One Hand Ruined, One Throne Taken

Cesar's face darkened instantly.

In his eyes, I had overstepped. A lowly dealer defying him in front of everyone? That was a death sentence waiting to happen.

"Very well." Cesar forced the words out between his teeth. All the warmth vanished from his gaze.

He let go of Liliana and ordered, "Since you don't want to be a hostess, we'll do this by casino rules. Pin her hand to the table!"

The dozen armed bodyguards behind him surged forward.

These were Cesar's elite enforcers. They were men with blood on their hands.

I could fight, but skill meant nothing against numbers, and they were armed.

I was quickly subdued. They slammed my face down onto the table.

Cesar walked up and looked down at me. "Liliana, do whatever you want with this thief. I'll take responsibility."

Liliana instantly stopped sobbing. She approached me with a twisted grin and picked up a chip case. "You love dealing with this hand, right? I'll make sure you never deal again for the rest of your life!"

Cesar leaned against the bar, lit a cigar, and watched coldly with interest.

Liliana raised the chip case and brought it down hard on my right hand.

Pain shot through my hand. I felt the burn through my entire arm.

"Ah!" I screamed in agony.

My body convulsed, and cold sweat soaked my back.

Darkness crept over my vision, and a high-pitched ringing filled my skull.

Just as I was about to pass out from the pain, the phone Liliana had snatched from me suddenly rang.

It was my father's encrypted line.

When Liliana saw the caller ID labeled "Dad", her face twisted with extreme contempt.

Without hesitation, she put it on speaker.

"Old man, your daughter stole from us, and I've ruined her hand! Do you wish to die too?" she shouted arrogantly into the phone.

After a second of silence, my father's icy voice came through, clear and calm. "Let her go. Otherwise, your entire family will die."

Liliana felt no sense of danger at all. If anything, she looked even more excited. She tossed the phone straight into the nearby ice bucket.

Then, she stepped on my mangled hand and dug her heel into it.

Agony tore through me again, and the world turned pitch black. I felt myself slipping away.

She bent down, grinning savagely at me. "No one is saving you today."

Liliana stared at the disconnected phone and laughed with brazen defiance.

Less than five minutes later, a thunderous crash shook the entire casino, and everyone spun around in fear.

The massive front doors of the casino were smashed apart as a black Hummer rammed straight through them from outside.

Before anyone could react, doors flew open. From the Hummer and a long line of black sedans behind it poured out more than a hundred men in identical black suits.

They moved as one, disciplined and precise.

In less than 30 seconds, every one of Cesar's bodyguards was neutralized.

The men who had been throwing their weight around earlier didn't even get the chance to draw their guns. Their weapons were yanked away, and they collapsed to their knees, trembling all over.

My father, Rossi Corsini, stepped inside. He wore a long black coat. His posture was calm and unhurried, and he was surrounded by his elite bodyguards.

His gaze scanned the hall, cold and unreadable, before settling on my mangled right hand.

Cesar hadn't grasped what was happening. Seeing his casino destroyed and his men restrained, he erupted in fury. "Who on earth are you? Do you know whose territory this is? How dare you cause trouble here? I—"

Before he could finish, one of my father's bodyguards drew his handgun and fired.

The bullet punched cleanly through Cesar's left knee.

A shrill scream tore out of him as he collapsed heavily to the floor.

The casino fell into absolute silence.

My father didn't spare Cesar a glance. He strode to my side and carefully lifted my ruined right hand.

The moment he saw the damage, the Don who ruled Iberny's underworld flared with rage. His eyes were blazing red, and a tidal wave of fury and murderous intent radiated from him.

He turned his head. His voice was a whisper from the depths of hell. "Who did this?"

Liliana had already gone limp with terror. She collapsed to the floor.

At my father's question, she shakily raised her arm and pointed at Cesar. Her finger was trembling uncontrollably.

The instant she moved, one of my father's men stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.

Blood gushed from her mouth, and a few teeth went with it.

Cesar's eyes went wide as he finally read the words in a veteran gambler's terrified expression, "Corsini". He realized the ultimate power in the Ibernian mafia world and the uncrowned king of Montefina was before him.

Ignoring the pain in his shattered knee, he crawled desperately toward my father.

"Don Corsini! I messed up! I know I messed up! I didn't know that was Ms. Corsini! I swear I didn't know!" Tears and mucus streamed down his face.

My father looked down at him with naked disgust. "Trash like you is unworthy of my daughter."

With that, he lifted his foot and ground Cesar's head into the floor.

Then, he issued his command. "Clear the hall. Everyone except him and that woman."

My father gestured toward Cesar and Liliana.

"As for any gambler or bodyguard who watched, cheered, or spoke out of line—drag them out, break their limbs, and throw them into the street," he added.

The order was carried out immediately.

Cries and pleas erupted, only to vanish beyond the casino doors moments later.

In an instant, the hall was empty except for us. The floor was strewn with debris.

My father strode up to Liliana and kicked her down at my feet.

When he turned to me, his voice softened instantly. "My Principessa, this one is yours."