Chapter 7
I wiped the dripping coffee from my eyelashes and looked straight at the head of the Syndicate.
"Will that erase everything?" my voice was raspy.
Falco froze.
He was stunned by my rapid submission, but the shock was fleeting.
A deep, intense rage flared in his chest. He closed the distance, his face inches from mine.
"Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth.
I took a slow breath and turned to face the mafia princess.
I bent down, offering Gia a deep bow.
"I am sorry, Miss Gia," I muttered hollowly to the floor.
I straightened up, then immediately bowed again.
"I am sorry, Miss Gia."
Gia beamed, basking in the glory of her victory.
At the entrance, the Syndicate soldiers guarding the door pulled out their phones.
All around us, boutique staff and bystanders were secretly recording—the Don’s former lover, publicly humiliated.
With every bow, the temperature in the room seemed to drop another degree.
Falco stood rigid, his face a mask of pure fury.
He was the one who demanded the humiliation, I was delivering it, yet he was the one getting angry. I couldn't understand it.
As I bent down for the twentieth time, Falco grabbed my shoulder. His hand stopped my movement, shaking me so hard his grip almost drew blood.
"Do you have no pride left?!" he roared. "For a few hundred dollars? Are you really that desperate?!"
I reached up, pushed his hand away, and forced my trembling legs to steady themselves.
I didn't answer Falco; I simply bent down and bowed to Gia once more.
Falco lunged in front of me, using his massive frame to block my path. He completely lost it. He shouted my name so loud the glass display cases rattled.
"Stop!" he commanded. "If you bend down one more time, you get nothing!"
I stood straight, meeting his furious eyes. A cold smile touched my lips.
"Isn't this the revenge you wanted?" I said softly. "Why can't the boss stomach his own vengeance?"
The color drained from Falco’s face, turning him ashen.
I turned away, attempting to bow again.
But before I could finish the motion, a wave of dizziness hit me.
My body finally gave out.
I collapsed, my knees crashing heavily onto the marble floor, my vision blurring. The tiles and the hundred-dollar bills swayed before me as the edges of the world faded to black.
Suddenly, the heavy boutique doors were shoved open.
Lexi shoved through the crowd and froze when she saw me collapsed on the floor, covered in coffee.
Fierce loyalty overpowered her fear.
With a trembling finger pointing right at Falco’s chest, she screamed:
"She gave you her kidney!"
Her voice echoed, tears streaming down her face.
"She is dying because of you! And you’re torturing her!"
Chapter 8
Lexi’s words rang through the boutique, shattering the silence.
Falco’s face went instantly pale, the muscles in his jaw rigid.
He stood completely motionless, as if his brain had severed the connection to his limbs in that exact second.
The toe of his expensive leather shoe was just an inch away from a dark coffee stain on the marble.
He stared down at that stain, a harsh, grating sound tearing from his throat. It was the sound of a street kid from years ago, smelling blood and fighting the agonizing urge to vomit.
He asked Lexi in a hoarse, grating whisper: "She would fabricate such a sick lie for money?"
Lexi dropped to her knees, gathering my upper body into her arms.
I groaned, my heavy eyelids slowly fluttering open. But the glaring lights of the boutique blinded me.
As my vision cleared, I saw Falco’s terrified, frantic eyes, his expression full of despair.
He clung desperately to his hatred because facing the truth would shatter his soul.
He refused to break his fragile reality.
Pointing a trembling finger at me, he insisted, "You are a master manipulator, a liar, a viper. You almost tricked me again."
Ignoring the spinning room, I pulled myself out of Lexi’s arms and forced myself to stand.
I approached the Don with a stiff smile.
To protect his sanity, I validated his delusion:
"You're right. It was all a carefully orchestrated scam to con you out of your money."
Lexi writhed in agony beside me, wanting to burn the whole world down to protect me. But I used all my remaining strength to grip her wrist, reminding her of the code of silence I had demanded.
Lexi turned her face away, burying her face in her hands, sobbing.
Falco’s eyes went pitch-black, filled with murderous intent. He spat the word at me: "Bitch."
Gia yanked on Falco’s arm, pulling his attention back to her. Playing the benevolent future Donna, she suggested:
"Pay the scammer off. Get rid of her forever."
Falco took a deep breath, restoring his icy composure. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.
A moment later, the burner phone in my pocket vibrated.
He had just transferred half a million dollars to my account.
He sneered condescendingly, announcing to the room: "That money is payment for past services rendered in my bed. A parting gift for a whore."
I took out my phone and stared at the transfer confirmation.
The flashing numbers blurred, and my smile grew full.
I said softly, "Thank you."
"And, goodbye."
Without a word, Falco grabbed Gia’s hand and dragged her out of the boutique without looking back.
Farewell, Falco. Farewell, my once love.
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