Chapter 10 A crowd had gradually formed around them.
Tyler, Blake, Derek, and Josh stood nearby, faces etched with horror and genuine remorse. Leila hovered at the edge, her eyes flickering with jealousy and bitter resentment.
Countless others watched with sorrowful gazes.
Luigi acknowledged none of them.
A single devastating fire had transformed Boston overnight.
Within fortyâeight hours, every family connected to the âprankâ found themselves under brutal attack from the Maggiore empire.
Their businesses raided, their reputations destroyed, their futures obliterated.
Their sonsâLuigiâs former friendsânow locked in the soundproofed basement of his familyâs estate, subjected to his unrelenting rage.
Luigi had become something feral, something primal, delivering blow after merciless blow to the ment cowering on the concrete floor.
âWHY THE FUCK WERE THERE GAS CANS IN THAT HOUSE?â he roared, his knuckles split and bleeding. voice barely recognizable. âANSWER ME!â
âWhy did your pussyâass security run without her?â Another devastating punch landed on Tylerâs already disfigured face.
âWHY DIDNâT YOU GET HER OUT? WHY IS SHE DEAD WHILE YOU WORTHLESS PIECES OF SHIT ARE ESS PIECES OF SHIT ARE STILL BREATHING?â
Each question punctuated with violence, as i hurting them might somehow lessen his own guiltâas if avenging Ariana could absolve him of being the one who ultimately led her to her death.
According to their original âhilarious prank,â Ariana was never supposed to be in actual danger.
As a precaution, they had stationed men inside to protect her. If the fire got out of control, those men were supposed to rescue her immediately.
But somehow, the abandoned house had been rigged with gasoline containers they hadnât put there.
Somehow, the security theyâd hired had prioritized saving themselves.
Somehow, in their panic to escape the unexpected intensity of the blaze, they had forgotten Ariana entirely.
The men on the ground were barely recognizalde, their fares pelverized by Longe rage, barely able to form coherent words through swollen lips and broken teeth âPlease, L. Luigi,â Hake sobbed, blood pouring from his nose. We fucked up we know we forked up.
âIt wasnât supposed to happen like this,â Derek whimpered, curled into a protective ball. The fire it was Just supposed to scare her...â
âWeâll do anything.â Tyler groaned, one eye swollen completely shut âAnything you want, man just donât kill us...â
âMy dad will pay whatever you want,â Josh begged, dragging himself across the floor. âPlease, please weâve been friends since kindergarten...â
More than a dozen bloodied men knelt before him, pathetic in their terror, foreheads pressed to the concrete in supplication.
But the man standing over them seemed beyond reason, beyond humanity. When he finally spoke, his voice was terrifyingly flatâ
the calm of a predator who has already decided the fate of its prey.
âFriends?â Luigi almost laughed, the sound hollow and chilling âYou want me to spare you because we were friend Did you spare her? Did any of you worthless fuckers think about her for one second?â
He moved toward the door.
âLâLuigi, PLEASE!â They scrambled after him, leaving bloody handprints on the floor.
âGo explain yourselves to Ariana in hell.â
Amid their terrified screams, the basement door slammed shut with terminal finality.
When Luigi emerged upstairs, covered in their blood, Leila rose quickly from the Italian leather sofa where sheâd been waiting.
âLuigi...â she began, attempting her usual delicate tone.
Her words died when she saw the extent of the carnage covering him, her face freezing in naked fear.
Luigi ignored her completely, turning instead to his familyâs longtime butler.
âHas my wifeâs burial plot been prepared?â His voice was raw from screaming.
âWife?â Leila echoed, staring at him in theatrical disbelief. âWhat the actual fuck are you talking about?â
k Swartâs Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th &
She rushed forward, manicured nails digging into his arm, her eyes wide. âIâm your future wife, and Iâm very much alive! Have you completely lost it?â
Looking at the woman before him, Luigiâs eyes filled with cold disgust.
How had he never noticed how selfâabsorbed and manipulative Lella truly was?
âLeila,â he said, each word precise and final, âmy wife is not you. Itâs Ariana.â
That simple statement drained all color from her perfect face. âYouâve literally gone insane!â
âWhat kind of wife was that pathetic nobody? Have you forgotten who she wasâsome scholarship charity case who stole what was rightfully mine? Donât tell me you actually fell for that basic bitch!â
Leila should have seen this coming. Since Arianaâs death, Luigi had transformed completely.
He had unleashed ruthless vengeance on everyone involved in harming her, while shutting himself away, refusing to let authorities take Arianaâs remains, keeping her with him day and night.
Even Leila, publicly acknowledged as Luigiâs inevitable wife, could barely get him to answer her calls.
At first, she hadnât taken it seriously, assuming he was simply processing the shock.
After all, people develop attachments even to dogs theyâve owned for yearsâit made sense he might need time to adjust after losing someone heâd lived with, regardless of his true feelings.
But after being repeatedly blocked from entering the Maggiore estate, genuine panic had set in.
She searched his face desperately now, hoping he would reveal this was all some elaborate new game.
But Luigi merely regarded her with those dead eyes, his expression devoid of any warmth sheâd once imagined was reserved for her.
Her heart plummeted as angry tears began to well up.
âYou actually fell for her, didnât you?â Her voice rose hysterically. âAfter everything I did for you?â
âWhat about ME? I waited for you all this time! You promised after 99 acts of revenge, we could finally be together. I waited THREE FUCKING YEARS, and now youâre in love with that worthless little bitch who-â
âSHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!â
Luigiâs thunderous roar echoed through the mansion. âSay one more word about my wife and I swear to Christ Iâll forget youâre a woman.â
Leila, who had been in the middle of her tirade, froze in absolute shock.
7.34 Chapter 10 âYou... you just screamed at me?â Her voice was small with disbelief.
Her shock quickly morphed into outrage. âHow fucking DARE you speak to me like that!â
Chapter 11