THE BASTARD SON IS REAL HEIR

CHAPTER 7

The grand hall descended into chaos. Guests huddled in small groups, whispering frantically. Alessandro Romano stood apart, his phone pressed to his ear, his expression growing darker with each passing second.

Marco's face had gone from pale to crimson, rage overriding his shock. He shoved through the crowd toward Arjun, his bandaged nose making his fury almost comical.

"You bastard!" Marco's voice cracked with anger. "You think you can come into my home and spread lies? Ruin my engagement party with your pathetic accusations?"

Arjun stood perfectly still, his expression carved from ice.

"You're nothing!" Marco continued, emboldened by his family's presence and the crowd's attention. "A homeless dog who can't accept that he's been replaced! That everyone he ever loved has moved on!"

"Marco, don't," Vittorio warned, but his voice lacked conviction. His eyes were fixed on Alessandro Romano's back, watching the Harper representative's increasingly agitated phone conversation.

"Why shouldn't I?" Marco stepped closer to Arjun, his confidence swelling. "He can't do anything to me. Not here. Not in front of all these witnesses. He wouldn't dare—"

Arjun's hand moved faster than anyone could track.

The slap echoed through the hall like a thunderclap.

Marco's head snapped to the side, the force of the blow sending him stumbling backward into a decorative table. Crystal vases crashed to the floor, shattering into glittering fragments.

The hall fell into stunned silence.

Marco touched his face, his hand coming away with blood from where Arjun's ring had split his cheek. His eyes widened with disbelief, then filled with murderous rage.

"He hit me!" Marco's voice rose to a shriek. "He hit me again! In my own home! In front of everyone! Guards! GUARDS!"

The spell broke. The crowd erupted.

"He's violent!"

"Assault!"

"Call the police!"

"Throw him out!"

Isabella rushed to her son's side, her face twisted with maternal fury. "You animal! You absolute animal! How dare you lay hands on my son!"

"Twice!" Marco clutched his bleeding cheek. "He broke my nose yesterday and now this! He's insane! He needs to be arrested!"

Heavy footsteps thundered across marble as six security guards burst into the hall, their hands moving to their batons.

"There!" Vittorio pointed at Arjun. "Remove him! Use force if necessary! He's assaulted my son!"

The lead guard—a massive man named Ravi—charged forward, his colleagues flanking him. "You're done, punk! You think you can—"

He stopped dead.

The other guards crashed into him from behind, cursing.

"What the hell, Ravi?" one of them snapped. "Why'd you—"

"That's him," Ravi whispered, his face going pale. "That's the man from the gate."

"What?"

"The one with the Harper Group invitation." Ravi's voice shook. "The one Giuseppe is probably getting fired over right now."

The guards exchanged panicked glances.

"He has an invitation?" another guard whispered urgently. "A real one?"

"I saw the seal," Ravi confirmed. "Official Harper Group. Gold wax. Everything."

"Then we can't—"

"What are you idiots doing?" Marco screamed. "Grab him! Throw him out! He assaulted me!"

The guards didn't move.

Ravi cleared his throat. "Mr. Kyler, if this gentleman has an official invitation from the Harper Group, we cannot legally remove him without—"

"I don't care about his fake invitation!" Isabella shrieked. "He's a trespasser! A criminal! Do your jobs or you're all fired!"

"It's not fake, ma'am," Ravi said carefully. "I verified it myself. The Harper seal is authentic."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"He actually has an invitation?"

"From the Harper Group directly?"

"But how—"

"That's impossible!" Vittorio's voice boomed. "My son was disowned! Thrown out! He has no connection to the Harper Group! That invitation must be stolen or forged!"

"Shall we call the Harper representatives to verify?" Priya spoke smoothly, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "I'm certain Mr. Romano would be happy to confirm our invitation's authenticity."

All eyes turned to Alessandro Romano, who had just finished his phone call. His expression was thunderous.

"Mr. Romano!" Vittorio called out desperately. "Please, tell them! This boy has no legitimate connection to the Harper Group! Whatever invitation he's showing must be fake!"

Alessandro's jaw tightened. "We'll discuss this shortly, Mr. Kyler. First, I need to make several more calls. Urgent calls."

He turned and walked away again, leaving Vittorio standing with his mouth open.

The grand doors burst open once more.

A sharp-looking middle-aged man strode in, his suit immaculate, his presence commanding immediate attention. This was Marcus Romano—Alessandro's superior and the true Harper Group representative overseeing the partnership.

The crowd's panic transformed into relief.

"Mr. Marcus!" Vittorio rushed forward. "Thank God you're here! There's been a terrible situation—"

"Finally, someone with real authority!" Isabella interrupted. "Mr. Marcus, this vagrant crashed our party, assaulted my son twice, and is claiming to have a Harper Group invitation!"

"He's spreading malicious lies!" Marco added, still clutching his bleeding cheek. "Saying we hired thugs to vandalize graves! Trying to sabotage our partnership!"

"He's clearly mentally unstable," Giulia said coldly, her ice-blue eyes fixed on Arjun with contempt. "Probably homeless and desperate. I'm embarrassed I ever knew him."

The crowd pressed closer, eager to share their outrage.

"He threatened Mr. Kyler!"

"He's violent and dangerous!"

"He needs to be arrested!"

"His accusations are baseless!"

Marcus raised his hand, silencing the cacophony. His sharp eyes swept the hall, taking in every detail—the shattered crystal, Marco's bleeding face, the nervous guards, and finally settling on Arjun and Priya standing calmly amidst the chaos.

"Someone explain," Marcus said quietly, "what exactly is happening here."

"This man—" Vittorio gestured at Arjun with barely controlled fury, "—is my disowned son. He was thrown out two days ago for incompetence and failure. Tonight, he crashed our celebration, assaulted my son Marco, and made outrageous accusations designed to destroy our family's reputation!"

"He claims we hired criminals!" Isabella added shrilly. "As if the Kyler family would ever stoop to such—"

"He's jealous," Giulia interrupted smoothly. "I was his fiancée until I realized what a pathetic failure he was. Now he can't accept that I've moved on to someone better. Someone worthy."

"He probably stole that invitation," Marco snarled. "Or bought a forgery. There's no way the Harper Group would willingly invite someone like him!"

The crowd murmured agreement.

Marcus's expression remained unreadable. He turned to face Arjun directly, his voice cold and authoritative. "You. State your business here."

Arjun met his gaze without flinching, his voice calm and measured. "I'm here to attend the banquet, as an invited guest of the Harper Group. Unfortunately, I happened to encounter a pack of mad dogs upon arrival. Very noisy creatures. Quite aggressive. No proper training whatsoever."

The implications were unmistakable.

The crowd gasped.

"How dare you!" Vittorio's face turned purple.

"Mad dogs?" Marco's voice rose to a shriek. "You're calling us dogs?"

"If the collar fits," Arjun replied coolly.

Isabella lunged forward, her manicured nails like claws. "You ungrateful wretch! After everything we—"

"Everything you what?" Arjun's voice dropped to something dangerous. "Threw me out? Stole my fiancée? Desecrated my mother's grave? Please, do elaborate on everything you've done for me."

"You're insane!" Marco shouted. "Delusional! Making up stories because you're bitter and broken!"

"Am I?" Arjun's smile was razor-sharp. "Then why does Mr. Alessandro Romano look so concerned after his phone calls? Why are your guards afraid to touch me? Why does everyone seem so nervous all of a sudden?"

Silence fell over the hall.

Vittorio's confidence wavered. He turned to Marcus desperately. "Mr. Marcus, please. You can see what kind of person he is. Disrespectful. Violent. Accusing respectable families of crimes without evidence. Surely the Harper Group doesn't associate with such... such trash."

Marcus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Trash?"

"Yes!" Isabella seized on the word. "That's exactly what he is! Trash that needs to be thrown out with the rest of the garbage!"

"He's nothing," Giulia added coldly. "Less than nothing. A failed son from a failed relationship. Why are we even wasting time on him?"

The crowd murmured agreement, their confidence returning with Marcus's presence.

Marcus took a slow step toward Arjun, his expression unreadable, his voice dropping to something cold and precise.

"You make serious accusations against the Kyler family. You disrupt their celebration. You assault their son." He paused. "Who exactly are you to behave this way? What gives you the right?"