Chapter 3

I didn't know when the Dario from three years later had returned.

He stood several steps away holding a medical kit, staring at me as I lay collapsed in a pool of blood.

"Who are you talking to, Vittoria?"

I pressed the end-call button.

Dario walked over with a grim expression and snatched the shattered phone from my hand.

When he checked the phone's records and discovered that the video contained only a local signal—and that every face belonged to his former self—his dark expression miraculously disappeared.

In its place came a disgusting certainty.

"I knew you were only pretending to be crazy to spite me. Secretly holding on to my old recordings so you can torture yourself—Vittoria, you'll never be able to leave me."

He gave a satisfied tug at the corner of his mouth, then forcibly dumped me onto the sofa and opened the medical kit to bandage my bloodied hands.

His movements were practiced and gentle, like a devoted husband.

But the next second, he spoke slowly.

"Colette didn't come from much. She just wants to learn more and prove herself. Since you supported her in the first place, shouldn't you be generous enough to watch her become a better person?"

I let out a cold laugh.

Colette's "becoming a better person" had cost my son his life.

Dario ignored my mockery and continued issuing orders.

"I heard Nico has been doing much better lately. Have someone bring him back to the estate immediately. His medicine can't be interrupted."

So he had never believed Nico was dead.

He had simply thought this was another one of my jealous games.

My heart twisted with pain all over again.

I closed my dry eyes and repeated every word slowly.

"I can't bring him back. That woman poisoned him to death."

Dario's hand holding the bandage stopped.

His face turned completely icy.

"Vittoria, you really are beyond saving."

He slammed the medical kit down, stood, and left the living room without looking back.

That cold silence lasted the entire night.

The next morning, just as the maid dragged me downstairs, I was forced into a chair at the long dining table.

Colette approached carrying a bowl of cloudy, dark liquid, smiling sweetly and innocently.

"Vittoria, I stayed up all night making this neurological detox treatment. Could you… help Nico test the temperature? I'm afraid it might be too hot for him."

The acrid chemical smell made me nearly gag.

I immediately frowned and struggled backward.

Dario sat at the head of the table.

He calmly folded the newspaper in his hands and looked at me coldly.

"Since you refuse to bring Nico back, you can be the one to test this medicine."

I stared at the man in disbelief.

So he had always known Colette knew nothing about medicine.

Yet he had still been willing to treat his own son like a laboratory rat, forcing unknown chemical concoctions down his throat one bowl after another.

He didn't care whether Nico's organs could withstand it.

All he cared about was whether his mistress could satisfy her vanity.

Meeting my hateful stare, Dario's eyes hardened.

He raised his chin slightly and signaled to the two Mafia bodyguards behind him.

The two strong men immediately stepped forward, gripping my shoulders and forcibly prying open my jaw.

Dario ordered without emotion.

"Pour it in."

The scalding, foul-smelling chemical mixture was violently poured down my throat.

It burned all the way down my esophagus.

I choked and coughed until I could barely breathe, tears spilling from my eyes.

Dario didn't even blink.

He calmly cut himself another piece of steak and gently urged Colette to eat more.

Not long after swallowing the poison, I developed a dangerously high fever.

I curled up on the large bed in the dim bedroom, my internal organs twisting in agony as though they were being eaten away by acid.

Half-conscious and lost in a haze, I felt a cool towel being placed on my forehead, barely bringing me back to my senses.

Then Dario's furious growl came clearly from the adjoining study.

His assistant's voice trembled over the phone.

"Boss, the family intranet and several major media servers have all crashed! The entire internet is pushing surveillance footage of Miss Perrin abusing Nico, along with the scandal about her affair!"

I opened my blurred eyes and saw Dario shouting furiously into his phone, his face livid.

"What the hell am I paying you useless idiots for?! Pull the power from the servers. Take it down immediately!"

"We can't, Boss…"

The man on the other end sounded close to tears.

"The hacker used your highest-level authorization and locked the system. According to the system's records, ‘you' personally published the scandals. No one has permission to alter them!"

Dario's breathing suddenly stopped.

He smashed the phone down and turned around, his bloodshot eyes locking onto me.

His chest heaved violently.

In only a few strides, he reached the bed, grabbed my weakened body, and hauled me upright.

Through clenched teeth, he snarled:

"Vittoria, how could you become this vicious?! Do you have any idea how much online abuse these stories have brought down on Colette?!"

I weakly coughed up acidic fluid and looked at him coldly.

"It wasn't me."

Dario gave a cruel laugh.

"Who else knows my password besides you?"

He had no intention of hearing any explanation.

He delivered his final ultimatum.

"Tomorrow, before the family banquet, I'll hold a press conference. You will appear in person, clarify everything, and kneel before Colette to apologize."

I forced myself to hold his gaze.

"And if I don't?"

A cruel smile curled across Dario's lips.

"You keep insisting Nico is dead, don't you? If you refuse to do as I say, I'll have the cemetery plot you chose for him bulldozed and his ashes scattered across a garbage dump in the slums. Do you think he'll ever rest in peace then?"

My pupils contracted sharply.

He was actually threatening me with Nico's ashes.

Seeing my expression change, Dario looked satisfied, as if he had finally found the leverage he needed.

He was about to continue when Colette called him in tears.

Dario released me without another glance and strode out of the room.

When the door locked behind him, I tremblingly pulled a spare phone from beneath my pillow and opened the conversation with the Dario from three years ago.

[Was it you who hacked the system?]

The reply came almost instantly.

[Yes.]

A second message followed, carrying a murderous intent that seemed to cross time itself.

[Everyone who hurt you deserves to go to hell.]

[Including the bastard I am.]