Bianca stood up and hid behind Antonio. She looked at me as though I were someone she didn't know—or even someone she hated.

A chill settled in my chest. Was this really the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with? Just because of Antonio's instigation, she wasn't even going to give me a chance to explain myself?

Seeing this, Antonio became even more smug. He pulled out his phone with the air of a man about to interrogate a criminal.

"You think you can leave? It's not that easy! There have been several robberies near the neighborhood recently, and the suspect's distinguishing feature is a scar on his hand."

He grinned maliciously, blocking the doorway. "I think that person is you! You're not leaving this house until you come clean!"

The air in the room felt like it had frozen solid.

Antonio's words hit like a thunderclap, scaring Mr. and Mrs. Romano out of their wits.

"He's a robber?" Mrs. Romano screamed. Then, she grabbed a plate from the table and hurled it at me. "Good grief! I knew there was no way Bianca would fall for some security guard! I bet you planned all this to seize the chance to clear your name, didn't you?"

The plate struck my shoulder, splattering food all over me. Instead of dodging, I just stared intently at Bianca.

"Do you believe I'm a robber too?" I asked.

Bianca was still hiding behind Antonio. She was too afraid to even look up.

"Enzo, you can never really know someone. Antonio runs in a lot of circles, so he's a good judge of character," she replied in a trembling voice, each word cutting deep. "Just go. I'm already showing you more mercy than you deserve by not calling the police."

I found it utterly absurd that three years of a relationship could be destroyed by a single rumor spread by some local thug.

I turned around to grab my coat.

"Who told you to move?" Antonio slammed his hand down on my coat, a twisted grin spreading across his face.

"Since you're here, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Think of it as me doing society a favor. If I let you run off today, who knows how many more people you'll go on to ruin?"

He pulled out his phone as he spoke and dialed a number.

"Hey, Fabio? Bring a few of the guys to my aunt's place. That's right—the very same wanted criminal."

I turned around and stared coldly at Antonio.

"Antonio, defamation is a crime. I'd advise you to stop while you still can."

"Oh, you're threatening me?" Antonio hung up the phone and grabbed the empty wine bottle on the table. "I've seen plenty of scum like you. You never learn until it's too late. Once my boys get here, we'll see how tough you really are."

"Antonio, quit wasting your breath on him," Mr. Romano chimed in from the side. "Tie him up first! Don't let him run off and hurt someone!"

Mrs. Romano ran to the kitchen and came back clutching a rolling pin.

The family that had been all smiles moments ago now looked like they were ready for a blood feud.

I watched it happen, and with it went the last warm feeling in my heart.

"Fine, I won't leave." I pulled out a chair and sat down. "I'll wait right here. Let's see who you've called and who the police end up arresting."

My calm demeanor seemed to shake Antonio for a second. But he quickly covered it up and pointed at me as he turned to Bianca. "See that? Textbook sociopath. He's as cool as a cucumber because he's done this a thousand times."

Bianca bit her lip, her eyes full of contempt.

"Enzo, enough with the act. If you're really innocent, why won't you show us your military discharge papers?"

"Yeah! Show us!" Antonio jeered from the sidelines.

My military discharge papers were classified as top secret. They had secret codes on them that no civilian would understand. Besides, I wasn't authorized to just show them to anyone.

I stayed silent.

But to them, my silence was as good as a confession.

"Nothing to say now, huh?" Antonio weighed the bottle in his hand, a cruel smirk spreading across his face. "Pretty soon, we're going to strip you down and see what tattoos you're hiding. The mafia loves their crosses and their saints. I bet you're no different."

In less than ten minutes, the roar of motorcycles echoed from beyond the yard.

The front door flew open with a kick, and five thugs with dyed hair and tattooed sleeves barged in.

"Boss, where's the guy?"

The leader, a heavyset guy with a fleshy face, was holding a steel pipe.

Antonio perked up immediately and pointed at me, shouting, "That's him! This guy's a wanted robber. He just tried to jump my uncle!"

"You've got some nerve pulling that crap on the boss' turf!"

The fat guy spat on the ground as his crew circled around me.

Bianca let out a frightened scream and shrank back against the wall.

Mr. and Mrs. Romano also kept their distance, terrified of getting blood on themselves.

I stood up and rolled my wrists. I was hoping to avoid a fight, but it was pretty clear I wouldn't be able to walk out of this house without teaching them a lesson.

"Last warning," I said coldly as I scanned the ragtag group in front of me. "Leave now, while you still can."

Antonio burst out laughing like I'd just told the joke of the century.

"You hear that, boys? He's still running his mouth when he's about to get wrecked. Get him! Make sure he can never walk again!"

When the fat guy swung the steel pipe at my head, he left himself so wide open that it was pathetic. I sidestepped easily, then grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

It snapped with an audible crack. He let out a gut-wrenching howl as the steel pipe clattered to the floor.

I drove my foot into the back of his knees, and he hit the ground with a heavy thud. The remaining four thugs hesitated for a moment, then rushed at me all at once.

There was no such thing as form in a fight like this.

I spent my time in the peacekeeping force facing down heavily armed terrorists, so going up against these thugs was like shooting fish in a barrel.

I pulled my punches, using only enough force to either dislocate a joint or strike a pressure point.

In less than half a minute, all five thugs were on the ground, groaning in pain.

The room fell into dead silence, and the Romano family went from looking at me with disgust to staring at me in fear.

Antonio, in particular, turned pale with fear, nearly dropping the bottle in his hand.

"Y-you're definitely trained!" he stammered, backing away. "No ordinary person fights like that! You have to be a professional killer!"

Bianca pointed at me, trembling. "Enzo, you're terrifying. Y-you actually know how to fight."

I brushed the dust off my clothes and stared coldly at Antonio. "Shall we continue?"

Antonio's eyes flickered, then he suddenly shouted, "Bianca, watch out! He's going to take you hostage!"

Instinctively, I turned to look at Bianca. In that split second, Antonio yanked a bottle of pepper spray from his pocket and sprayed it straight into my eyes.

The burning liquid instantly flooded my eyes, and the searing pain left me blind, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

I grunted in pain, clutching my eyes.

"Quick! Pin him down! He can't see!" Antonio shouted excitedly.

Seeing this, the thugs on the ground gritted their teeth against the pain and sprang at me savagely.

No man could take on that many people alone—and especially not when blind.

Someone grabbed me tightly from behind, while another kicked hard at the back of my knees. Blows rained down on me like hailstones.

I fought back on instinct, kicking two of them off. But soon, more piled on, pinning me to the ground.

"Get the rope! Hurry!" Mr. Romano's voice rang out, dripping with vengeful satisfaction.

I felt rough hemp rope biting into my flesh as my hands were yanked behind my back and bound tight.

"Drag this animal outside!" Antonio kicked me hard in the ribs, and I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

They dragged me across the floor and into the yard like a dead dog. It was snowing heavily outside, so the ground beneath me was freezing cold.

"Strip him! Let him cool off!" Antonio ordered viciously.

They roughly tore off my down jacket, leaving me in nothing but a thin shirt. The frigid wind cut into my skin like knives.

But the chill I felt in my heart was even colder than the blizzard raging around me.

I could hear Bianca saying not far away, "Antonio, don't kill him."

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Antonio's breath came in heavy pants, his voice laced with twisted excitement. "Scum like him needs to learn a lesson the hard way."

They forcibly pinned me against the ancient locust tree in the yard, wrapping rope around me until I was trussed up like a pig for roasting.

Antonio walked up to me and patted my cheek.

"Not so tough now, are you? Where's all that fight from earlier, huh?"

I spat a mouthful of blood onto his face. "If you've got the guts, just kill me."

Antonio wiped his face and furiously shouted, "Fine! If death is what you want, death is what you'll get!"

But instead of making a move, he pulled out his phone and opened a live stream.

"Guys, check this out. Today we're catching a criminal live!" He shoved the camera in my face, his voice dripping with exaggeration.

"This scumbag posed as a security guard to sneak into my aunt's house, but he's actually a mobster. He just beat up several of my guys!"

The viewer count in the live stream skyrocketed. Netizens, unaware of the truth, flooded the comments section with vicious insults.

"This guy deserves to be shot!"

"He totally looks like a criminal. Just look at those mean eyes."

"Good job, streamer! Justice always wins!"

Antonio soaked in the comments, his ego swelling with every word.

He pointed at the scar on the back of my hand and said to the camera, "See this scar? This is proof he's in the mafia. This is the mark of a criminal!"

I clenched my teeth. The cold wind sneaked in through my collar, making me shiver uncontrollably.

Yet I didn't utter a single word. Instead, I just kept my eyes locked on Antonio.

"What are you staring at?" Antonio pulled out a folding knife from his pocket and waved it around. The blade glinted harshly against the snow.

"Since this scar is proof of your crimes, how about I help you get rid of it?" he asked, grinning sinisterly. "Long ago, a warrior had poison scraped from his bones. Today, I'll scrape the wickedness from yours."

"Antonio, isn't this against the law?" Bianca asked hesitantly from the sidelines.

"Of course not! In fact, I'm being a good Samaritan." Antonio shot her a glare. "Bianca, you're just too soft-hearted. This guy played with your feelings and tried to harm your whole family, yet you still feel sorry for him?"

Bianca looked at me, then at the barrage of comments cheering Antonio on. Her gaze slowly turned cold.

"You're right, Antonio. People like him don't deserve sympathy."

Antonio grinned triumphantly. "That's more like it. Come on, light this for me. The blade needs disinfecting. Wouldn't want him dying from an infection. That'd ruin the fun."

He pulled a lighter from his pocket and handed it to Bianca.

I watched the woman who once promised to love me forever, who once said my scar was a mark of honor, now take the lighter with shaking hands. She then flicked it on and held the flame beneath the blade.

The blue flame licked at the knife's edge, and with it, the last trace of my feelings for her burned away.

"Enzo, don't hate me for this. You're the one who lied to me first," Bianca murmured, unable to meet my eyes.

Antonio waved the heated blade in front of my face. "This might sting a little, so just bear with it."

He grabbed my bound left hand and positioned the tip of the knife against the scar. "Admit that you're in the mafia!"

I looked up at the swirling snowflakes falling from the sky and screamed at the top of my lungs, "I'm Enzo Moretti, former special forces captain in the peacekeeping force. To hell with the mafia!"

"Still running your mouth, huh?" Antonio snapped furiously.

The blade sank into my skin, and blood immediately gushed out.

Right at that very moment, a thunderous crash erupted as the compound's iron gate was sent flying by an immense force, making it slam heavily onto the snow-covered ground.

Several army-green off-road vehicles burst through like enraged beasts, their blinding high beams flooding the entire yard with light as bright as day.

Before the vehicles had even fully stopped, doors were flung open. A squad of heavily armed men in camouflage tactical gear leaped out. They moved in perfect unison, bristling with deadly intent.

At the front stood a powerfully built man with a rugged, commanding face. He spotted me right away, tied to the tree with my hands covered in blood. In that instant, his eyes reddened.

A roar ripped from deep within his throat. "How dare you lay hands on Capitano Moretti?"