Chapter 3 The Third Man
After throwing away the ring, I felt much lighter.
But occasionally, I felt empty inside.
Two days later, Gale said he'd found a new place and we could start moving.
"Bella, are you really going to live alone?" Gale asked me for the third time.
"Yes, I'll be fine on my own." I was pretty helpless - not just Gale, but Brian had asked me several times too.
"You guys bought four townhouses right next to each other. It's just a few minutes' walk to visit each other. Don't worry."
Gale patted my head. "Alright, I have to get back to the office now. Let Brian help you move. By the way, Lucas has been investigating you these past few days."
"Really?" I smirked. "What did he find out?"
Gale snorted. "If I don't want him to find anything, he won't find anything!"
Shortly after Lucas and I got married, Gale came to Starstream City. Using the money my parents left behind, he opened dozens of casinos of various sizes in Starstream City, quickly gathering funds to invest in the city's tourism industry, building a hotel empire at an incredible speed.
Currently, thirty percent of all hotels on the island are under Gale's name. Among them, the Platinum Haven Hotel - standing in the city center with 166 floors - has become a landmark of Starstream City.
As Gale's business grew rapidly, the assets under my name also accumulated to an amazing amount.
I had originally decided to tell Lucas the truth about my background, but he asked me for a divorce first.
Gale said, "Next week is your birthday. We'll hold a grand party and announce your identity to the whole city."
"Okay, I'll go with whatever Gale arranges." Gale wanted to hand over the hotels to me while he stayed behind the scenes to focus on managing the underground casinos.
I was kind of looking forward to seeing Lucas's expression when he saw me at next week's birthday party.
"Bella, about Amelia - what do you think?" Gale paused and exchanged a glance with Brian.
"She was originally the illegitimate daughter of Kirk Gambino, the previous leader of the Gambino family. She also has a younger brother. Her mother was a homewreck - she pushed out Kirk's wife and even got Kirk to change his will before he died, leaving all his property to the three of them."
I thought for a moment. "Is the current leader of the Gambino family Kirk's brother?"
"Right." Brian nodded, clenching his fists. "Kirk died two years ago. During his lifetime, he controlled two-thirds of the family business, and it all went to those three. Amelia is living pretty well off Kirk's inheritance. But - we all know how Kirk got that money!"
My expression turned cold. The Gambino family had taken over our family's assets. What Amelia was spending now was actually the money Mom and Dad left for me and my brothers!
"And she's interfering in your relationship with Lucas," Brian sneered, making a throat-slitting gesture at me. "Want to take her out before she goes back to Dawnharbor?"
"If she dies, the money won't come back to us." I slowly shook my head. "Let her live. I'll get back what belongs to us, bit by bit!"
Gale and Brian nodded with smiles.
"Gale, Brian, where's Marcus?" I hadn't seen my third brother Marcus Sorelli these past few days and couldn't help worrying.
"He's..." Gale sighed. "He's on an assassination mission. Don't worry, he'll definitely be back before your birthday."
Gale clearly didn't want to say more, so I stopped asking and headed to the new house with Brian.
Gale picked the house. The advantages go without saying, but the only downside was that Amelia had also taken a liking to a house in this neighborhood!
Lucas was helping Amelia move, and we ran right into them.
The Starstream City was too small!
Lucas saw me and Brian, and his expression darkened.
"Bella, I gave you a house." Lucas meant I should be living there, not here.
"She doesn't need your house." Brian put his hand on my shoulder, deliberately letting Lucas see how close we were. "Since you both signed the divorce agreement, when are you registering the divorce? I checked with the court - you haven't submitted the divorce application yet?"
Brian's words made Lucas's face look terrible.
I was also a bit confused - Lucas still hadn't submitted the application?
"If you're too busy, I happen to be free. I'll go to the court tomorrow to submit the application," I offered.
"No need." Lucas refused. "I'll go to the court today."
"Lucas." Amelia came out of the house. "Why aren't you coming in? What are you doing out here?"
Amelia saw me and was stunned for a moment, then unhappily demanded, "Why are you here? Are you deliberately trying to get Lucas's attention?"
Brian laughed dismissively, put his arm around me and walked forward, deliberately saying loudly, "What bad luck! Being neighbors with them - even the air stinks!"
Behind us came Amelia's surprised voice. "They're living here too?"
I couldn't hear what Lucas said. Brian and I walked into my townhouse. Brian lost his earlier arrogance and asked gloomily, "Should we move somewhere else?"
"Why should I move? If they can't stand living here, let them move." I said calmly.
The luggage I saw earlier was only Amelia's, not Lucas's. I didn't expect that Amelia and Lucas weren't living together.
But Amelia suddenly coming to Starstream City might be for some family business, and living with Lucas probably wouldn't be convenient for her activities.
Brian suddenly asked seriously, "Why hasn't Lucas submitted the divorce application? Does that jerk not want to divorce anymore?"
"That's impossible." I thought Brian was overthinking it. "Lucas has liked Amelia for many years. If he doesn't divorce me, how can he marry Amelia?"
Brian snorted. "Who knows what he's thinking. Even after submitting the application, you have to wait a month before the divorce is official. I'm afraid he'll change his mind after finding out about your identity."
"He won't."
Brian was still worried. "Bella, if Lucas wants to get back together..."
"Unless he finds the ring he threw into the sea, I won't get back together with him." With this, Brian was finally satisfied.
Two days later, Brian said Lucas had submitted the divorce application and told me not to worry.
That night I was lying in bed about to sleep when I heard someone ring the doorbell.
I got up and went downstairs. Through the video doorbell, I saw there was no one outside the front door.
Just as I was thinking it might be a prank, I turned around and saw a man dressed all in black standing outside the living room's floor-to-ceiling window.
I jumped. "Marcus?"
I quickly opened the window to let Marcus in. "How did you get here?"
"Climbed over the wall." Marcus frowned. "This house is too unsafe. Why didn't Gale arrange bodyguards for you?"
"The bodyguards won't arrive for another two days." After all, my divorce was very sudden, and Gale had no advance preparation.
"Marcus, are you hurt?" I smelled blood on Marcus.
"Just a small injury." Marcus said expressionlessly.
I looked at him disapprovingly. "Take off your clothes. Let me check."
I used to be a medical student - I wouldn't feel at ease without checking the wounds myself.
Marcus took off his shirt, and under my stern gaze, he took off his pants too.
There were wounds on his chest, back, and thigh. The wound on his leg was bleeding.
I felt terrible, but Marcus seemed a bit embarrassed about being naked.
I rolled my eyes. "I've seen hundreds and thousands of bodies. What are you embarrassed about?"
I got a blanket for Marcus to cover himself with. Suddenly there was a loud bang outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
I looked up to see Lucas standing outside.
He punched the glass, his eyes burning with rage. "Bella! This is the third man!"