Bargain Bride: The Billionaire’s Forced Wife

FIXING HER corporate clothes, Chiara looked at herself at the mirror. Her hair that was always free is now tied in a slick bun. She felt like a real corporate worker with her attire.

“You look fantastic, signora,” Fara complemented her while checking the schedule given by Luigi.

Chiara smiled while looking at the maid through the mirror. “Thank you, Fara.”

After making sure that she looks presentable, Chiara left the mansion. It’s been a few hours since she left Ezio under Luigi’s care, and she can’t help but to worry about his safety.

The warning the Elisa gave yesterday still echoes in her mind. His enemies are nearby. Their enemies are nearby.

Now that Ezio is still unconscious, it will be easier for them to target his company. They might also take advantage of Ezio’s situation and attack him while he was unconscious.

“Drive to Ezio’s hospital first,” Chiara told the driver while texting on her phone.

“Aren’t you going to be late for the meeting, signora?” Fara asked. Ezio’s office is almost thirty minutes away from the hospital.

Chiara shook her head. “I will just stay there for a few minutes. I have to settle some things.”

Once the car was parked in the hospital’s parking area, Chiara made her way to her husband’s room. Five guards are standing outside his room, while there are tens of them roaming inside and around the hospital.

But one man who looked out of place is also standing with guard, holding a laptop in his hand.

“Do you have the information I need?” Chiara asked as she approached Nick.

“Good morning to you, too, my friend Chiara,” Nick said with a sarcastic tone while shaking his head.

Chiara scoffed at him. “I don’t have time for greetings. Do you have the information I need?”

He smiled before nodding. That was the only answer that Chiara need. She entered the door which startled Luigi.

“Who is he, signora?” Luigi asked while pointing at the man behind her.

“My friend, Nick,” she answered. “He is a detective.”

“The best detective,” Nick boasted.

Fara couldn’t help but to roll her eyes on the man. He looks and sounds like an arrogant man, and even though he hasn’t done anything bad, he is starting to get on her nerves.

“Tell me what you discovered,” Chiara said while gently touching her unconscious husband’s face.

Nick placed the laptop on the table and showed the contents on the other three people in the room.

“I checked the faces of those men you sent. It wasn’t difficult finding them, actually,” he started and clicked something on the keyboard.

Series of texts were shown, one of those are names of people. Chiara scanned the texts and found out that it was the information of those people.

“I found a lot about them. They all came from different places, they live in different cities here in Italy. However,” he stopped for a moment before clicking a button. “They all worked for the same agency.”

“What agency?” Chiara asked.

“Hades Agency.”

Luigi closed his eyes, trying to remember where he heard that name. He can recognize it. He knew that he read or heard about it before.

“Is it an agency that provides protection? Like guards and securities?” Luigi asked.

Nick nodded his head. “Yup, but there’s more than that. That information is already outdated.”

He clicked the same button and the screen changes. “Two years ago, that agency started providing more services since their first service, giving protection, is not really making money.”

“What more services?” Fara asked.

“Illegal ones,” Nick answered and winked at Fara, making her wanted to puke. “They started using those guards and securities to be gunmen or snipers. They started accepting ‘commissions’ from clients who wanted to finish off or hurt someone.”

Chiara’s blood boiled after hearing that. She needs to find that agency and destroy it.

“That’s not all I found out!” Nick exclaimed while beaming. “I found out who commissioned these men to shoot your husband, Chiara.”

“Who is it?” she asked firmly, clenching her fists.

Nick changed the screen and a familiar face was shown. “Looks familiar?”

“Giovanni,” she whispered under her breath. She knew that they are business rivals, but he doesn’t know that Giovanni can go through this length just to win.

“He is a rival of your husband in business. It’s not surprising he will resort to something like this,” Nick said. “What are you going to do next, Chiara?”

Chiara closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths, calming herself. When she opened her eyes, Ezio’s calm face greeted her.

She cannot do any wrong move. She’s not expert when it comes to these things. All that she can do is make sure that her husband’s company is stable until he woke up, and that he will be safe.

“Find every information about Giovanni,” she responded to Nick

“What information? You know me, my friend. I want specifics.”

She looked at him. “I want you to find any information I can use to destroy him or his company. Weakness, secrets, anything.”

Nick’s eyes glistened with excitement. “Now that’s what I want!” he exclaimed. “This is going to cost you a lot, but I’ll give you a three percent friendship discount.”

He grinned before taking his laptop. “I’ll give you updates within three to seven days. Wait for my call, my friend,” he said while walking towards the door. “Bye!”

When they heard the door closed, Luigi turned his head towards Chiara.

“Are you going to attack him, signora?” he asked, preparing himself for any business war that might happen.

“No, unless he does something I don’t like,” she answered. “Fara, stay here and make sure that no one will enter aside from me and Luigi.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Fara nodded. Chiara and Luigi fixed themselves to go to the company and start the meeting that the board’s been asking.

As she stepped outside Ezio’s room, Chiara took a last glance to her sleeping husband.

“GREETINGS, EVERYONE,” Chiara said as she entered the conference room. The board members and shareholders where all confused, seeing only Ezio’s wife and not him. But they all, aside from one, stood up and greeted her back.

When she sat on her husband’s chair, she didn’t waste any second and started the meeting immediately.

“I would like to hear your concerns,” she said while looking at each and everyone of them.

A female member of the board, Anna Beneventi, spoke first. “It has come to our knowledge that Mr. Vitali was shot on his way home from Dubai. We haven’t received any updates regarding his situation. The company hasn’t complied yet to those partnership requests and clients concerns. He is needed here. Can we have some updates to make sure that everything will be settled?”

Chiara nodded at her. “I received the reports you stated and reviewed them. I also sent emails as response to some and will send more later. As of the moment, my husband cannot to any tasks as the doctor suggested for him to be fully recovered first,” she answered.

They chose not to disclose the fact that Ezio is under comatose. If they did that, she is sure that the board will be in chaos and everyone will try to threaten his position.

“However, my husband gave me the power to be in control of his empire temporarily, until he recovers from the incident,” she added, earning mixed reactions from the people inside the conference room.

An old man who is a shareholder, Rocco Ossani, chuckled and looked at her lowly. Chiara can already hear the words he is going to say.

“This is ridiculous!” he exclaimed. “A woman like you cannot handle this empire! We have to appoint a man to lead this!”

Chiara can’t stop her eyebrow from raising, as well as the other female attendees. “Care to suggest who would you like to lead this empire?”

Old Rocco grinned at her. “We need someone with years of experience! Someone who capable of leading! A man! Not a woman like you!”

“I asked you who it is, not describe what that person is like,” she spat out to the old man.

Rocco didn’t like the tone of her voice. “Watch your words, little bitch. If there’s someone here who is capable of leading, it is me! Me and I only!”

The whole conference room fell silent. Luigi, who is taking down the minutes of the meeting, stopped writing and turned his head to Chiara.

“You? With years of experience?” Chiara asked with a mocking tone. “I remember how your own company went bankrupt because your too impulsive and likes to pay ladies to make you happy at night. Capable of leading? Didn’t you make your secretary do your own job while you where cheating on your wife’s back?”

Chiara researched every information about those attendees she deemed will cause chaos in the company: those people who will question Ezio’s decision and her temporary authority.

“You know what,” Chiara spoke. “If my husband is here, Ezio would have pinned your face to the ground using his feet.”

Rocco’s face turned pale. Chiara know how he fear her husband. Everyone in the room knew how Mr. Vitali treasured his wife, and for Rocco to call him a bitch, they knew that Ezio will surely put him somewhere.

“I’ll make sure to tell my husband about it when I go home,” she added before looking back at the other attendees.

“To those who want Mr. Ossani to lead the empire, raise your hand,” she said while raising her right hand.

The room was silent. No one dared to speak. No one raise their hand, not even the old Rocco who is now gritting his teeth while looking at the ground.

“No one?” she spoke while looking at them. “Okay. Do you have any suggestions? Nominations?”

No one spoke. Actually, they don’t know who is more deserving to lead the empire for the time being. They can nominate anyone, but the worry of that person to steal the position from Mr. Vitali is in their minds.

One female shareholder, Janice Leone, broke the silence.

“It will be better for you, Mrs. Vitali, to lead the empire. As far as I know, you have experiences in handling companies. You graduated in a prestigious university. You have the skills needed for this. Besides, Mr. Vitali already gave you the permission to lead. I see nothing wrong about it,” she explained, earning nods from everyone except Rocco.

“Nonsense! A woman like her can’t lead this huge empire!” Rocco shouted at Janice.

“Sexist,” one of the male board members whispered before pouting his lips as if he didn’t say anything.

“You have no right to question Mr. Vitali’s decision. Mrs. Vitali is already accommodating the concerns and requests since yesterday. She’s doing well. Who are you to question that?” one of the male board members, Christo Rey Lauria spoke. “You cannot use her gender to judge her ability. You are a man yourself, yet you are a failure.”

That statement made Rocco’s blood boiled that he launched himself to throw a punch to Christo. Fortunately, the guards on duty stopped him on time.

Chiara tapped her own on the table, making repeating sound. She looked blankly at the old man who is trying to escape the guard’s grip.

“For someone who only has less than one percent of the company’s share, you have the guts,” Chiara told him. “I don’t even know why your hear. Your presence is not actually needed.”

Before Rocco could spat more words, the guard pinned his face on the table, as per Chiara’s non-verbal command, making his words muffled.

“Take him out. I don’t want pests in this meeting,” Chiara spoke before turning her attention to the remaining attendees, not minding the screaming old, sexist man.