Chapter 9 - The Blood Money
Vanessa immediately lunged forward. “Allison, don't you dare! Don't ruin this!”
But Allison completely ignored the frantic woman.
“Adrian didn't come here tonight because Vanessa invited him,” Allison revealed.
Luca frowned, clearly confused. “Then why is he here?”
Allison looked down the table at her cheating husband. “Because I made him come.”
The room went deadly silent. Adrian slowly raised his head, looking utterly defeated. “Allison, please—”
“No,” her voice was incredibly steady now. The grief had been replaced by a burning, righteous anger. “You’ve had six months to lie to my face. Let me speak.”
She turned back toward Luca. “I actually found out about their affair three days ago. I saw the text messages on his phone.”
Luca stared at her in disbelief. “Then why would you come to our engagement dinner?”
Allison’s eyes filled with tears of rage. “Because Vanessa came to my house yesterday afternoon while Adrian was at work.”
Vanessa stopped moving. She stood frozen, looking like a trapped animal.
“She told me that if I made a scene or embarrassed her tonight, she would use her influence to make sure Adrian lost his entire partnership with your family’s restaurant business,” Allison continued.
Luca slowly turned his head to look at his fiancée. “Did you threaten her, Vanessa?”
Vanessa said absolutely nothing. She was hyperventilating.
Allison swallowed hard. “Then, she offered me something.”
“What?” Luca asked, his voice dropping dangerously low.
“Money,” Allison said.
The silence deepened, wrapping around the room like a vice.
“To keep quiet about the affair?” Luca asked.
Allison shook her head. “No.” She looked down at her bare ring finger, where her wedding band used to be. “She offered me half a million dollars to pack my bags and officially leave Adrian... before your wedding on Saturday.”
Luca stared at her, his brilliant, tactical mind racing. “Why before Saturday? Why does the timing matter?”
Allison raised her eyes. And for the first time all night, I saw genuine, unadulterated fear cross Vanessa’s face. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.
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“Because,” Allison whispered, “she didn't want Adrian’s wife anywhere near the ceremony.”
👉 Why did Vanessa need the best man to be completely single at the wedding?
