Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18

Chapter 178: Target for Elimination

When night fell, the shadow would disappear for a while and she could smile and laugh like there wasn’t a single burden weighing her down. However, just as surely as sunset and nightfall, the sun would rise the following morning and then that shadow of darkness that haunted her would be back.

If I had known that the love marks that I left on her skin would trigger those memories within her, I would have held back my selfish desires. I glanced over at Dahlia who was taking a nap in her seat next to me on our return flight. She must have felt tired because it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. Dahlia may have thought that her comments were nothing more than a passing joke, but to me, her words told me that the scars left on her heart remained even though the physical marks on her body had long faded.

The first time that Dahlia Alnault’s name appeared on the elimination list was not long after a scandal broke out from a social media post that she had posted. By that time, Dahlia was just as famous and well-known as her sister. It was her daring and provocative attitude that easily captured people’s attention while also exciting them. The twin sisters graced the covers of magazines and were featured on countless television programs just like celebrities thrusted into the spotlight.

One fine and regular day, Dahlia posted a photo of her almost nude upper body on social media. I can still recall the details of that photo as if I had just seen it a few minutes ago. It was a photo taken of her reflection from a mirror as she stood in front of it. The way she posed and angled her body to the side while covering her breast with her hand made the photo look artistic in a way while not showing off her intimate parts. The lack of clothing alone in the photo would have already caused quite a stir, but it was the bruises and marks on her body that caught everyone’s undivided attention.

Domestic abuse. Self-harm. Bullying and harassment. Sexual assault.

Everyone had their own version to explain the marks on her body. Some even went so far as to accuse her of faking the marks on her body with make-up with the intent to attract attention. To me, that didn’t make any sense. With the amount of attention that she already had on her, why would Dahlia need even more attention?

When a daughter of one of the most prominent noble families posted something like that, it quickly became a national scandal that made people question what was happening behind the scenes in a society that they didn’t really know anything about. The rumors about her and various theories behind what happened in that photo spread like wildfire. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long after that the photo was taken down. However, it was already too late and things had gotten way out of control. The fact that the photo disappeared without any explanation only made it look like someone was desperate to cover up the truth.

The photo that she posted resurfaced online in streams because countless people had already taken a screenshot or saved it in some way, shape, or form. For roughly a month, Dahlia was all that everyone had to talk about. Everyone demanded an explanation and for the truth to be revealed. The pressure on the Alnault family to answer to the public was immense and uncontrollable. In the end, her father caved in and had to hold a public press conference to address the rumors regarding his daughter.

“First of all, I would like to express my sincere apologies for the troubles that my daughter has caused and to also thank everyone for showing concern regarding my daughter. Secondly, I would like to directly address the various speculative rumors that have been going around related to my younger daughter. It is unfortunate that Dahlia has chosen to reveal her situation to the public in such a way but I would like to assure you that no one has been involved in causing her harm except for herself. It is truly unfortunate but the marks on Dahlia’s body are the result of self-harm. I will now hand it over to a few experts who can explain it better so that we may also raise awareness and ensure that the people who need help will receive help.”

That was all her father had to say at the conference. After that, various ‘experts’ that were undoubtedly hired and bribed especially for the event stepped in with their show. It was all very understandable now that I look back on it. Her family being the noble and upstanding family of the kingdom had no choice but to defend itself even if it meant sacrificing their youngest daughter. Given the precarious situation that her family was in at the time, her parents definitely did not hesitate in making this decision to throw Dahlia under the bus.

By declaring the cause of the marks on her body as self-harm, they could pin the blame entirely on Dahlia and deflect the blame from themselves and also any other potential third party. As someone who grew up with very similar marks on my own body, I felt confident in saying that the injuries and marks left on Dahlia’s body were definitely not a result of self-harm. If she could easily cut herself with a sharp object, why would she go to the trouble of beating herself with something blunt?

The day after the press conference, Dahlia’s name appeared on the elimination list. It seemed like physically abusing his daughter and placing the blame on her wasn’t enough. Phillip Alnault was desperate to get rid of his youngest daughter permanently.

“What are you doing?” I remember Zain asking me.

“I’m adding a name to the list,” I replied.

“Whose name?” Zain asked with an understandably confused expression on his face.

We should have been simply taking orders and the list was supposed to be something way above our authority to alter. After taking out a pen, I crossed out Dahlia’s name and then added a name to the top of the execution list in bold: Phillip Alnault.

“Send this back,” I instructed as I handed Zain the list of names.

A few days later, the list returned back to me with both names from the Alnault family removed.

–To be continued...