Antonio: Vengeance in Disguise

Chapter 5

"Enough!" Elaine snapped. "I don’t want to hear another word out of you!"

Out of Elaine’s sight, Harry’s eyes flickered with a flash of real panic, like he was genuinely worried his little scheme might get exposed.

But he quickly smoothed it over, slipping right back into that fake, pitiful expression.

"It’s okay, Elaine," Harry said, his voice full of forced compassion.

"He’s probably just furious about the divorce, lashing out because he’s got nowhere else to dump all that anger.”

“After all, he won’t be able to spend your money or live off you anymore."

"If he wants to accuse me, let him. If he wants to hit me, fine. As long as he takes it out on me and not on you, I can deal with it!"

Antonio locked his eyes on Harry.

This guy was downright disgusting.

“Accuse you?” He said to Harry, letting out a cold chuckle. “Hit you？”

Antonio shook his head in resignation.

Then, in one fluid motion, he struck. Fast, clean, and brutal.

PUM—

His fist slammed straight into Harry’s nose.

“AHHH!”

This time, Harry let out a scream that was all too real.

A sickening crack echoed through the air as his nose snapped like dry wood, blood gushing down his face in streams.

“Now,” Antonio said coolly, slipping his hands back into his pockets and taking two casual steps back, a faint smile tugging at his lips,

“That’s what it looks like when I actually hit you.”

Harry collapsed to his knees.

In that instant, the coward who'd been playing innocent finally snapped, eyes wild like he wanted to rip Antonio apart with his bare hands.

But... he hesitated. The fear flickered in his eyes. Deep down, he knew he couldn’t take Antonio.

Hell, he hadn’t even seen the punch coming.

Elaine let out a high, panicked scream and lunged forward, phone already in hand.

“How dare you do that in front of me!” she hissed. “Harry, we can’t let this lowlife get away with it—I’m calling the police!”

“And you, Antonio! Seems like you won’t rest until you’re taught a lesson. Hope you’re ready to rot in prison!”

Antonio narrowed his eyes, arms crossed, completely unfazed. He didn’t move an inch.

The one who panicked instead was Harry.

“No, no, no, that’s not necessary!”

“Elaine, let’s just let it go,” Harry said quickly. “It’s just a scratch. Not worth the trouble.”

“Your lowlife ex is probably just lashing out because he couldn’t handle sucking your blood. I don’t blame hi

There was no way Harry could let this go to the cops.

If she really made that call, he’d be the one in serious trouble.

All his debts would be laid bare right in front of the police and Elaine!

His top priority now was to stop Elaine from dialing.

But Elaine misunderstood. She thought he was being noble and forgiving.

“Are you sure, Harry? We should teach this snake a lesson!”

“It’s really no big deal, Elaine,” Harry said smoothly. “After all, I’m about to close a deal with the Bellagio Group. That’ll elevate me to a whole new level. Arguing with him would just be beneath me.”

“You done?” Antonio asked flatly. “Because if so, I’m leaving.”

Elaine stepped in front of him.

“You’re not going anywhere! You think this ends here? Harry’s too good to stoop to your level, but I will stand up for him.”

“Apologize to him. Now!”

“Apologize?” Antonio gave a cold, joyless laugh. “To him? Not a chance. He doesn’t deserve it.”

“You—!” Elaine’s fury boiled over.

She raised her hand and—

Slapped Antonio hard across the face!

“I never imagined you’d be this vile,” she spat, her voice shaking with rage. “I thought you were just poor, but at least decent.”

"You hid it well, didn’t you? You’ve been pretending this whole damn time! ”

“From everything you did last night and just now, I finally see you for who you really are! The real you is even worse than I imagined!”

“You’re despicable, pathetic, disgusting!”

Antonio touched his cheek where the slap had landed.

For a second, he looked stunned. 

Then his expression shifted into something bitter and ice cold.

“If you’d rather believe in your ‘precious perfect Harry’, then go ahead.” he said quietly, his eyes locked on Elaine’s.

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that, he turned and walked away without looking back. 

Behind him, he heard Elaine shout:

“Best you disappear for good! You lying bastard!”

Antonio didn’t waste a second on a reply. He had better things to do.

Not long, Antonio arrived at the Vena City branch of the Bellagio Group.

The building was iconic. Its towering glass skyscraper gleamed in the sunlight, a symbol of power and prestige.

Despite being just a branch company of his family, it was already one of the city’s top enterprises.

That’s exactly why Antonio found it laughable when Harry claimed he was working with the Bellagio Group.

Because this was his turf.

Antonio pushed through the grand revolving doors and stepped inside.

At the front desk, a young woman sat behind an immaculate marble counter with her polished nails tapping against the keyboard.

She glanced up briefly, and her gaze swept over Antonio’s cheap, wrinkled clothing. He had no mood to change it after what it had been today.

Disdain immediately flickered in her eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked impatiently.

"I need to see the general manager," Antonio replied simply.

The receptionist scoffed.

"Seriously? Look at you. We have a dress code. Our janitors dress better than you."

Antonio remained unfazed. "Just give her a call, she'd be glad to see me."

The receptionist let out a dry laugh, shoved the keyboard aside, and gave him a slow once-over, eyes dripping with disdain.

"This is Bellagio Group! Do you think you can just walk in and demand a meeting with the general manager?"

"Security, escort this garbage out! We don’t let beggars loiter around here!"