Chapter 5 - The Shattered FacadeChaos erupted. Women screamed, security guards rushed in, and Marco was immediately on his feet, pulling a compact handgun from his tuxedo jacket—a gun I hadn't even known he was carrying.
"Stay behind me!" he ordered, shoving me into an alcove behind a massive marble pillar.
I watched in horror as Marco's security team clashed with the masked intruders. It was a coordinated attack, meant to send a message, meant to humiliate the Ricci family on their most important night. Lorenzo’s work.
Within three minutes, it was over. Marco's men subdued the attackers, dragging them out the back doors. Sirens wailed in the distance.
Marco shoved his gun back into its holster and turned to me, his chest heaving, his face pale with panic. He grabbed my shoulders, checking me frantically for injuries.
"Are you hurt? Emily, answer me!"
"I'm fine! I'm okay!" I cried, grabbing his shaking hands.
Suddenly, a slow, mocking clap echoed through the ruined ballroom.
Lorenzo stepped out from the shadows of the hallway. Marco's guards immediately drew their weapons, but Lorenzo held up his hands, smiling a wicked, venomous smile.
"Such a beautiful display of heroism, Marco," Lorenzo sneered. "Protecting your beloved fiancée. Too bad it's all a pathetic lie."
Isabella, who was being guarded by two massive men, stepped forward. "What are you talking about, Lorenzo?"
Lorenzo pulled a thick folder from his jacket and tossed it onto the floor. "Your son is lying to you, Isabella. This woman isn't his girlfriend. She's his assistant. He's paying her a massive bonus to play dress-up this week because he's too pathetic to find a woman who actually loves him. I had my men hack his corporate accounts. The contract is right there."
The silence in the room was deafening.
Isabella looked at the folder, then at Marco, her eyes filled with betrayal. "Marco... is this true?"
Marco froze. He looked at his mother, then at me. The ruthless, powerful billionaire looked utterly defeated.
"Mom, I can explain—"
"You brought a paid employee into my home and lied to my face?" Isabella's voice shook with fury. "Get her out of my house. Now."
"No!" Marco shouted, stepping in front of me as if to shield me from his family's wrath. "Don't you dare speak to her that way. It was my idea. I forced her into it."
"It doesn't matter whose idea it was," Isabella said coldly. "She is not part of this family. Send her back to New York."
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My heart shattered into a million jagged pieces. I looked at Marco. He looked at me, his eyes filled with a desperate, agonizing sorrow.
"Go upstairs and pack," he whispered, his voice cracking. "My driver will take you home. It's not safe for you here anymore, Emily."
