Luciano arrived at Hasten Club, followed by Berry. He seemed familiar with the place as he walked straight toward the private section.
Upon arrival, they found two young men seated there, and Berry greeted them.
"Mr. Kane, Mr. Murphy."
The two men looked up, surprise flashing across their faces.
Kane and Murphy were brothers from the Daniel family—a family that specialized in gold mining and owned the largest gold mine in the country. They were also Luciano's friends.
"I wasn't expecting you to come," Murphy said.
Luciano hadn't planned to come, but he changed his mind because he needed something from them.
"Sit here, Luciano," Kane said, patting the seat beside him.
Luciano sat down while Murphy ordered more drinks.
When the drinks arrived, Luciano picked up a glass and sipped calmly.
"I want to make a ring," he said.
Murphy cast him a knowing glance. "I knew you came here for a reason."
"What do you need a ring for?" Kane asked.
"I got married," Luciano replied simply.
"Oh," Murphy nodded as he drank from his glass. But as his mind processed the words, he choked and began coughing violently.
"You what?!"
Luciano didn't even glance at him. He wasn't going to repeat himself.
Kane set down his drink. "Seriously?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
A hint of disbelief flashed across Kane's face.
Murphy was still coughing, trying to speak between breaths, but no one made a move to help him.
Just then, Berry received a message. He checked it, and a frown appeared on his face as he turned to Luciano.
"Boss, you're on the news."
Luciano remained calm. There was no reason to react—he had been on the news countless times.
"What is it?"
Berry stepped closer and showed him the screen.
It was a picture of Luciano and Estrella leaving the courthouse with their marriage certificate, Estrella clinging to his arm.
Luciano smirked. This was exactly the effect he wanted. He had deliberately moved around with heavy security to attract media attention. Making the marriage public would make it more believable to his grandfather.
But the next image made him frown.
It was a picture of Estrella working at the café.
The headline read:
"Mr. Luciano's wife working as a waitress. Is the marriage real or fake?"
Murphy had already moved closer to see the screen, while Kane leaned over to look.
"You really got married?" Kane asked.
He had thought Luciano was joking.
Murphy said in a betrayed tone, "How could you get married? You broke the brothers' code! Didn't we agree never to get married?"
Luciano ignored them and turned to Berry.
"Find out which media outlets published this."
Berry nodded.
Luciano leaned back in his chair. "Why is she still working as a waitress? The money I gave her is enough to start a company."
At another corner downstairs, Estrella sat with Stella, sipping their drinks.
"It feels like forever since we last had a drink," Stella said, stretching her arms.
"You can say that again," Estrella replied, taking another sip.
As they chatted, someone tapped their table. They looked up to see a middle-aged man with a large build.
"Hello, ladies. Care to have a drink with me?" he said with a grin, showing off his gold chain.
His gaze lingered on Estrella's face.
Stella scoffed. "Who would want to drink with you? Your face alone makes me want to puke."
The man's smile disappeared. "How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am?"
"Do we look like we care?" Stella shot back.
Estrella remained silent. She felt he wasn't worth her attention.
The man raised his hand to hit Stella.
Before he could act, Estrella stood up and threw her drink at his face.
"Who gave you the right to hit her?" she said coldly.
The man stared at his soaked clothes in disbelief. "You threw a drink at me?"
"So?" Estrella replied.
A group of bodyguards stepped out from the shadows and stood behind him.
"Boss?"
The man smirked. "Capture this one," he said, pointing at Estrella. "Tie her to my bed."
Then he looked at Stella.
"And this one… tie her up. I'll decide what to do with her later."
Stella froze but quickly stepped in front of Estrella.
"Don't you dare touch her!"
The bodyguards continued advancing.
Panicking, Stella blurted out the first thing that came to mind—
"She's Luciano Banks' wife!"