Etangled By Casanova

"What are you going to do, Vale? You can't kill me! I'm your father!" Lukas challenged Valerie. He refused to die at the hands of his stepdaughter.

His life should have improved after he handed Valerie over to James, but instead, Lukas ended up being imprisoned by an old man who protected Valerie. Lukas still wondered who that old man was-someone powerful enough to help and shield Valerie from James.

"Father?" Valerie laughed with bitter sarcasm. "Stepfather! You're not even worthy of that title, Lukas! Besides, you murdered my mother-so why shouldn't I kill you?"

Lukas froze. He could do nothing. His eyes darted around, realizing everything was against him. The old man stood there, merely a spectator between Valerie and Lukas.

"Ah, you must be wondering who the grandfather standing behind me is," Valerie said again.

Valerie wanted Lukas to regret destroying what was most precious to her-her mother and herself. If only they had lived like a proper family, perhaps it would not have ended this way. But Valerie deeply resented Louisa for choosing to marry Lukas, a decision that had brought them nothing but misery.

"This is my grandfather, Smith. Smith Russel!" Valerie added.

Lukas went pale. He never imagined Valerie was a descendant of the Russel family. Had he known from the beginning, perhaps he could have exploited Valerie and Louisa.

"Russel? No! That's impossible!" Lukas shouted in disbelief.

If it was true, then Lukas was standing on the edge of a cliff. Powerless, his life now rested entirely in Valerie's hands. He looked at Valerie in fear, then at Smith, who wore a cold, mocking smile.

Should he beg for mercy?

But begging his stepdaughter was impossible. Lukas knew Valerie's hatred for him ran deep-not only because of Louisa's death, but also because he had sold Valerie to James.

Valerie raised the pistol in her hand, aiming it straight at Lukas. The stepfather stumbled backward, hoping to escape the fury of a woman whose future he had destroyed.

"You won't escape my punishment. Even death is too light a sentence for you. But I don't care, as long as I never have to see you in this world again!"

"No! Vale... you-you won't really kill me, will you?" Lukas pleaded, his voice filled with desperate hope.

Valerie smiled coldly. Her mother's husband still thought she was merely threatening him.

"Goodbye, Lukas. Go to hell!"

Click.

One pull of the trigger rang out sharply. Lukas died instantly, the bullet striking him square in the head. His body collapsed as fresh blood poured from the wound.

Valerie stared blankly at him. There was no pity, no hesitation over having taken a life. Whatever she once felt seemed dead-there was no empathy left within her. She turned and walked away without a single word, not even to the grandfather she had just met.

"Dispose of the body. Make sure there are no traces left," Smith ordered his men.

Smith watched his granddaughter's back as she slowly walked away. He understood what Valerie had endured-anger, vengeance, and isolation.

Yet upon meeting her, he saw that Valerie now possessed the strength to stand again and retaliate against those who had hurt her. Smith felt both pleased and afraid of the woman Valerie had become.

Would this be dangerous-or beneficial?

Whatever the outcome, Smith knew he could only support her. Valerie was the sole heir of the Russel family.

Meanwhile, James had just received information about Valerie. The man laughed loudly, as if it were the most amusing-and most delightful-news he had ever heard.

James learned that Valerie was, in fact, the only heir of the Russel family.

"Make sure this information is correct. If you're wrong, I'll kill you one by one!" he threatened.

The happiness on James's face hardened as he spoke to his men. He refused to let that joy turn out to be nothing but empty talk.

"No, Sir. We've verified it repeatedly. We were quite shocked by the information ourselves."

James laughed again. He was pleased to know that Valerie came from a powerful background-not the daughter of a poor man drowning in debt like Lukas.

"I will make her my wife! If anyone disagrees or stands in my way, I will eliminate them-even if it's Smith!"

"Valerie... you belong only to me!"