The Viper Bride Is Done Playing Nice

When I was thirteen, I shot my father Don Vittorio Valenti’s favorite mistress. After that, everyone in the East Coast underworld started calling me the Viper. For my mother's dying wish, I spent ten years playing the perfect lady—and never fired another shot. Then, at my engagement party, some little girl dumped red wine all over my chest and called me an old woman. My fiancé just smiled and told me not to pick on a kid. Fine. I'd show them exactly why they used to call me the Viper. ... A glass of red wine splashed across my chest. A dark red stain spread over my pale engagement dress, wine still dripping from the fabric. “Oops. My hand slipped.” I looked up. A girl of about seventeen stood in front of me with an empty glass in her hand, grinning without the slightest hint of apology. Tonight was my engagement party. Black SUVs lined the Valenti estate, armed guards manned the gates, and everyone who mattered in the East Coast underworld was inside. My fiancé, Adrian Bellini, sat beside me. A graduate of a prestigious university and heir to the Bellini family. “Who are you?” I asked. “Lily Hayes.” She set the empty glass on the table, planted her hands on her hips, and lifted her chin. “I grew up with the Bellinis. Adrian's always treated me like a little sister.” “Aren't you twenty-five already? You're an old woman. Why should you get to marry Adrian?” She made sure everyone heard the words “old woman.” The entire room went silent. One of my father's old capos froze with his wineglass halfway to his mouth. The consigliere at a nearby table quietly set down his knife and fork. Several older men in the corner went pale. They all remembered what I'd done. When I was thirteen, my father's favorite mistress slipped crushed peanuts into my mother's food. My mother had a severe peanut allergy. It nearly killed her. My father wanted to handle it inside the family. So I picked up a gun, walked into her son's room, and put a bullet through my half brother's leg in front of everyone. Two years later, that woman tried the same trick again. I spent three months investigating. Then I carried her favorite dessert into her room. After that day, there was no longer a place for her in the Valenti family. And the name “the Viper” spread across the East Coast. My father, Don Vittorio Valenti, stood outside the door all night. From then on, whenever he looked at me, there was love in his eyes. And fear. Years later, as my mother lay dying, she held my hand and said, “Alessandra, you're a young woman. Put down the gun. Learn to be a proper lady. Maybe one day, someone will truly love you.” So I honored her dying wish. For ten years, I never fired another shot. I learned flower arranging. Ran a charitable foundation. Did good deeds. The younger generation on the East Coast had long since forgotten who the Viper was. Clearly, so had the little girl who'd just poured wine all over me. Adrian set down his glass. “Alessandra, Lily's been spoiled by the family since she was little. She doesn't know any better.” “You're the Valenti heiress. Don't stoop to arguing with a kid.” Don't argue with a kid. I turned those words over in my mind. Behind me, Nora clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. She'd been with me since we were children. She remembered the thirteen-year-old girl who'd been afraid of nothing. I placed a hand over hers. My mother's words still echoed in my ears. I picked up my wine and took a sip. “Fine. I'll let it go.” When the party ended, the guests left so quickly they might as well have been fleeing. Only Lily took her time. As she passed me, she stopped on purpose and tilted her head. “That dress is ruined. You should replace it.” Then she added with a bright smile, “Maybe you would also need a younger body.” Adrian was standing right beside her. He didn't say a word. There was still a smile on his lips. After they left, the ballroom was empty. Nora finally broke. Her voice shook. “Alessandra!” I stayed where I was, staring down at the wine stain across my chest. It had already gone cold. “Nora.” “I'm here.” “Go get Luca Ferraro.” Nora froze. That name hadn't been spoken inside the Valenti estate for ten years. Her eyes instantly reddened. She nodded hard. “I'll get him.”

The wedding went ahead as planned. I owed it to my mother's dying wish to at least try to be a gentle, respectable wife. For the first three days of our marriage, Adrian played the perfect husband. He had breakfast with me every morning, spoke to me politely, and even made my coffee himself. On the fourth day, Lily showed up. Three carloads of luggage rolled straight through the Valenti gates—Adrian had already ordered my security to let them in. She stood outside the gates of the private estate my mother had left me, loudly ordering the staff around as they carried her things inside. “Adrian said I could stay here so we could all look out for each other!” Her voice carried across the entire courtyard. She wanted the garden wing on the east side. It was the second-best part of the estate, and Nora and the others had been staying there. I watched from an upstairs window. Nora's face went white with anger. “Alessandra, your mother left this estate to you. It doesn't belong to the Bellinis. What gives her the right?” I answered calmly. “Adrian does.” Sure enough, Adrian arrived soon after. He was as polished and mild-mannered as ever. “Alessandra, Lily grew up with the Bellinis. She's used to having people around to take care of her. Let her have the east wing. She won't bother you.” “No.” Adrian smiled. “Her things are already inside. Making her leave now would look terrible. People might start saying the Valentis can't even make room for one young girl.” He said it so calmly, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world. I stared at him for three seconds. “Fine.” Nora's breath caught. I turned and went back to my room without looking back. Once Lily moved in, the entire estate changed. She complained that the chef's food was too bland and replaced him without asking me. Then she complained that the armed checkpoints were ruining her parties and had two of them removed. She ignored every rule in the house. No one dared say a word. Adrian had already made his position clear. “Lily's young. She doesn't know any better. Cut her some slack.” He was always saying she was young. Lily was seventeen. Seventeen, and she still didn't understand basic manners or boundaries? What a joke. That night, I met Luca Ferraro in my study. It had been ten years since we'd stood face-to-face like this. He hadn't changed much. The same cold expression. The same quiet eyes. He was the Head of Security my mother had left me. Ten years ago, when I put down my gun, he and twelve men faded into the shadows with me. For the past decade, he had never stopped protecting me from a distance. He dropped to one knee in front of me. “Miss Valenti.” “Are your men still with you?” I asked. “All twelve.” “It's been ten years. Any rust on the guns?” Luca looked up at me. “Your guns don't rust.” I nodded. “Now I need you to look into two things.” “First, Lily Hayes. Find out who her biological parents are and why the Bellinis raised her.” “Second, find out whether she and Adrian are really just brother and sister—or something else.” Luca paused. “Understood.” He stood and left the study. The moon was bright outside the window. Mother, you asked me to put down the gun and live a good life. I'm trying. But I can't shake the feeling that people only know how to prey on those who won't fight back.

By the second month of our marriage, Adrian had started reaching for the assets my mother left me. Eight commercial properties across the city and an investment firm. All of it had been hers. His excuse sounded perfectly reasonable. “These businesses and accounts are a lot to deal with. Let me handle them. It'll save you the hassle.” Martin Russo, who had managed my mother's finances for more than twenty years, came to see me. “Miss Valenti, Mr. Bellini says he'll be handling all the revenue from now on.” I lowered my eyes. “Let him.” Martin left with his head down, sweat beading across his forehead. Nora finally couldn't take it anymore. “Alessandra! He's gone too far! What are you still putting up with this for?” Her eyes filled with tears. “I've been with you for ten years! He's bleeding your mother's assets dry, and Lily keeps walking all over you! Why won't you fight back?” “Even if you won't do it for yourself, think about your mother!” “She asked you to put down the gun. She didn't ask you to let people treat you like a doormat!” She started crying, her shoulders shaking. I took her hand. “Before she died, my mother asked me to put down the gun and live a good life.” My voice was soft. “I'm trying.” “But they're walking all over you.” I looked at Nora without answering. Three days later, Luca brought me his first report. Adrian had diverted forty percent of this month's revenue. The money had gone into Bellini-controlled companies. There was another transfer, though. A strange one. It had gone to a man named Daniel Reed. Daniel Reed. Who was he? That same afternoon, Don Bellini unexpectedly came to see me. The Don of the Bellini family came in alone, leaving his consigliere and bodyguards outside the Valenti gates. “Miss Valenti.” His voice was tight, like a wire pulled taut. “Sit,” I said. He didn't. He simply stood in front of me, his hands clasped tightly together. “I've heard some things about Adrian's behavior at the estate lately. He's young. He doesn't always know better. If he's offended you in any way—” “Don Bellini.” I cut him off. “You're fifty-three this year, aren't you?” “Yes.” “Then you remember what happened ten years ago.” “You remember what I did at thirteen.” “And what I did at fifteen.” His expression changed. “You didn't come here to apologize for Adrian.” I picked up my coffee. “You know exactly what your son and that so-called little sister of his have been doing.” “You can't stop him, so you came here to see how far I'll let him go.” Don Bellini went pale. “Miss Valenti, that wasn't my intention. I only—” “You're afraid.” I finished the sentence for him. He stood there without meeting my eyes, sweat slowly gathering on his forehead. “Don Bellini, you should be.” I stood and walked toward him. “Go home and tell your son to rein himself in.” “My patience has limits.” He stumbled out of the estate. Nora stepped out from the side of the room. “Will he tell Adrian?” “Yes.” “Will Adrian listen?” “No.” Nora froze. “A man who doesn't even respect his own father isn't going to start listening to him now.” “Then why warn him?” I opened the ledger in front of me, my voice perfectly calm. “I want Don Bellini to know that I warned Adrian.” “So when the time comes to settle the score, no one can say I didn't give the Bellinis a chance.” A shiver ran through Nora.

I was right. Adrian hadn't listened to a single word Don Bellini said. To him, the Alessandra Valenti who'd picked up a gun at thirteen was ancient history. The woman standing in front of him now—the one who'd had wine dumped all over her and simply said she'd let it go—was nothing to be afraid of. So instead of backing down, Lily only got bolder. First, she took my armored SUV without permission and berated my driver until he couldn't even look her in the eye. Then she took the master keys from Mrs. Romano, who had served my mother for over twenty years, and sent her off to do laundry. I said nothing. So Lily became even more brazen. That afternoon, I was signing paperwork in the study. A scream suddenly came from the courtyard. It was Nora. My pen stopped. Ink spread into a dark blot across the page. I set it down and walked outside. Nora was pinned facedown across the hood of my armored SUV, one Bellini bodyguard pressing a gun to her temple while another whipped her with a leather belt. Five or six angry welts already striped her back. Two of them were bleeding. Lily stood nearby, her cheeks flushed. “I told you to give me the armored SUV and security, and you refused! Who the hell do you think you are? You're just an assistant!” The belt came down again. Nora gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound. But her whole body was trembling. Lily bent down beside her and smiled. “Go on. Why aren't you screaming? Aren't you Alessandra's precious little assistant? Call her. Tell her to come save you.” “Oh, right. She won't.” “She didn't even say a word when I dumped wine all over her. You really think she's going to save you?” The belt rose again. “Enough.” Lily turned. When she saw me standing there, she froze for a second. Then her smile widened. “Alessandra, you're here? Your assistant has no manners, so I'm teaching her some.” I didn't look at her. I walked over to Nora and crouched beside her. Her cheek was pressed against the bench as she turned to look at me. She had bitten her lip bloody. Her eyes were red, but she hadn't cried. She only said my name. “Alessandra.” Her voice was barely more than a rasp. I reached out and tucked the loose hair behind her ear. Then I saw the wounds on her back. Seven. Every one of them was swollen. The deepest had split the skin open. I touched the edge of the wound with my fingertips. Nora's body jerked. I pulled my hand back. There was blood on my fingers. I stood and looked at Lily. “Who gave you the nerve?” Lily shrugged. “She had an attitude. So I had my men teach her a lesson. What's the big deal?” “That's not what I asked.” I cut her off. “Who gave you the authority?” “I don't need anyone to give it to me.” She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin again. “Adrian said I can use anything on this estate, and everyone here has to cooperate with me.” “Don't believe me? Go ask him.” I looked down at Nora's blood on my fingertips. Ten years. Mother, I listened to you for ten years. I don't want to anymore.