Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 106: Dissatisfied

Esme couldn’t believe what was happening.

Her own brother was choking her.

Her brother—who didn’t joke with her, who had always worshipped the ground she walked on. The brother who had kept contact with her even when everyone else believed he was a ghost. The brother who trusted her...

And yet... he was choking her.

How had they gotten here? How had things unraveled so violently in the space of weeks?--if she counted the auction event. The descent was dizzying, like missing a step in the dark.

What had Gianna done to her family?

Was she really a witch? Was there some potion involved? Or some medical bullshit—Athena was her friend, after all.

But would Athena Thorne really descend that low, after fighting off the some virus herself?

Noah’s hand tightened around her neck.

Her eyes widened as panic detonated in her chest. A thin, broken sound escaped her lips as she squeaked, "I’m sorry," but the hold didn’t lessen. If anything, the pressure increased.

Her brother was going to kill her.

For God’s sake, Gianna was still breathing!

"So," Noah’s voice cut through the ringing in her ears, low and lethal, "you planned to kill me too? Get me out of the way and inherit the family’s treasure?"

The words barely registered. When they did, disbelief hit harder than the lack of air.

He would believe that of her? 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

She wanted to protest. To scream her incredulity into his face. But her windpipe was crushed, her voice stolen. Instead, she tapped weakly at his arm, fingers clumsy, strength draining fast.

Her mind dissolved into a single, desperate prayer—please. For benevolence. For mercy. For him to remember her.

Her prayer was answered in a few seconds.

Noah released her.

She dropped to the floor ungracefully, knees buckling as she collapsed into a violent coughing fit, lungs burning as air rushed back in too fast. Her throat felt raw, scraped, every breath jagged.

"How—" she coughed. "How—"

Then the tears came.

Quiet at first. Then hurried. Streaming down her face without restraint, humiliation and fear tangling until she couldn’t separate them anymore. Her chest shook, her vision blurred.

"You—" another cough tore through her.

Noah ignored her. He rested his weight against the dresser, one hand braced on the polished surface, his expression carved from ice.

"This," he said calmly, "is only a warning, little sis. Do another thing of such magnitude, and you might just join Granddad in the heavens."

Then he turned and walked out of the room.

Esme stayed on the floor and bawled.

She pushed things away from her in blind fury—ornaments, vases, trinkets the maids had replaced with newer, shinier versions. She broke them all over again, the crash of glass and porcelain punctuating her screams.

Curses poured from her mouth, venomous and endless, all of them aimed at Gianna. She screamed and shouted, rage tearing through her throat, not stopping even when her mother rushed into the room.

"Dear," her mother cried, alarmed. "What is the matter?"

Outside the house, Noah strolled toward his car, irritation simmering beneath his controlled exterior.

Why didn’t his sister ever listen?

If he hadn’t been with Gianna, the latter would have been dead. And if he hadn’t chosen the bulletproof car, he would have been dead too.

And for what?

Messy competition. Pettiness.

This was the first warning. The next time, he wouldn’t be so lenient.

Sabrina Aldo, however, was a different case entirely.

She needed to be put in her place. Soon.

He slid into his car and reached for his phone, intent already forming. But just as his thumb hovered over the screen, he stopped.

His brows furrowed as a new thought took hold. He tilted his head slightly, considering.

After a moment, he set the phone down on the passenger seat.

He would watch Sabrina first.

After all, she was doing one thing right—blaming Zane.

Maybe this way, he could kill two birds with one stone.

A smile curved his lips as he drove out of the compound.

Just like his sister, Sabrina Aldo had just earned herself a chance at life again.

—

Gianna sneezed for the third time in quick succession, nose wrinkling as she glanced up from her book.

"Someone must be cursing me," she muttered, then laughed softly, shaking her head at her own superstition. Ridiculous.

She checked the time on the clock.

More than an hour since she’d left the torture cottage. What were they still doing? Weren’t they done already? What other methods had they invented to extract answers from the man?

Her mind wandered dangerously for a second, conjuring half-remembered scenes from crime fiction she’d devoured when she was younger. She quickly pulled it back. She had no use for such bloody imaginings.

Just then, her phone dinged.

Relief washed over her when she saw Athena’s name.

hey are you asleep yet?

She typed no.

okay, we’re done. do you want to join us here, or should i come up and give you the summary of what transpired and what we decided to do about it?

Gianna thought for a moment, then decided she wanted to hear it from everyone. To hear their suggestions directly.

i’m coming down...

She slipped out of bed, pulled a sweatshirt over her head, and left her room. The house was quiet at this hour, the silence stretching around her.

Her phone dinged again as she reached the porch.

we’re at spider’s. so come straight there.

When she arrived, the whole crew was seated in the sitting room. There was no trace of blood—neither on their faces nor lingering in the air. Anyone unaware of what had transpired would think nothing had happened at all.

They must have cleaned up for her sake.

The thought warmed her chest as she sat beside Athena and waited.

Ewan delivered the report.

All they’d gotten from the man was that he and his colleagues worked for the four men they had already identified. They took orders from the latter and didn’t know the main leader of the smaller operation operating within the X gang—one that even Philemon was unaware of.

Gianna felt disappointed and frightened all at once.

She listened, frustrated somewhat, as Ewan called Philemon and relayed the same report; as the gang boss admitted he had suspected as much for a while; as he confirmed that the fourth man—Xavier—was still at large.

"If we can get him, we can get the one truly in charge." The one who had created a covert crew within his gang without his knowledge.

Gianna wasn’t satisfied with the reports. Xavier could be anywhere!

"What do we do until then?" She asked Ewan when he was done with the call.

"Until then," Athena said calmly, "we move carefully. Spider will be doing much of the brunt work. And Susan will utilize Nimbus’ services..."

She took Gianna’s hands in hers. "We will find him, and bring him to justice. I promise."

Gianna nodded, having no choice. Might as well get used to living with the unease...

"What about the interview?" Sandro asked. "At least that would put some things in perspective... Zane?"

Zane shrugged at Sandro’s suggestion. "It can only work if Gianna collaborates with my story..."

All eyes shifted to Gianna.

She sighed. "I’m sure I can manage that. Arthur already promised to take a step back..."