Chapter 6: The Final Question

With the question leaving my lips, everybody looked down while Dominick froze.

The staff were stunned that I’d come out and ask Dominick right in the face. Dominick was taken aback by the certainty in my tone.

It sounded less like a question and more like a statement.

Dominick’s expression went stiff. Nevertheless, he quickly pulled himself together and resumed his usual stern look.

“Luna, let me be clear one last time. Gia is family to me.

“I will only be disappointed in you if you don’t drop the subject.”

I stared at him in silence, silently applauding his convincing act. His eyes held no hint of apology for lying through his teeth.

As tension grew thick in the room, the staff held their breath and waited for my moment of hysteria.

However, I did nothing of that sort. Instead, I chuckled to myself. “Oh, really?

“Understood.”

Dominick was dumbstruck at first, but he quickly relaxed his tense muscles, thinking that I had bought his story.

I stepped around Dominick and approached the security staff. “Let’s go. Take me to the sub-basement.”

The security staff exchanged glances, baffled by the situation. “Don Costa, uh…”

“Don’t just stand there. The Donna has spoken. Lead her to the dungeon,” Dominick snapped impatiently.

Even with my compliance, Dominick decided to lock me away to cover his bases.

As always, Dominick exercised caution.

Heeding his call, the security staff surrounded me as if I were some heinous criminal.

I walked behind the security staff quietly with my head down.

Since Costa went to great lengths to keep me in the dark, it was pointless for me to cause a scene.

My gift for them would arrive in time for the wedding anyway.

The question I posed was Dominick’s final chance, and he made his choice.

For some reason, I felt free when he claimed that Gia was nothing more than family to him.

There was no absolute reason for salvaging the marriage anymore.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Archibald, who had just hurried back, while on my way to the sub-basement.

“Don Costa, Donna Costa has just been discharged from the hospital. She won’t survive a cold, damp place like the dungeon.”

“Discharged?” Furrowing his brows, Dominick finally noticed how unusually pale I looked.

“What exactly is going on?”

“Donna Costa is pr—”

“But Luna was looking mighty fine before we went away.”

Gia cut Archibald off and smiled cheekily. “Oh, I was just saying since Luna was at home when she video-called to yell at me.”

She turned to the maid and asked in confusion, “Am I mistaken?”

Taking the cue, the maid backed Gia up. “That’s right. We can testify that Donna Costa has been home these past few days. She hasn’t been to the hospital.”

Dominick looked at me in disappointment and fury, his expression ashen.

Rather than taking his anger out on me, Dominick pointed his gun at Archibald.

Bang!

A shot was fired.

Archibald fell back, and blood gushed out of his right leg.

Wham!

A loud ringing echoed in my ears. It was as if the world had stopped.

“No! No! Archibald!”

I broke free of the security staff’s hold with all my might and rushed to Archibald, tears rolling down my cheeks onto his face.

Guilt washed over me as I tore a strip from my skirt to wrap around his leg. Still, blood seeped through and stained my hands.

There I thought Dominick’s only sin was his infidelity and the lies to cover his affair with Gia. I never imagined that he’d be cruel enough to hurt the people I held dear.

I glared at Dominick resentfully, dying to tear him apart.

Dominick was stunned by my dramatic response.

The way he saw it, Archibald was nothing more than an insignificant subordinate.

Shying away from my gaze, Dominick wiped the barrel of his gun and turned to his staff.

“Don’t ever let me catch anyone gossiping or lying to me, or you’ll end up like him.”

The staff nodded without another word.

Reality dawned on me that Dominick pulled the trigger as a warning to the staff not to breathe a word about today.

This was especially since I publicly called him out on his relationship with Gia.

He cared a lot about his reputation as the Don since his affair with his stepsister would be very damaging.

‘You’re ruthless and selfish, Dominick.’

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Stop crying. A bullet to the leg is not fatal.”

Dominick told the security staff. “Don’t just stand there. Take Luna to the dungeon now.”

The security staff slammed into me, gripping me by the arms to drag me out.

Thanks to their manhandling, I curled up into a ball in agony from my cramping stomach.

The security staff immediately released their hold on me. “We didn’t do anything, Don Costa.”

As I broke out in sweat, Dominick rushed to my side in a panic and uttered frantically, “Stop with the act, Luna. Get up now!”

However, I lost the strength to answer him. The world around me was blurring out.

Just one second before blacking out, I spotted a crack in Dominick’s stern demeanor.