She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother Chapter 481: Playing with Fire(2)

The grand doors of the Crystal Ballroom slammed open with a thunderous bang.

Marcus stood at the entrance, chest heaving, eyes burning with pure rage as he took in the scene — Sophia holding her reddened cheek, Tyler’s hand still raised, and Robert frozen in shock.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" Marcus roared, his voice echoing like thunder through the ballroom.

Robert and Tyler froze, staring at him in utter disbelief. ’How the hell was Marcus here at the perfect moment? The timing was too precise.’

Robert’s mind raced. His eyes darted to Sophia, then back to Marcus.

’This must be her plan...’ The realization hit him like a gut punch. ’Or maybe they’re both in on it... But why? What the fuck is really going on?’

Before he could process it further, Sophia burst into tears.

Her perfect smoky makeup began running down her cheeks as she ran toward Marcus, throwing herself dramatically into his arms.

"Marcus!" she sobbed,"Thank God you came... I was so scared!"

She clung to him, crying hysterically... exactly the way she knew worked best on him. Big, dramatic tears. The helpless, fragile victim act she had perfected over the years.

"They... they’re monsters!" she cried, voice breaking. "I thought they were our friends... I called them here as friends! I just wanted them to check if everything was perfect for our marriage announcement. I wanted to surprise you, baby... but they... they turned into animals!"

She looked up at Marcus with tear-filled eyes, trembling.

"I told them I was going to marry you... and they still tried to force themselves on me! They called me a slut... said I had to get fucked today whether I wanted it or not! Your best friends, Marcus... they’re snakes! Criminals wearing the mask of friendship!"

Marcus’s entire body shook with fury. His jaw clenched so hard it looked like it might break.

The girl he loved was crying in his arms, cheek swollen from a slap, and the ones responsible were supposed to be his brothers.

Tyler, still lost in anger and denial, completely snapped.

"You fucking bitch!" he screamed, pointing at her. "Stop acting! You sent us the message yourself. You were teasing us the whole time, wearing that slutty dress, touching us, whispering in our ears! Don’t play the innocent victim now!"

He fumbled desperately for his phone, hands shaking with rage.

"Look! I’ll show you the messages! She literally invited us here to fuck her!"

Robert’s face paled. He shook his head, stepping back. ’This idiot...’

He knew they were finished.

"Tyler, shut the fuck up!" Robert hissed, but it was too late.

Sophia cried even harder, burying her face in Marcus’s chest.

"See? Even now they’re lying! Robert was the worst... he grabbed my waist, said he wanted to ’taste my body’ and ’make love’ to me right in front of you! He’s the real predator!"

Marcus gently pushed Sophia behind him protectively. His eyes were bloodshot, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

He started walking toward them slowly, like a predator stalking prey.

Robert’s heart hammered in his chest. He still believed he could talk his way out of this.

"Marcus, listen to me for once!" Robert pleaded, raising both hands in surrender. "I’ve been your friend for years, man. I would never do anything like this. Just listen to me..."

Marcus didn’t stop. His voice came out dangerously low, cold and filled with contempt.

"I’ve been suspicious of you two for days," he said, eyes locked on them like daggers. "The way you looked at Sophia... those little comments behind my back... I knew something was wrong. I never thought you’d actually have the balls to try this."

He stopped a few feet away, radiating pure fury.

"But now? I see exactly what you are."

Tyler tried to backpedal, still shouting, "She’s lying, man! She’s the one who—"

Marcus didn’t listen to a single word.

The betrayal cut deeper than anything. These were the people he had called his best friends for years... the ones he trusted with his life.

And now they had dared to put their hands on his woman.

"You bastards..." Marcus growled, voice trembling with rage. "You touched my girlfriend?!"

He exploded forward like a beast unleashed.

BOOM!

His first punch slammed into Tyler’s chest with terrifying force. Tyler flew back several meters, crashing hard into a velvet couch.

Robert tried to raise his hands. "Marcus, wait! Listen to me—!"

Marcus didn’t wait. A brutal roundhouse kick smashed into Robert’s ribs, sending him crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

Robert coughed blood, eyes wide in pure shock as he struggled to stand.

"You... you already awakened...?"

Marcus cracked his knuckles, his aura flaring with raw power. A faint golden energy shimmered around his body.

"It’s been a week," he said coldly. "While you two were busy plotting to fuck my girlfriend behind my back, I was training like hell. Looks like you backstabbing bastards will be my first real test subjects today."

Tyler and Robert slowly pushed themselves up, breathing heavily.

Tyler wiped blood from his mouth and laughed bitterly.

"It’s not like only you awakened, you arrogant prick!" he shouted. "We awakened too!"

Both Robert and Tyler slowly stood up together, breathing heavily but acting as if the brutal hits they had just taken were nothing more than light slaps.

Marcus looked at them for a moment, then shook his head in disappointment.

"So what?" he sneered. "Even if you awakened, you don’t have the purity I do. You’ll never reach my level. Traitors like you don’t deserve power."

Robert stepped forward, raising his hands in a desperate attempt to calm things down.

"Marcus, please... we can still talk this out. This is all a misunderstanding—"

"SHUT UP!" Tyler roared at Robert, completely losing control. "Do you think we can still talk our way out of this?!"

He spun toward Marcus, eyes burning with rage.

"I always considered you my best friend, but I never thought you’d hit us for a fucking whore like her!"

He pointed at Sophia with pure hatred.

Robert sighed in an apologetic tone, though his eyes were calculating. "I’m only doing this to calm you down, Marcus..." he said, preparing himself.

But Marcus was done talking.

He attacked again — faster and more vicious than before.

CRACK!

A devastating elbow strike slammed into Tyler’s jaw. Tyler staggered backward, barely keeping himself from falling. His vision blurred, but he forced himself to stay on his feet.

At the same time, Robert tried to sneak behind Marcus for a cheap shot.

Marcus didn’t even turn around. He grabbed Robert’s incoming arm mid-strike, twisted it brutally, and hurled him across the ballroom like a ragdoll. Robert crashed into a marble pillar with bone-jarring force.

Marcus then turned and kicked Tyler square in the chest, sending him flying several meters until he smashed into the silk-covered couch.

Both of them groaned on the ground, struggling to get up.

"Let me clearly remind you of the difference in status between us," Marcus said coldly, his golden aura flaring brighter as he charged at them again.

Marcus dominated them completely. Every punch, every kick was filled with years of suppressed rage. He beat them mercilessly, cursing as he went.

"You call yourselves my brothers?!"

BAM!

"A real friend would rather die than touch my woman!"

He grabbed Tyler by the collar and slammed him into the marble floor repeatedly.

"You pieces of shit don’t even deserve the air you breathe! Disloyal dogs like you will never come out on top. This is exactly where you belong — beneath my feet!"

Sophia stood a few steps away, still crying beautifully with tears streaming down her face... but her eyes were shining with dark satisfaction. A small, hidden smile played on her lips as she watched the three men destroy each other.

’Perfect,’ she thought. ’Exactly as planned.’

Robert tried one last time to speak while coughing blood, but Marcus silenced him with a devastating uppercut that sent him flying again.

After delivering the final brutal blows, Marcus stood tall amid the wreckage of the once-beautiful ballroom. His chest heaved with heavy breaths as he turned away from the broken bodies of his former friends.

He walked back to Sophia, who immediately burst into fresh tears the moment he approached. She rushed forward and pressed herself tightly against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably as her arms wrapped around him.

"M-Marcus..." she cried, voice muffled against his shirt, tears soaking the fabric. "I was so scared... I thought they were really going to..."

Marcus wrapped his strong arms around her protectively, one hand gently stroking her long hair while the other rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"Shhh... It’s okay now, baby," he whispered softly, kissing the top of her head. "Everything is fine. I’m here. No one is going to touch you ever again."

He glanced over his shoulder at the two bloodied traitors lying on the floor and gestured toward them with disgust.

"This is what happens when someone keeps an evil eye on what’s mine," he said, his voice low but firm. "They thought they could take you from me... but they forgot who they were messing with."

Sophia sniffled, nodding against his chest, still playing the fragile victim perfectly while hiding her satisfied smile.

Marcus raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Almost immediately, the grand doors opened again.

Two burly, well-built men in dark suits entered... clearly awakened and loyal to Marcus.

"Get them out of here," Marcus ordered coldly. "Use the backdoor. Let’s not make a scene today. Dispose of them quietly for now."

The two men nodded without a word.

They grabbed the groaning Robert and Tyler by their collars and dragged their battered bodies across the marble floor, leaving trails of blood behind as they hauled them out through the rear exit.

Marcus held Sophia tighter, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"It’s over now," he murmured. "You’re safe with me."