Having A Death Wish

Struggling weakly to his feet amidst the shattered porcelain and splintered wood, Warren Faust clutched his rapidly swelling face. "Beat him to a pulp! Fucking kill him!" he viciously screamed at the top of his lungs, demanding the guards rip Julian apart for the humiliating slap.

A dozen heavily tattooed goons, wielding solid steel batons, rushed forward in a terrifying wave of violence. Facing the bloodthirsty mob, Julian didn't flinch. He didn't retreat a single inch. Instead, he merely sneered with absolute contempt and deliberately took a single, heavily weighted step forward.

As his foot connected with the polished marble floor, Julian channeled a massive surge of his internal energy downward.

*Boom!*

The entire sprawling banquet hall violently shook, trembling as if struck by a sudden, localized earthquake. In a split second, a shockwave of invisible, devastating force erupted outward from Julian's footing. The charging mobsters were instantly lifted off their feet. The sheer kinetic impact sent them flying violently backward, their bodies twisting in the air as they let out agonized wails. They smashed brutally through multiple dining tables, completely decimating the once-pristine venue. Heavy wooden chairs shattered into kindling. Expensive crystal rained down in shards. The luxurious hall was instantly transformed into a chaotic disaster area.

Hundreds of wealthy guests watched the impossible spectacle in utterly stunned, breathless silence. They were completely unable to process how one unarmed man had just overpowered a dozen armed thugs without throwing a single punch.

Watching intently from the shadowy wing of the main stage, Vito Morello—Lucca's father and a highly experienced martial artist himself—furrowed his brows deeply. His sharp eyes narrowed as he immediately recognized the terrifying display of internal energy. He realized instantly that Julian's capabilities were absolutely not to be underestimated by mere street thugs. This was no ordinary ex-convict standing in the wreckage.

Furious at the public humiliation unfolding at his own wedding, Lucca snatched the microphone. "Damn it! What a useless bunch of trash!" he roared, completely losing his temper. The groom rushed aggressively down the stage steps, pushing past the floral decorations with a panicked Sasha trailing closely at his heels. Fearing that his hot-headed son wouldn't stand a chance against a true martial arts intruder, Vito quickly abandoned his post in the shadows and hurried rapidly after them.

Meanwhile, in a soundproofed, ultra-luxurious private room on the third floor of The Grand Sterling, William Sterling was abruptly disturbed. Even through the thick, reinforced floors, the ailing patriarch felt the heavy vibration beneath his shoes and heard the distant, echoing crashing from downstairs.

Outraged that some arrogant thug had dared to cause immense trouble at the Morello wedding and actively risk ruining the Sterling Family hotel's pristine reputation, William fiercely slammed his hand on the table. He loudly berated the sweating hotel manager standing before him. "Someone dares to make trouble here? What are the lot of you doing? How useless! Hurry up and send security over immediately to handle this violent situation before our reputation is completely tarnished!"

"I've already sent them, Mr. Sterling!" the manager stammered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

"Then why aren't you down there handling it?! Are you waiting for them to get up in arms?" William snapped.

Seeing her father's face flush bright red with fury, Jolene stepped forward. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dad, please. You're not well enough to be fuming like this," she softly reassured her ailing father, urging him to remain calm and rest. "I'll go downstairs and take a look myself." Swiftly, she left the private room to personally inspect the chaotic source of the disturbance.

Back down in the ruined banquet hall, the hotel's elite security team had rapidly mobilized. Over a dozen guards gripping rubber batons had already surrounded Julian in a tight circle, their weapons raised.

The terrified hotel manager pushed through the crowd, bowing deeply before the approaching Vito. He profusely apologized, his voice trembling. "I'm so incredibly sorry, Mr. Morello. I didn't expect someone to be so audacious as to dare cause trouble at your son's wedding. I'll have this troublemaker thrown out into the streets right away to restore order!"

"Wait!" Vito commanded sharply. He raised a single hand, completely halting the hotel guards in their tracks. His voice was cold, echoing with deeply authoritative mafia menace as he glared at the manager. "How could you possibly think of just letting him walk free when he deliberately wreaked havoc at my son's wedding and deeply unsettled all of my powerful guests? How would the Morello Family ever hold its head up in public?"

Vito's eyes locked onto Julian with deadly, unwavering intent. "Even if the boy doesn't pay with his actual life today, he absolutely must leave his hands and legs behind as a bloody warning." Asserting his absolute dominance over the territory, Vito completely dismissed the hotel staff from the perimeter. "The Morello Family will resolve this blood debt personally. You can all get out of here!"

Relieved to be off the hook, the manager nodded exuberantly and quickly backed away with his men.

Emboldened by his father's terrifying presence and the backing of his family's absolute power, Lucca stepped up. He shot pure, murderous daggers at Julian. "I don't just want his limbs, Dad! I actively want his life!" Spitting with uncontrollable rage, Lucca pointed a shaking finger at Julian. "I'm going to brutally kill you today, Julian! I promise I will make you fully understand the fatal consequences of angering a Morello!"

Without a single hint of fear regarding the graphic death threats, Julian met Lucca's enraged gaze with a chilling, mocking chuckle. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes reflecting nothing but pure disdain. Smoothly, he reminded Lucca of their tense conversation outside the venue.

"I clearly warned you earlier," Julian stated, his voice carrying effortlessly over the tense silence of the room. "I told you that you wouldn't be getting married if I attended this wedding. But you just wouldn't believe the warning." A dark, predatory smile crept across Julian's face as he asked softly, "Do you believe me now?"

"I wouldn't believe you even if hell froze over!" Lucca screamed, entirely losing his mind. Blinded by fury and completely abandoning all rationality, Lucca lunged violently forward. He swung his fist with ruthless, uncontrolled malice directly at Julian's face, fully intending to cave the man's skull in.

Julian didn't even blink. He casually raised his hand, moving with terrifying precision, and intercepted the strike mid-air. His fingers locked around Lucca's incoming forearm like a steel vice.

*Snap!*

A sickening, crisp snap of violently shattering bone cleanly split the tense air of the banquet hall. Lucca's arm instantly bent downward at a grotesque, highly peculiar angle, the bone completely giving way under Julian's crushing grip.

"Ahhhhh!" Lucca collapsed to his knees, howling at the absolute top of his lungs in excruciating, blinding pain as he cradled his maimed limb.

The entire crowd of Harrington elites stared in staggering, paralyzed disbelief. Dead silence, save for Lucca's agonizing screams, suffocated the room. Absolutely no one in the sprawling hall could fathom that a lowly ex-convict would actually dare to brutally maim the untouchable heir of the Morello Family in broad daylight.