My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

"Will you shoot your own daughter?"

A pin-drop silence descended over the area, Marshal’s voice echoing through it.

Deep frowns appeared on the faces around him. Even Carmella turned toward her husband in shock.

"Honey... what are you talking about?" she asked quietly, yet everyone heard her.

Ashley glanced at Carmella’s reaction and immediately knew that the woman had no idea what was going on.

It wasn’t surprising.

Carmella’s treatment of Ashley had always stemmed from her inability to accept that her husband had allowed his mistress’s child to live. It wasn’t as though Carmella didn’t know about Marshal’s appetite for younger women. She simply looked the other way, believing that as long as Marshal never brought another woman or child home, she could pretend she knew nothing.

And knowing Marshal, he had deliberately hidden the truth from his wife to ensure that the child he brought home would suffer.

Julio glanced at Tommy. "Tommy, what’s going on?"

Tommy didn’t answer. He merely stared at Marshal before shifting his gaze toward Ashley.

His hands curled into tight fists as his chest rose and fell heavily. A vein bulged on his forehead at the mention of the child he had lost.

"Even now, you’re still going to use my child?" Tommy’s voice dropped, the authority in it sending a chill down everyone’s spine.

The expressions of his men darkened, their fingers ready on the triggers.

"You still haven’t grown a spine after all these years," Tommy added under his breath. "Why am I surprised?"

Ashley, meanwhile, hung her head, her face shrouded in shadow. Lucian kept his eyes on her, but he couldn’t tell what kind of expression she was making.

If only he knew that she was making no expression at all.

Ashley stared at the ground, her mind and heart eerily quiet. She already knew that Marshal wasn’t her father, and she had been looking forward to the end of this mission so she could finally see the results of the test Lucian had ordered.

But this?

Hearing it from Marshal himself?

Ashley didn’t know what to think. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to feel. However, when she lifted her gaze, her heart stopped for a second at the sight of Tommy.

Tommy was staring at her—and only her.

She couldn’t tell what was going through his mind.

Was it anger? Disappointment? Hope?

And yet, somehow, her lips began to quiver. She bit down hard, her throat tightening as she stared back at him.

Why... she wondered. Why do I want him to save me?

"Daughter?" several of Tommy’s men whispered, exchanging confused looks.

However, no one had an answer.

Julio’s gaze darted between Marshal, Tommy, and Ashley.

He hadn’t known Ashley for long. In fact, he hadn’t even met her before tonight. However, he had heard about her while investigating Dominion and the Di Carpios, back when he believed they might have been involved in Tommy’s shooting.

Thus, he had heard plenty of rumors.

But believing rumors had never been wise, especially when they painted two completely different versions of Ashley.

One depicted her as the spoiled and rebellious daughter of the Di Carpios—a young woman drowning in her own insecurities, which often drove her to hurt the family’s legitimate daughter.

The other claimed that calling her a Di Carpio was unjustified.

Why?

Because even the household maids had been treated better than the Di Carpios’ bastard child.

If the latter was true...

Julio shook his head, clearing his thoughts and reminding himself not to jump to conclusions.

"Tom," he called, casting Tommy a brief sidelong glance. "Don’t fall for it. You know Marshal and his tricks."

Marshal chuckled. "Ah, Julio. You bastard. You really haven’t changed, have you?"

Julio’s expression hardened.

"Did you honestly think I simply had that child killed?" Marshal laughed. "Where’s the fun in that? After everything this damned bastard put me through, I couldn’t simply let him grieve and move on."

He pointed his gun toward Tommy.

"He had to suffer until the day he took his final breath—for being a failure as a man and a father. For failing to recognize the child he pointed a gun at. For allowing her to live as part of the family he despised!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Marshal laughed maniacally, unbothered by the horrified stares directed at him.

Even Carmella could only stare at her husband with a mixture of emotions.

As for Raka, his fear remained ever-present, but confusion now filled his mind.

"He’s your father?" he blurted, staring between Ashley and Tommy.

As a parent himself, Raka might have been biased toward adults and less forgiving toward people in general. But when it came to his child, Raka would swallow a grenade if it meant shielding them from the blast.

He would never point a weapon at his own child.

Yet here Marshal was, using his daughter as a shield against her will.

"You’ve allowed your daughter to suffer long enough, Tommy, and that is entirely on you." Marshal’s eyes widened with malice as he continued to laugh and sneer. "Now, will her death be on you as well?"

Tommy exhaled, his grip on his cane trembling.

"Tomas..." Julio called, sensing that Tommy was about to back down. "Don’t believe him."

"I don’t," Tommy whispered, his eyes fixed on Ashley. "Although I wish I could."

His face twisted with conflict.

"Even so, whether it’s true or not, her safety remains our priority."

"Lower your weapons!" Tommy shouted, keeping his eyes on Ashley. "And give them one of our cars."

Everyone exchanged conflicted looks before reluctantly lowering their weapons.

They could deal with Marshal another way. After all, he had nowhere left to run, and under Tommy’s orders, no mercenary group in the country would dare take him in.

While everyone took their time, calculating their next move, Ashley lowered her head.

"Marshal," she called quietly. "Thank you."

"Huh?" Marshal paused and glanced down at her.

A subtle smile touched Ashley’s lips as she raised her head. She turned slightly, looking back at him from the corner of her eye.

"Thank you... for not being my father." Then, a shout tore from her throat. "Lucian!"

At that call, Lucian pulled out a small pistol from his pocket; the same time she slammed her foot against the ground, sending the small knife concealed inside her boot flying upward. She caught it and swiftly slashed Marshal’s arm.

"AHH!"

The sudden pain loosened his hold around her. Ashley immediately hurled the knife toward Carmella, burying it in her leg.

"AHHH!"

A shriek tore from Carmella’s throat as pain shot through her.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Ashley broke free from Marshal and lunged toward Raka. She tackled him to the ground just as a barrage of gunfire erupted throughout the area.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Dominion and Tommy’s men opened fire without hesitation, riddling Marshal and Carmella’s bodies with bullets.

Ashley kept Raka pinned beneath her, instinctively shielding him from the gunfire.

When the final shot echoed through the area, she looked over her shoulder and saw Marshal falling.

For a moment, the world stood still.

From where she lay, all Ashley could see was Marshal collapsing backward in agonizing slow motion, as though the world itself were granting her the privilege of witnessing this moment.

As she watched him fall, the crushing weight on her shoulders began to ease. One by one, every chain Marshal had wrapped around her seemed to unlock.

His body struck the ground with a deafening thud.

And with it, every cursed chain that had bound her finally shattered, its remnants scattering into the air.

Goodbye... Marshal.

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