Chapter 4 - The Shattered Illusion
Vanessa’s vicious arrogance completely evaporated in a single heartbeat. The blood drained so fast from her face that her perfect, expensive makeup looked entirely ghostly.
She stared at Damian, her chest rising and falling in sheer, suffocating panic. She knew exactly what this man did to people who crossed him. He was a ruthless mafia boss who ruled with absolute, uncompromising violence. She had spent six months playing the perfect, loving, maternal fiancée to secure this marriage and merge their families' empires.
In five seconds, she had ruined the entire illusion.
"Damian..." Vanessa stammered, her whole body visibly trembling inside the emerald silk gown. She took a clumsy step backward, her expensive high heel slipping slightly on the polished marble. "It's... it's not what it looks like!"
Damian didn't respond. His cinematic, natural breathing remained perfectly steady, but his dark eyes were locked onto Vanessa with the terrifying intensity of a sniper looking through a scope.
"She... she attacked me!" Vanessa lied frantically, her voice pitching up in pure desperation. "The nanny lost her mind! She was screaming at Noah, shaking him! I had to step in to protect your son! I slapped her to get her away from him!"
May you like
It was a bold, desperate gamble. Vanessa was the daughter of a billionaire boss; Grace was a nobody wearing a polyester uniform. Vanessa prayed that the deeply ingrained class loyalty of the underworld would force Damian to take her side.
👉 Vanessa thought she could manipulate the mafia boss, but Grace's quiet reaction was about to prove exactly who the real mother was.
