"That so?"

I looked them over, then straightened my cuffs.

"Let's see who's the dog today."

Two guards were about to grab my shoulders when the banquet hall's bronze doors exploded inward.

BOOM.

The heavy panels slammed into the walls so hard the chandeliers swung overhead.

Everyone froze.

The sound of military boots on marble filled the hall, perfectly in sync. Fifty men in black coats filed in, submachine guns cocked, red laser dots locking onto every guard's forehead in the room. Including Renato's. Including Nico's.

Between two columns of soldiers, an old man walked in. Silver-haired, wearing a bespoke three-piece suit, leaning on a cane with a solid gold lion's head.

My grandfather. The old Don. Salvatore Corsetti.

"I'm not dead yet. So who the hell thinks they can touch my granddaughter?"

His voice wasn't loud. But every corner of that hall heard it.

The guards who'd had their guns aimed at me two seconds ago went weak in the knees. Weapons hit the floor. One by one, they dropped and knelt.

Renato went white. He stumbled forward, stuttering. "F-Father, what are you doing here? The doctors said you were supposed to be resting at the estate..."

"Resting?"

Grandfather laughed. Not a warm laugh. He walked up to Renato and, without warning, swung his cane full force across Renato's face.

Renato screamed. The blow sent him to the floor, half his face ballooning instantly. He spat out two bloody teeth.

"A few more days of resting and you'd have broken my only granddaughter's legs!"

Grandfather drove the cane into the marble.

"I left you in charge to make this family money. Not to bully my bloodline over some bastard nobody's ever heard of!"

Nico went pale. He let go of Celeste and dropped to his knees.

"Grandfather! You've got it all wrong! Val started it! She went crazy and attacked Celeste, Father was just trying to—"

"Shut your mouth."

Grandfather looked at Nico like he was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"You are the eldest grandson of the Corsetti family. Instead of standing by your own sister, you're running after some outsider like a dog in heat. Is your skull packed with shit?"

Celeste still wouldn't quit.

She forced herself through the pain, crawled to Grandfather's feet, face smeared with tears and snot. "Grandfather, please, don't blame Father and Nico. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have asked for the port..."

"Get away from me. Don't touch my shoes with those dirty hands."

He didn't even glance at her. Just kicked her aside.

Then he turned to me. And the whole expression on his face shifted.

"Val. Sweetheart. Are you hurt?"

I looked at the old man in front of me.

In my last life, the day he found out I was dead, his heart gave out. He died right after me.

My eyes stung.

But the moment I looked back at Renato and Nico, that feeling disappeared.

"Grandpa, I'm fine. But there's something I need to say in front of everyone."

I walked over to Renato, standing over his bleeding face.

"Renato. Nico. Since you've decided Celeste is your real family, then starting today, I, Valentina Corsetti, am cutting all ties with both of you."

I didn't raise my voice. I didn't need to. The whole hall heard every word.

"From now on, whether you live or die is none of my business. I won't call you Father again. And I don't have a brother."

Renato clutched his face, staring up at me in disbelief. Then the fury hit. "Val! You've lost it! Cut ties? You think without my connections, a single captain in this family will follow you? Who's going to listen to some little girl?"

I almost laughed.

Grandfather spoke up.

"Renato. You seem confused about something. Everything this family owns belongs to Val."

He looked around the room. "Effective immediately. Renato is stripped of his position as acting head. Nico is stripped of all titles and rank. The one and only heir to the Corsetti family is Val."

Then he glanced down at the three on the floor.

"As for you three pieces of garbage. Get out of my house."