My Fiancé Abandoned Me For Don’s Adopted Daughter But I’m Don’s Real Daughter Chapter 03
Vincent snorted. “Don Galluzzo’s daughter died three years ago. You’re a nobody with nothing to your name. How could you possibly be the real daughter?”
“Even if she were alive, what kind of heiress would abandon her family’s fortune to suffer like you? You can’t even lie properly.”
“Get on your knees and apologize to Pearl right now. Maybe I’ll put in a word for you. Maybe you’ll keep your life.”
Pearl sneered.
“Don Galluzzo’s daughter? You think dropping a dead girl’s name is going to scare me?”
“Poppa’s favorite daughter is me now! Even if that dead girl came back to life, she’d better show me some respect!”
“I’m done wasting my breath. It’s almost time for my wedding.”
She looked down and nudged the German shepherd lying at her feet with the toe of her shoe.
The dog whimpered but didn’t move. Pearl crouched down, felt its nose, then shot to her feet and glared at me.
“Did you drug my dog? I spent months training Kaiser to be my ring bearer! He was supposed to carry the rings down the aisle today. Why is he suddenly sick?”
“I’ve been tied up on the floor this whole time,” I said flatly. “How could I possibly touch your dog?”
Pearl didn’t listen. She turned to Vincent and pouted.
“Vincent, my Kaiser is sick. There’s no ring bearer for the wedding now. Our wedding is ruined! This is all her fault! What do we do?”
Vincent looked at the dog lying on the ground. Then he looked at me, bound and crumpled on the floor. Something cruel flickered in his eyes.
“Pearl, my dear, don’t worry. Kaiser’s not feeling well, but we have a replacement right here.”
He walked over, grabbed a fistful of what was left of my hair, and shoved my face to the floor.
“Rosa, didn’t you say you’d help me climb to the top? Pearl is the only one who can make that happen now. If you want to blame someone, blame your own luck.”
“Since Kaiser can’t perform today, you’ll take his place. At the wedding, you’re going to get on all fours like a dog and bring us the rings.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Vincent, you’ve lost your mind!”
Pearl clapped her hands and laughed.
“Perfect! Didn’t she just claim to be Don Galluzzo’s daughter? Even better. The Don might show up to our wedding. When he finds out someone dared to pretend to be his precious dead daughter, he’ll be furious. And making this imposter crawl like a dog to hand us the rings? He’d love that.”
“Put Kaiser’s collar on her!”
The thugs forced a black leather dog collar around my neck and clipped on a chain leash. Pearl grabbed the other end and gave it a tug, the way you’d test a leash on a new pet.
“Hmm, doesn’t quite fit. But it’ll do.”
“And her clothes. Too much. Strip her. Kaiser doesn’t wear clothes either.”
They tore off my outer layer, leaving nothing but my underwear. I curled up on the cold floor, shivering violently.
I closed my eyes. Hot tears slid silently down my cheeks.
“Hmm. One more thing. Break her legs. That way she can only crawl to deliver the rings.”
Two men stepped forward and pulled out batons. They swung at my shin. A scream tore out of my throat.
Pearl bent down and patted my face.
“When the music starts, you crawl out from the back on all fours. Ring box in your mouth. Crawl to me and Vincent, look up, and hand it over.”
“Remember: don’t stand up, don’t talk, don’t cry. Kaiser never cries. If you can’t even match a dog, I’ll have them break your arms, too. Then you’ll be crawling forever.”
Vincent stood nearby, listening. He didn’t say a single word for me.
The house was transformed into a wedding venue in what felt like minutes. Flowers and white draping everywhere. A band tuning their instruments. Guests arriving and taking their seats.
I was locked in a storage room in the back, kneeling on the freezing concrete floor, the chain around my neck padlocked to a heating pipe.
A red ring box was tossed in front of me.
“When the music starts, you’re on.” The thug dropped those words and locked the door behind him.
I looked down at the ring box. I couldn’t stop shaking.
The ring Vincent gave me when he proposed was still on my finger.
Now he wanted me to crawl like a dog and deliver a different ring to him and another woman.
The storage room had no windows. Just a single dim bulb overhead.
Through the walls I could hear guests laughing, champagne glasses clinking, Pearl’s voice making polite small talk.
Then, from outside, came the sound of engines. Not one or two. An entire convoy. Low, dense, rumbling.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Father.
Father got my letter.
Footsteps outside the door. A thug unlocked it, unhooked the chain from the pipe, and dragged me out.
“Wedding’s starting. You’re up.”
I was hauled to the entrance at the back of the venue. Through the crack in the door, I could see the room packed with guests in their finest. Vincent stood at the altar in a sharp black suit. Pearl clung to his arm in a white wedding gown, radiant and smiling.
And outside the venue entrance, a row of black armored SUVs sat idling. The doors hadn’t opened yet.
The music started.
A thug unclipped the chain, shoved the ring box into my mouth, and kicked me hard in the back.
“Crawl.”
I planted my hands and knees on the ground with my broken legs. My whole body was trembling. Slowly, I crawled out from the entrance.
Bald head. Face caked in black mud. Dog collar around my neck. Ring box clenched between my teeth.
The guests froze. Then the whispers erupted.
“What kind of ceremony is this? Why is a person crawling?”
“I think that’s Vincent’s ex-fiancée…”
“Shh. You know what Pearl’s temper is like.”
My knees scraped raw against the rough carpet. Every inch I crawled left a faint trail of blood behind me.
Pearl looked down from above, the winner’s smile spread wide across her face.
“Crawl faster. Stop dawdling. Kaiser is quicker than you.”
I crawled, step by step, until I reached the front of the stage. I looked up.
Vincent glanced down at me. His gaze flinched away almost instantly.
At that moment, the main doors of the venue were thrown open from the outside.
A silver-haired man strode in. Behind him, dozens of bodyguards in black, every one of them with a gun on his belt.
Father.
My mouth was stuffed with the ring box. I could barely speak speak. But the tears came pouring out.
”Pop… Poppa… I’m right here…“