My Husband Tied Me Up at My Own Birthday Party—Then My Five Brothers Arrived

The temperature in the Cole ballroom seemed to drop ten degrees. Dominic Moretti didn’t raise his voice, yet every billionaire, politician, and socialite in the room instinctively took a step back. Behind him stood his four brothers: Matteo, adjusting his leather gloves with clinical detachment; Luca, fixing Adrian with the cold, calculating glare of a prosecutor eyeing a death-row inmate; Gabriel, already tapping silently into a handheld tablet; and Nico, whose sharp eyes were catalog every exit, guard, and security camera in the building.

Adrian tried to puff out his chest, though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. “Mr. Moretti—Dominic. This is a private matter. A domestic dispute. My wife—Elena—disrespected a guest, and—”

Crack.

Matteo didn't even break his stride as the back of his hand caught Adrian across the jaw with the force of a hydraulic press. Adrian staggered backward, crashing into the champagne tower. Glass shards exploded across the marble floor, and champagne cascaded over his designer suit like cheap foam.

“Domestic dispute?” Matteo murmured smoothly, stepping over a shard of crystal. “You tied our sister to a beam and whipped her thirty times for spilling wine? In our world, Cole, men who raise a hand to a Moretti don't get a dispute. They get dismantled.”

Vanessa shrieked, dropping to her knees as Adrian groaned, spitting blood onto the pristine floor. Margaret Cole lunged forward, her face purple with rage. “Do you know who we are? We built this city! Richard Cole’s construction empire owns half the state legislature! You thugs can’t just walk in here—!”

Richard Cole, the patriarch of the empire, finally stepped forward, his face flushed with indignation. “I’m calling the police! This is trespassing and assault!”

Nico pulled a sleek smartphone from his pocket, tapping the screen twice before holding it up. “Police? Chief Miller is currently being read a federal wiretap transcript of his offshore accounts—accounts that Gabriel flagged twenty minutes ago. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for sirens, Richard.”

Gabriel looked up from his tablet, his glasses reflecting the chandelier light. “As for your construction empire, Richard? Your government contracts require full compliance with federal labor and environmental standards. As of three minutes ago, my team filed injunctions on every single active site you own. By Monday morning, every municipal inspector in the tri-state area will be crawling through your foundations.”

Elena walked slowly toward her brothers. Dominic immediately shed his heavy overcoat, draping it gently over Elena’s shoulders to shield her back, his jaw tight as he felt the stiffness in her posture.