---- Chapter 16 Alex POV: "My parents are flying in," | told Aria a few days later, my voice a carefully crafted instrument of casual affection. "They want to host a celebration for us. To officially welcome you and the babies to the family." Her eyes lit up with greedy triumph. This was it. The moment she became the new Mrs. De Luca in all but name. She spent the next two days in a flurry of shopping and salon appointments, choosing a white dress that looked suspiciously like a wedding gown. | watched her, my face a mask of indulgent love, while my heart turned to a block of ice. | was not planning a party. | was orchestrating a public execution. | had spoken to my parents. | told them everything. My mother wept. My father's face was stone, but his eyes held a fury that matched my own. "You will handle this, Alessandro," he had commanded. "You will cleanse this stain from our family's honor. We will play our parts." The "celebration" was held in the grand ballroom of a De Luca-owned hotel in Paris. We invited everyone. Our European allies, business partners, family friends. | wanted ---- witnesses. Aria was radiant, preening under the attention, showing off the large diamond ring | had bought her. She clung to my arm, whispering about our future, completely oblivious to the slaughterhouse she had just walked into. My parents arrived, their expressions grim. They greeted Aria with a cold formality that made her nervous, a flicker of doubt finally entering her eyes. The moment came. The orchestra quieted. | stepped up to the microphone on the stage. "Thank you all for coming," | began, my voice ringing through the silent room. "I know this was billed as a celebration. But that was a lie." A confused murmur rippled through the crowd. Aria looked at me, her smile faltering. "Tonight is not a celebration," | continued, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. "It is a reckoning. A *Vendetta*." On cue, a massive screen behind me flickered to life. Displayed for hundreds of people to see were the text messages between Aria and her brother Rico. Her own words, plotting her deception. Next came the forged medical reports, the fake sonograms, the bank statements showing her massive debts to a known loan shark. ---- A collective gasp filled the ballroom. Aria stared at the screen, her face ashen. "Alex... no... it's not what it looks like..." she stammered, grabbing for my arm. | pulled away from her as if her touch was poison. "You are a liar," | said, my voice echoing in the dead silence. "You are a thief. And you tried to make a fool of the De Luca family." From the crowd, a woman stormed forward. It was Aria's mother. She slapped her daughter hard across the face, the sound cracking like a whip. "You stupid, stupid girl!" she screamed. "You've ruined everything!" Aria's other family and friends turned their backs on her, their faces masks of disgust and shame. My Capos stared at her with open contempt. She sank to the floor, a pathetic heap of white satin and shattered dreams, her sobs lost in the horrified whispers of the crowd. She had wanted to be a queen. Instead, | had made her the court jester in her own public humiliation. The honor of my family had been restored with her disgrace. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!