Maria’s POV

“Welcome back, Mom!” Troy greeted me with a warm smile.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw my son after many years we’d been separated. No words could express how much I missed him.

“Oh, son. I’m glad to be back,” I hugged him tight.

For years, I have been managing family business abroad. But when Troy told me about his upcoming engagement, I immediately booked a flight back just to be by his side on one of the special days of his life.

“You have no idea how excited I am, Mom.” Rafael kissed my forehead as he guided me to his car.

After the emotional meeting at the airport, Rafael’s drive brought us to the best restaurant in the city. It turned out that my son wanted to surprise me with a grandiose meal.

We enjoyed the food while talking about the apple of his eye, Elena Santina. Elena came from a rival mafia family but Rafael insisted that she was kind and loving. My son never asked for anything until now. Just looking in his eyes I knew he loved Elena so much.

“I’m also hoping that once Elena and I get married, the hostility between our rival families will lessen,” Rafael said, showing me the pictures of his girlfriend on the phone. “Elena is the most beautiful and kind woman I ever met, Mom. You will love her, too.”

“If that’s the case, I hope you’ll love and cherish her. I’m happy now that you found your perfect match,” I told him.

I couldn’t help but smile. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. Time flew and Rafael drove me to the manor where he was living alone. I took a nap as soon as we arrived to replenish my energy.

I felt my throat dry so I decided to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water when I heard Rafael’s voice in the living room.

“What the hell? I have nobody else but you. You’re the only woman I love,” Rafael explained while holding the phone next to his ear. “Just trust me, Elena. I will never cheat on you.”

After a while, Rafael’s face turned bright. I sighed, thinking whatever misunderstanding they had must have been resolved.

“I love you, Elena. Now that I have you, there’s no point looking at someone else. I only want you. I can’t believe you thought I’d do that to you,” Rafael mumbled before ending the call.

“Is everything okay?” I asked Rafael, stepping out of the shadows.

Rafael nodded and sighed. “Elena insisted I was cheating on her! She even warned me about hurting whoever my mistress is. Damn it! Is she looking down at me? I would never tarnish my name. She can be so insensible sometimes.” He clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair angrily.

I tapped Rafael’s shoulder and smiled. “Hush, now. I’m glad the misunderstanding was resolved. Maybe she’s just nervous that someone might take you away from her. Make sure that you make her feel loved every day and everything will be okay.”

Before coming home, I arranged for someone to buy me the most luxurious penthouse in the city. It wasn’t easy to get the best but with money, everything was possible. I paid over 20 million dollars to secure the penthouse I wanted to gift Elena who’d be my family soon. I would make sure she’d feel loved in the family so she wouldn’t doubt Rafael’s love for her.

The next day, I left early and went to the salon to pamper myself. There would be a lot of people attending the party so I should be presentable in front of them as Rafael’s mother.

I was working day and night abroad so I worried that I looked tired and unpleasant. A good massage on the face and body would help me relax and loosen my stiff muscles. The salon also offered other services so I let them take care of my makeup and hair.

All I needed to do was head to the hotel where the engagement party would be held. As I walked toward the door, I saw a group of young ladies coming out of a van and entering the salon. One of them was Elena, Rafael’s girlfriend.

She was indeed a beauty. I could easily recognize her even though I only saw her in pictures. A smile curled up my lips, thinking they must have visited the same salon to get ready for tonight’s party. Without thinking twice, I walked toward them with a smile to greet Elena.

“Hello, lovely ladies. I didn’t expect to bump into you here, Elena,” I said, expecting a warm greeting from her after Rafael endlessly told me she was kind and gentle.

“This bitch… Really? You have a gut to smile at me like that?” Elena grabbed my hair while glowering at me. “How dare you seduce my boyfriend?”

Maria’s POV

I was lost for words at what Elena told me. She didn’t mistake me for Rafael’s mistress, did she?

“Wait, you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not seducing anyone—” I couldn’t finish my sentence when Elena slapped my face. I felt like my head was going to separate from my neck.

“You’re not even ashamed of yourself to seduce a younger man at that age? Of all men in this city, you’re after my rich boyfriend? You’re so disgusting!” Elena screamed at my face, still grabbing my hair.

“Just a moment, Elena. You should listen to me first,” I said.

The onlookers increased by the second and I didn’t want to see myself on the news the next day. Rafael would worry and it might affect his engagement with Elena. I tried to explain but Elena was bent to her belief that I was Rafael’s other woman.

Even I found the idea ridiculous!

“Girls! Hold that old bitch and I will show her what it means to mess with the Santinis,” Elena ordered to the others.

They quickly held me in both arms while the other taped my mouth so I couldn’t speak.

“I don’t care about anything you say. All I want is for you to admit to being Rafael’s mistress. If you do that, I will let you go and maybe let you live. But if you keep pretending and denying the fact, I will torture you right here, right now.” Elena’s eyes were filled with hate as she looked at me.

However, even if she wanted me to admit to that, I would never do it because I wasn’t Rafael’s mistress.

“Nod your head if you want to admit your sin, you hag!” Elena demanded while tightly squishing my face.

I shook my head and she tightened her grip. I could feel her nails against the tape.

“Ah! You’re not going to admit it? It looks like you want this the hard way,” Elena laughed hysterically before slapping my face left and right.

I endured the pain and shut my eyes but when I opened them again, Elena was already holding a baseball bat.

“If slapping you isn’t enough, then I’m going to strike a confession out of you.” Elena swung the bat and hit my left arm, then she did the same to my right. She continued hitting me without care that this could lead to a severe injury and kill me.

Contrary to how Rafael described Elena, the one in front of me was like a devil without a leash.

“Just admit it, bitch!” Elena hit my head, earning a grunt from me.

I could taste blood in my mouth when I bit my lip. The tape was too tight I couldn’t spit the blood, so I swallowed it.

Blood started dripping down from the wound in my head. The massage was wasted, as well as the hair and makeup. I didn’t know how could I still face my son and her devil-like girlfriend.

“This is driving me crazy. This bitch is a tough nut to crack!” Elena stripped the tape off my mouth. “Tell me, bitch. What kind of love potion did you give Rafael to even seduce him, huh? I know you’re going to say that you’re not his mistress but you can’t fool me!”

Elena took out her phone and played a video. It was taken the other day when Rafael fetched me from the airport. There were also some clips when we were hugging. Elena also played another video where Rafael and I were having lunch.

It was a VIP room in the restaurant so how did Elena manage to record those videos? Besides, I didn’t think something was wrong with my interaction with Rafael. We’re mother and son, after all.

“Are you still going to deny this, bitch?” Elena glared. Her hand holding the phone was shaking.

“Ah! Forget it. I will humiliate you today, granny! If you think you can seduce my boyfriend, you’re wrong! I will let the world know how shameful you are to ruin young people’s relationships. Do you really think that Rafael will stay by your side forever? He will get tired of your old body and you’ll be discarded!”

Elena took a pair of scissors from the van and was ready to cut my dress when I managed to open my mouth. My face was swelling after the slapping and hitting she did but I must tell her the truth.

“Elena, I’m Rafael’s mother! I’m not his mistress!”

Maria’s POV

Elena halted and stared at me for a moment. I thought she was going to listen to me after she realized I was telling the truth, but I was wrong. Elena laughed so hard while holding her stomach.

“You lying old bitch!” Elena slapped me while still holding the scissors, grazing my cheek with its blade.

“Are you saying you’re my future mother-in-law? Don’t make me laugh, vixen! You don’t even look like Rafael at all. You should have thought of a better excuse!” Elena took a step back and held out her phone. She began taking photos of me while the others who came with her also took a video.

“Stop this. Please, stop.” My body couldn’t stop shaking while the people around me started throwing harsh comments as if they knew the truth.

“Wow! An old mistress. I feel bad for the girlfriend. How can her boyfriend find someone who’s older and cheap?”

“Yeah right? Her wrinkles were even visible. She must be a slut working in the club during her younger years so she knew the art of seduction.”

Elena sneered when people started to take her side. “You heard that, bitch? No matter the angle is in this situation, you’re still the homewrecker and I’m the victim here.”

The people cheered for Elena while judging me who was publicly executed for a sin I didn’t commit. My body felt so heavy and my vision was blurry but I remained standing on my feet.

“Hah! There you go. I just posted your pictures online. From now on, wherever you go, people will know that you’re a pest in society!” Elena said, waving the phone in her hand.

“Elena, what if she’s really Rafael’s mother? I don’t think Rafael will date someone as old as her when he’s dating you so—”

Elena glared at one of her friends who tried to stand up for me. “What are you saying? My mother-in-law is still abroad. She’s probably coming tonight to attend the party. There’s no way this old bitch is my mother-in-law. She’s nothing but a vermin who uses black magic to seduce my boyfriend.”

She didn’t recognize me as Rafael’s mother. It was as if she never saw me even in pictures before.

After taking a short break from assaulting me, Elena smirked and started kicking me until I fell on my knees. She placed her foot on my face and kicked me hard, leaving her footmark on my face.

“Now, it’s going to be the best part. Girls, hold her tight and I’ll ruin her clothes for sure so that everyone here could see the body she used to seduce my boyfriend!” Elena cut my dress and ripped it apart, showing my underwear in public.

I screamed and asked for help, begging them to stop but Elena kept going.

“Ugh! So disgusting. I knew you were using some sort of black magic to seduce Rafael,” Elena commented after taking more pictures of me.

“Elena, she’s bleeding so bad. What if she died?” Her friend seemed concerned but Elena ignored her.

“Just hold her, okay? Let’s show the world her saggy chest. She’s old and her skin looks ugly. Since she’s so brave to show this to Rafael, I bet she’ll like it when I help her show her body to the world.” Elena pulled my bra while laughing as she recorded a video.

“Ew! What a pair of ugly chests. Everyone, look at this ugly bitch! She’s not even young anymore but she’s my boyfriend’s mistress!” Elena then posted the video online while raising an eyebrow at me.

“How can you be this cruel?” I whispered, crying.

Elena grabbed my hair and took another picture of me. “Stop crying, old bitch. You deserved this for what you did.”

“Stop this now or you’re going to regret every action you did,” I told her.

Elena just slapped me and said, “Drag her in the car. I’ll bring her to the party and show the guests how shameless this bitch is.”