She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 782

"Who does she belong to?" one of the Colombo men demanded immediately.

Laurence replied smoothly, "A new addition to the household. A mistress."

The word mistress grated sharply against Giselle's ears. She stared at Hank, who was tightly holding a pouting Karina. "Is this your mistress? Does she always have such a temper?"

Hank's eyes were pitch black. If he showed any favoritism toward Giselle now, the consequences for her would be unimaginable. "She's just a toy," he said coldly. "She has no right to bully you."

Karina beamed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I knew you loved me. But there's no need to be too harsh on a plaything. Just make her apologize and wipe my shoes clean. That'll do."

Hank looked at Giselle. "Do as she says, and I'll spare your life."

Giselle's heart had already been torn to shreds. Not a single trace of emotion remained on her face. She asked the bartender for a napkin, bent down, and stared at the tips of their shoes. Her eyes reddened, but her resolve to leave him only grew stronger.

She reached out and wiped the spill from Karina's heels. Instantly, the woman stomped down hard on her hand. Pain flared. Hank almost lost his mind, his body tensing to pull Karina off, but Loyce stepped in first.

She yanked Giselle back and, in the same fluid motion, delivered a ringing slap across Karina's face.

"Enough."

Loyce swept her gaze across the room, her commanding presence suppressing the murmurs. She shielded Giselle and walked her away, with Nightingale and Storm following closely behind, on high alert.

"Who is that?" The crowd's attention shifted.

Laurence chuckled. "I owe my recovery entirely to her life-saving skills."

"SaintHealer?"

"She's the miracle doctor who can pull people back from the dead? She's that young? And a woman?"

Laurence nodded. "SaintHealer has a kind heart. She's been staying on our turf lately and has grown quite fond of the mistress."

A stocky man next to him scoffed, downing his whiskey. "Composure? Laurence is a sly old fox. He hands the reins to an adopted son instead of mourning his own flesh and blood. That breaks all the rules. The kid might have some tricks, but deep down, he's just a hothead ruled by his lower half. He'll never amount to anything big."

Nearby, the Colombo family's core members were having a similar discussion.

The second-in-command, Salvar—Karina's former boss—squinted at Hank as he gently comforted the woman. Salvar's face was unreadable, though his thumb absentmindedly stroked his ring.

"What do you think, uncle?" a younger man muttered.

Salvar slowly blew out a smoke ring. "The man Laurence chose can't be a complete idiot. Either he's playing the fool, using this womanizer act to make us drop our guard... or he truly does have a soft spot for Karina. Whichever it is," a cold light flashed in his eyes, "we'll have our answer soon enough."

Inside the car, Karina let Hank play with her hair. She leaned in, her voice dripping with intimacy. "What are you going to do? Your girl blew her cover. The Colombos are going to look into her. This wasn't part of the plan."

His large hand traced her neck—then suddenly clamped down, crushing her windpipe. Karina's eyes went wide with terror.

Hank's expression was purely murderous. "Who the hell do you think you are? Making her wipe your shoes?"