My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

Lucian, who had been busy pointing out the flaws in the existence of the men before him, paused upon hearing a faint voice from across the hall. He arched a brow, frowning as he looked toward where the commotion was happening.

That was where Ashley had been earlier.

He would’ve approached her when he noticed she wanted to end the conversation. However, these men had to show up in front of him and block his path. Hence, forcing him to question their very existence.

"What’s going on over there?" the man in front of Lucian furrowed his brows. "It seems someone is fighting..."

He trailed off when he noticed Lucian had already walked away toward the commotion.

The men exchanged glances before following suit. As soon as they got closer, the first thing they heard was Carmella’s hysterical voice.

"Hah! You ungrateful child! No, I’m not done until you apologize and take responsibility. Apologize to Isabella now!"

Lucian froze in his tracks, his eyes constricting as he immediately recognized the voice. His heart thudded, clenching as he already had a good idea of what was going on.

I took my eyes off her for a second, and they...

His mind went blank as his steps resumed, wading through the crowd until he reached its edge. There, he saw the pitiful Isabella crying at her mother’s side while Carmella stood protectively before her.

Meanwhile, Ashley stood before them.

At a glance, the scene told a completely different story. But Lucian knew those two well, and his wife even better.

His eyes blazed as he saw red instantly.

Just as Lucian took another step to interfere, Ashley suddenly broke into laughter.

Her laughter, sounding both sinister and alluring, filled the space. She brushed a strand of hair with her fingertips, refocusing her attention on the duo before her.

"Apologize?" Ashley arched a brow, the smile fading from her lips. "Your daughter spilled wine on me... fell on her own... and I’m the one who needs to apologize?"

Carmella’s face reddened. "Ashley Di Carpio, watch your tone."

"De Luca." Ashley slowly crossed her arms beneath her chest, lifting her chin just enough to look down at her. "It is Ashley De Luca. The wife of the one and only Don of Dominion. The very man who owns the territory you’re standing on."

The coldness in her voice rose even as her tone lowered. "You watch your tone, Madam Di Carpio. Address me wrongly again, and I won’t be so lenient."

Carmella—and even Isabella—hitched their breath, flinching at the response. Their eyes widened, caught completely off guard.

They had expected her to comply, to apologize like she had been trained to do by her father. If not that, they expected her to panic; to desperately try to clear her name and convince everyone of her innocence.

"You..." Carmella opened and closed her mouth, while Isabella simply blanked.

Isabella could only stare at Ashley, seeing that the dimwit was now looking straight at them, as if piercing through their souls.

Why is she... acting strange? she wondered. She usually looks around for help and stupidly insists on her innocence.

But no, Ashley wasn’t doing any of that.

Instead, her words might make her seem harsh, but at the same time, they reminded everyone of where they were standing. If Dominion wished, they could massacre everyone here... and get away with it.

As for Lucian, the fire in his eyes dimmed instantly. When he blinked, he clearly saw the look on his wife’s face. She was neither smiling nor frowning. She simply stood there—alone—yet her presence was like a mountain no one could split or bring down.

"...."

His tense shoulders relaxed as he took a step back, blending into the crowd to watch his wife put people in their place. Like how the Madam of Dominion should.

"How rude," one of the onlookers muttered. "Even if she’s married, how can she just dismiss her mother like that?"

"Duh?" another rolled her eyes. "Don’t you know the code these people follow? Especially Dominion? Even if you barely know anything about them, you should at least do your research before stepping into a different country. Isn’t that common sense?"

"If one person enters Dominion, they become family. That’s their rule," another added, clearly more knowledgeable. "The people you once called family become strangers. That’s how Dominion keeps its intel and structure strong. So if someone’s being rude here, it’s the one calling the Madam of Dominion by her old name."

"I get that she’s a mother trying to protect her daughter, but isn’t she going too far as well?"

With Ashley’s reminder, the ever-fickle crowd began to shift. However, Ashley didn’t care. She was used to it, or rather, too numb to care.

Unlike her, Carmella and Isabella panicked as they felt the shift.

"Still!" Carmella stuttered, recomposing herself as she raised her chin. "You still have to apologize for hurting my daughter!"

"Hurt your daughter?" Ashley tilted her head slightly, her gaze sliding from Carmella to Isabella. "How?"

"You pushed her!" Carmella barked, grabbing Isabella’s wrist to show the blood. "Look at what you did! She’s bleeding! If you didn’t push her, she wouldn’t have fallen and gotten hurt!"

She ground her teeth. "Don’t tell me you’re going to deny it?!"

"Did anyone see me hurt her?" Ashley asked, sweeping her gaze across the crowd. "Did anyone actually see me push her with certainty?"

Carmella smirked as she turned to the crowd, only for that expression to falter when she saw the hesitation on their faces.

"Well... I was distracted. I only saw her fall," one whispered. "I’m not really sure."

"Me too."

Whispers and uncertainty rippled through the crowd. No one had been paying enough attention. Even the group of ladies speaking with Ashley earlier hadn’t seen clearly.

"We saw Madam De Luca reach out," one of the ladies blurted, biting her lip after realizing she spoke aloud. "But I didn’t think it was to push her."

"You..." Carmella ground her teeth, while Isabella glared bitterly at everyone.

However, Isabella knew they couldn’t push this further.

"Mom, it’s alright," she tugged Carmella’s arm. "Let’s stop. Sister didn’t really push me. It was an accident—I’m sure of it."

"Accident?" Carmella scoffed, eyes glinting as she turned to Ashley. "Is apologizing too difficult for you? Even if no one saw it, the heavens are watching! Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

"Oh, we don’t need to drag the heavens into this. We can’t exactly ask them." Ashley shrugged, then turned to a nearby server, snapping her fingers to get his attention. "Let’s just ask him. He was watching."

"Huh?" Carmella and Isabella frowned.

The crowd murmured in confusion. The server raised his brows, pointing at himself.

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Ashley pointed at him, but not at his face, but directly at his uniform buttons.

Slowly, the corners of her lips curled up, her eyelids lowering as she delivered the words she knew would make Isabella tremble.

"Weren’t you wearing a bodycam?" she asked. "Why don’t we review the footage and see whether I pushed her or not?"

Ashley then turned back to them.

"If I pushed her, I won’t just apologize—I’ll livestream it for the entire world to see."

Her gaze sharpened.

"But if I didn’t... how will the Di Carpios compensate me for this trouble?"