CHAPTER 75: TO DESTROY MY PEACE

Everyone turned their gazes toward Sara.

She stood poised at the edge of the hall. She was radiant under the hall’s golden lights. The white dress she had chosen earlier in the day made her look breathtakingly elegant, and the striking red lipstick on her lips gave her an undeniably bold, challenging appearance.

She held a microphone in her hand, lowering it for a brief moment as her gaze fixed directly on her father.

"Sorry for being late into this event, Father," she spoke raising the microphone again, "I hope you forgive me today for not following the perfect timeline as you always expected from me."

"Before you announce the next heir of the Falcone Family, I have to tell you and everyone present here something important."

"What the fuck is she doing here?" Diego muttered and gazed at the bodyguards present within the hall.

Frida’s brow was deeply furrowed. She watched her step-sister as she tried to decipher Sara’s motives.

Marcella grabbed Adam’s arm, confusion etched across her perfectly composed features. "Honey, what’s wrong with Sara?" she whispered, watching her husband, who looked just as perplexed as she felt.

Sara waited a second, ensuring every single guest was hanging on her next words.

"My stepbrother, Diego Falcone, manipulated company assets in the past and secretly funneled those funds into his own name. An interesting finding I discovered at that time was that my stepmother, Marcella, was the one who personally helped her dear son commit this exact fraud. It would be a profound shame if Diego were to become the heir of this family, only to bring my father to ruin."

"But the past is the past," Sara continued. "Even at present, Diego is the main suspect who has been committing serious financial frauds, illegally using my name as cover for his transactions. My husband, Luca De Augustino, has himself been leading the internal investigation into these specific discrepancies as the new majority owner of Falcone Industries."

A wave of shocked whispers immediately broke the silence, spreading through the hall like wildfire.

"What makes me laugh," Sara continued, "is that Dad, you then decided to declare Frida as the next director of Falcone Industries. Sorry to say, but she doesn’t deserve that position either."

Her eyes, brimming with challenge, swept over the stunned faces of her family.

"The decision for Falcone’s leadership is no longer yours to make, Father. It is made by me, in accordance with the contract. Luca has decided to appoint one of the current board members to lead Falcone Industries."

She never wanted to do this. But this was the only way to stop her father from making the worst possible choices tonight.

"Therefore," Sara concluded, "tonight’s event holds no significance anymore. Father, why don’t you simply call it off and send everyone home, Father? The party is officially over."

Adam Falcone stood utterly frozen, his grand evening of strategic marriage and succession reduced to a spectacular failure by his own legitimate daughter.

Marcella and her kids watched Adam, who rose the mic to his mouth.

The whispers instantly died down as Adam Falcone finally spoke, "I apologize to everyone for the sudden interruption in tonight’s grand event. Please return to your homes. The event is called off."

One by one, the elite guests vanished. Soon, the vast hall was empty, leaving only the Falcone family behind.

Marcella’s veneer of composure finally shattered. She marched toward Sara, her face twisted with fury. "Sara, you’re jealous of my kids, aren’t you?"

In a flash, she raised her hand, aiming a vicious slap at Sara’s face. But before it could happen, Luca caught Marcella’s wrist.

The next second, he shoved her off. Marcella stumbled backward, her expensive gown crumpling as she fell ungainly onto the polished floor. Luca then slowly retrieved an expensive handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hand, his gesture declaring that touching Marcella had physically soiled him.

Frida rushed to her mother’s side, helping her stand, her own face a mask of shock and hatred.

Luca ignored them both, fixing his cold gaze on Adam. "I actually wanted to file an official complaint regarding Diego at the station this evening, but my dear wife stopped me," he stated, his voice laced with disdain. "Father-in-law, you shouldn’t have tried to declare a fraud as your heir."

"What the hell are you spitting, Luca?" Diego barked, stepping forward, his panic now turning into aggression.

Frida turned on Sara, her eyes blazing. "Sara, how can you stoop so low?"

Sara, utterly calm, fixed Frida with a terrifying stare. "Don’t even speak about that particular word," she retorted. "I know exactly how you told Asher, your precious boyfriend, to pursue me just to end my career. You forged my signatures through him, didn’t you? You used the man I cared for to sabotage me professionally."

Frida’s eyes widened in genuine, momentary terror. She quickly whirled her head to meet her father’s gaze, seeking silent support. "Dad, this isn’t true! Sara is twisting the truth in her favor without any evidence!" she cried out, the composure she usually maintained completely gone.

"Stay quiet all of you!" Adam bellowed finally. He then glared at Sara and said, "Have you not enough that you humiliated me in such a manner tonight? What have you become, Sara? I can’t even understand that you’re the same daughter I raised once. You don’t even care an ounce about my reputation. Do you want me dead with all this nonsense? When you got married to Luca, did you ever ask for my opinion that you’ve come here to destroy my peace?"

Adam’s accusatory gaze bore through Sara’s, who was shaken a little.

Luca wondered how Sara would handle this. But he was ready to respond on her behalf.

"Dad, didn’t you want me to marry me off to Mathias Picasso without my knowledge? What you were doing to me wasn’t completely right. You wanted to throw me into the family of..." She stopped the last word from coming out of her mouth.

"Can’t you see that Falcone Industries is still safe? The one who lost everything is me, not you! Can’t you see that?" Sara said loudly. Her eyes burned with tears as she continued, "When Diego made such a big mistake, you didn’t disown him. But you just left me. That day when I returned, you refused to let me in through the gates. What kind of reputation are you talking about when you kicked out your own daughter just because she made a deal which seemed most appropriate to her?"