**TITLE: Broken by Destiny by George Orwell**
**Chapter 417: Strangle Her**
“Earlier, Mom and Maxwell went to confront her as well,” Gianna began, her voice trembling with agitation. “But she didn’t even flinch. She told Mom she was sick and cursed her right to her face.”
“Please, don’t stay angry,” she pleaded, her tone shifting from desperation to determination. “Let me handle this. I know she only acts that way because of me. I should be the one to fix it. I’ll go apologize to her myself.”
As she spoke, her words became increasingly theatrical, her voice quivering as if she were on the verge of tears, the kind that glistened in the light like a stage performance. For a fleeting moment, Gianna almost convinced herself of the sincerity of her act.
But then, Marcelo finally turned his gaze toward her. His expression was as cold as a winter’s night, his voice sharp and unyielding.
“Are you finished?”
“Marcelo, I—”
Gianna’s words were abruptly cut short, frozen in her throat as his voice sliced through the air, chilling her to the bone. A shiver ran down her spine, an instinctive warning that something was dangerously amiss.
Before she could gather her thoughts or complete her sentence, his hand shot out, clamping around her throat with a force that left her breathless.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, panic surging through her as she clawed at his wrist, but his grip only tightened, unyielding as iron. She felt like a trapped bird, flapping desperately against a tempest that offered no escape.
“You lying snake,” Marcelo hissed, his voice a low growl, simmering with barely contained fury. “Did you really think I was joking last time?”
The anger that had been brewing inside him since leaving Amelia’s office now erupted like a volcano. His pride lay in ruins, and Gianna had walked straight into the inferno of his wrath.
Gasping for air, her face flushed crimson, she felt her hands tremble as she struggled to pry him off, but he remained unmoved.
Her lips went pale, and her entire body stiffened, a grotesque reflection of her terror.
It was only when her vision began to blur and her eyes rolled back that Marcelo finally released her.
Gianna crumpled to the floor, coughing violently, each spasm shaking her frame as she gulped down air as if she had just resurfaced from drowning. The sensation was overwhelming, almost nauseating.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with her disheveled hair that fell across her face in wild, tangled strands.
Marcelo loomed over her, his gaze as piercing as a dagger. The woman he had once perceived as kind and sweet now appeared grotesque and decayed in his eyes.
“Marcelo…” Gianna croaked, her voice cracking under the weight of fear. “What did I do? Why are you doing this to me?”
Even in this moment of desperation, she attempted to sound pitiful, her tone quivering as if she were the true victim in this twisted narrative. Years of practice in deception around the Nygards had honed her skills.
A cruel smile twisted Marcelo’s lips, a reflection of his disdain. “What you did wrong? That list is long.”


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