Chapter 4

I sat at home with that one-million-dollar check for three days.

I racked my brain and finally figured it out.

To sterilize a mafia Don, there are three options.

One, bribe his personal doctor to drug him.

But his doc has been with him for seventeen years, and the doc's son works under him.

Two, hire a hitman to snip him.

But no hitman in Chicago would dare take a hit on a de Santis. Even if they did, they’d snitch to him immediately.

Three, I do it myself.

I would die.

All three paths led to the same destination: my death.

What Seraphina really wanted wasn't Caspian's sterilization.

It was for him to never touch another woman.

That was easy.

I stashed $900,000 into my piggy bank and kept $100,000.

Then I hit up a modeling agency in North City.

The male model was Luca, twenty-four, 6'3", jawline sharp enough to cut glass.

I handed him a hundred grand in cash and a photo of Caspian.

"Follow him. Make him notice you."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I made sure to warn him: "No touching. No crossing the line with your words. Just let him know that a man is checking him out."

Luca took the cash, his eyes sparkling.

I was very satisfied.

A hundred grand to buy out a man's future with all women.

What a steal.

Four days later, I got a call from Seraphina.

She was crying.

"Aria, get to the hospital!"

When I barged into the room, Caspian was in bed, pale as paper.

The doctor stood at the foot of the bed holding an X-ray.

"Severe blunt force trauma to the lower region, hematoma, torn vas deferens." The doctor paused. "Mr. de Santis, I have to be honest—your chances of having children in the future are close to zero."

Dead silence in the room.

Caspian looked up.

For the first time in my life, I saw the Godfather of the Chicago underworld cry.

He grabbed Seraphina's hand, wrapped his arms around her waist, and buried his face in her pregnant belly.

"Seraphina..." His voice shook. "This is my only child."

"Caspian..."

"We're having the wedding next month." He choked out. "For the rest of my life, it'll just be you and the baby."

Seraphina wiped her tears, looking over his shoulder at me.

She looked at me like I was a god.

But I was completely frozen.

This was not my plan.

My plan did not involve stairs.

"How did he fall?" I whispered to a bodyguard.

"Underground parking, B2." The guard lowered his voice. "Some guy followed the boss the whole way. The boss looked back once, then... bolted for the fire exit. Ran too fast and missed a whole flight of stairs."

My temples throbbed.

I hired a model, not a serial killer.

The hospital door was kicked open.

Cassandra stood in the doorway, dragging someone by the collar.

Luca.

Luca's face was half swollen, blood on his lips.

"Caspian!" Cassandra threw him to the floor. "You think your fall was an accident?!"

She pointed at me, her finger shaking, eyes full of hate.

"Aria paid for this man! With Seraphina's money! One whole million!"

She pulled a stack of printouts from her bag and slammed them onto the bed.

"Bank transfers! Dates, amounts, down to the cent! They wanted to end your bloodline! If you can't have another child, the one in her belly is the only heir—the entire de Santis empire would belong to them!"

You could hear a pin drop in the room.

Caspian slowly let go of Seraphina.

He leaned back against the pillows, his eyes turning ice-cold.

"Seraphina."

"No, Caspian, I didn't—"

"You get one chance." He cut her off, his voice terrifyingly flat. "Tell the truth now. If I have to find out myself..."

He glanced at her belly.

"I won't even keep this child."

Seraphina lost all color in her face.

She grabbed my arm, nails digging into my flesh, tears streaming down her face.

"Aria... say something... Aria..."

I opened my mouth.

I skimmed 900 grand out of a million.

Used the remaining 100k to hire a guy to seduce him.

How the hell do I explain that?

Cassandra yanked Luca up from the floor, shoving his head toward the bed.

"Speak!" Her voice was shrill. "Tell him exactly how much they paid you and what they wanted you to do! Word for word! Otherwise, there'll be a new concrete body at the bottom of the Chicago River tonight!"

Luca knelt on the floor, shoulders trembling nonstop.

He looked at Caspian, then at me, his eyes darting around.

"Miss Aria... she did give me some money..." He swallowed hard. "But it was so I could..."