Chapter 437: Baring Her Teeth
"Marshal!" Carmella shrieked as she rushed toward her husband. "Oh, my God!"
Marshal stumbled backward, one hand clutching his stiffened nape.
Several men, including members of the medical team Scott had summoned, quickly caught him and helped him onto the couch.
"My head..." Marshal exhaled. "I think I’m going to faint."
"My God!" Carmella screamed hysterically before whipping her head toward the doctors. "What are you still doing?! Can’t you see my husband is going to die?! I’ll kill you all if he does!"
The medical team flinched and immediately rushed to check Marshal’s blood pressure.
There was only so much they could do at the moment. After all, they had been summoned without any explanation.
Scott had simply ordered them to be there — just in case.
And sure enough, the moment Scott delivered the news, Marshal nearly collapsed.
"His blood pressure is high," the nurse informed the doctor.
The medical team worked around Marshal while Carmella paced back and forth.
When her gaze finally landed on Scott, she ground her teeth. Her eyes reddened with anger.
"You—!" She stormed toward him. "What did you tell him?!"
Carmella jabbed a finger against Scott’s chest with all her might.
Scott lowered his head and allowed her to vent her anger on him.
She slapped him.
Punched his chest.
Then grabbed him and shook him furiously.
"I told you Marshal shouldn’t be stressed!" she screamed. "What kind of failure did you report to him this time?! Can’t you do your job without affecting my husband?!"
Scott kept his gaze on the floor before slowly lifting his eyes.
He had deliberately told Marshal about the attacks in private. Having one medical emergency was already more than enough.
But since Carmella was asking...
Scott opened his mouth.
The moment the words left him, Carmella froze. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at him.
"What did you say?" she blurted out.
She shook her head. "No. No, no, no."
Then Carmella whipped her head toward Marshal, who remained slumped on the couch like a vegetable.
"Husband!" she screamed. "What does that mean?! You lost a billion?!"
Marshal’s chest tightened at the word "billion."
A painful reminder of how much he’d lost in a single night.
"Oh, my God!" Carmella grabbed her head as her vision spun. "No, no, no. This isn’t happening."
She reached out blindly for support before slowly collapsing onto another couch.
It wasn’t all of the Di Carpios’ wealth.
But both Marshal and Carmella knew that covering such a massive loss meant dipping into their capital.
Carmella paled as her temples throbbed.
"Check her as well," Scott ordered quietly, shooting another nurse a look. "It looks like she’s going to faint too."
The nurse turned toward the previously hysterical Carmella, only to find her as pale as a sheet. She immediately hurried over.
The medical team split into two groups, working to stabilize the couple’s blood pressure before either of them ended up in the hospital.
Eventually, one team escorted Carmella to the bedroom to rest.
She didn’t even protest anymore. She simply looked lost. Or rather, she looked like she was grieving their losses tonight.
As for Marshal, he remained on the couch after taking his medication. Once his condition stabilized, he exhaled heavily.
Then he turned toward Scott.
The anger on his face hadn’t disappeared.
"How did this happen?" His voice was low and dangerous. "Who — ugh!"
Anyone who knew Marshal understood that if Scott gave him a name, that person—whoever they were—would disappear.
Scott drew a deep breath and exhaled.
"There was a fire, sir," he answered.
"Fire?" Marshal scoffed. "In all five of my businesses?"
He ground his teeth, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Scott, however, remained calm.
"I’ve already sent reinforcements to see if there’s anything we can recover."
Even though Scott had already received the reports that there was nothing left to recover.
The five bases had been burned to the ground.
Their goods?
Gone.
Their people?
They had turned to ash along with the buildings.
A dangerous glint flickered across Marshal’s eyes.
"Who did it?" he asked under his breath.
"We’re still looking into it."
"Fucking..." Marshal scoffed, his grip on the armrest trembling with rage.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, even as every vein in his head seemed to pulse aggressively.
The Di Carpios had faced countless problems over the years. There had been times when the family had nearly been wiped out.
Times when they’d come dangerously close to bankruptcy.
But every single time, they pulled through.
This, however...
This was by far the biggest crisis they had faced in years.
"I’ll find whoever was behind this." Scott’s voice broke the silence. "You have my word, sir."
Marshal opened his eyes and glanced at him. "Did you have any idea who is behind this?"
"I’ve already started looking into the people who could’ve done it," Scott continued. "The Marcelos. The Marianos. And several others have been acting strangely lately."
"Those damn bastards." Marshal hissed and scoffed. "I knew it. It must’ve been them."
Scott quietly studied Marshal’s reaction upon hearing the names of the groups that had recently been on bad terms with him.
Just like Marshal, those people had always prayed for the other’s demise.
The only reason a war hadn’t erupted yet was that neither side wanted to suffer unnecessary losses.
Marshal might be an unreasonable man, but when his business was at risk, even he knew when to step back.
She better have done a clean job. Scott’s thoughts drifted toward Ashley.
He hadn’t mentioned her or Dominion. He hadn’t mentioned anything that could make Marshal connect Ashley to the attacks.
This was the least Scott could do to protect her from Marshal’s rampage.
And from the bottom of Scott’s heart, he hoped he wouldn’t have to meet Ashley in the middle of all this.
For now, he could pretend he didn’t know.
But on the battlefield?
Scott would have no choice but to deal with her. So, she had better make sure he never caught her.
"Look deeper into the Marcelos," Marshal hissed. "It must’ve been them. Those bastards."
His eyes darkened. "If you find out they had anything to do with this, burn them all alive."
Scott nodded and was about to leave when another guard jogged into the room.
The man stopped a few steps away from Marshal and Scott.
"Sir, we received a report regarding the attack on one of our operations."
Marshal and Scott furrowed their brows.
"One of the workers at the club overheard something," the guard continued. "Apparently, two men came in claiming they were from the Marianos."
Marshal’s face twisted with fury. Then he laughed. He slowly turned toward Scott.
"Burn them all."
Scott lowered his head. "Yes, sir."
With that, Scott turned his back on Marshal. But the moment he did, he couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from curling into a proud smile.
He shouldn’t be smiling.
He shouldn’t feel even the slightest hint of pride.
But that was his student, after all.
And that student of his was finally baring her teeth.
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