1

Dylan froze for three full seconds before my words sank in.

He grabbed my hand, his fingers trembling.

"Do you mean it?"

I lowered my eyes and pulled my hand out of his. "I mean it."

The bedroom door flew open. My father, Vittorio Leone, the current Don of the Leone family, hurried in with my mother, Lucia Leone. Tears were already spilling down my mother's cheeks.

"Aria, I knew you wouldn't abandon your sister!"

My father put a "voluntary" donor consent form in my hands, as if he were afraid I'd change my mind at any second.

"Sign it as soon as you can. I need the hospital to prepare for the surgery."

My whole family looked at me with pleading eyes.

I took the pen my mother handed me and slowly signed my name: Aria Leone.

Once I'd signed, all three of them sighed with relief, overjoyed that Sofia would be saved.

The tension that had hung over the house finally lifted. I was no longer the cold, selfish villain.

For three months, my mother had cried in front of me every day, telling me how Enzo had once taken a bullet meant for my father and how the family would always owe Sofia a life.

My father had coldly warned me that the entire mafia alliance would look down on a selfish daughter of the Leone family.

Dylan had even frozen all my bank cards. He said the family had to cut back to pay for Sofia's medical bills. I had to get a job just to pay my college tuition.

They used guilt, shame, and cold indifference to back me into a corner with no way out.

Dylan couldn't wait. He snatched the papers out of my hand and immediately called Sofia with the good news. "Sofia! She signed! You're going to live!"

After he hung up, he was breathing hard with excitement.

He took three deep breaths before he came back to the bed and patted my shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'll find the best doctors in all of Europe. Nothing is going to go wrong."

I looked up and met his eyes. Tears welled up, but I wouldn't let them fall.

"And if something does go wrong?"

My brother frowned. "That's impossible. You've been in the hospital so many times, and you've always come through just fine."

Just then, his phone rang again, and Sofia's weak, gasping voice came through. "Dylan, I suddenly feel so sick..."

My brother's expression changed in an instant, and he turned to leave. "I'll be right there!"

My parents hurried after him, and no one noticed that my face had gone deathly pale.

Once they were gone, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I leaned over and threw up a mouthful of blood.

My vision began to darken. Before I passed out, I used the last of my strength to knock over the vase on my nightstand and make some noise.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

Matteo looked at me gravely, my test results in his hand.

"Ms. Leone, didn't you read yesterday's test results? Exhaustion and the side effects of your medication have caused severe bleeding in your digestive tract. With your clotting disorder, your condition is critical.

"I strongly recommend immediate exploratory surgery to stop the bleeding. If it continues, it will soon become life-threatening."

I asked quietly, "If you stop the bleeding and I then have an organ removed, what are my chances of surviving?"

The doctor was silent for a long time. "Less than ten percent."

"Then don't bother."

Dylan had found the new drug through other doctors. The only difference between it and my usual medication was that it had very few side effects on the kidneys.

He wanted a perfect, brand-new kidney for Sofia. He didn't care how the new drug interacted with my other medication or what it did to me.

I sent the doctor away, picked up my phone, and called Dylan.

But when the call connected, I heard my mother's excited voice. "Sofia, eat a little more. You'll have to fast before your surgery the day after tomorrow!

"Don't be scared. Praise God! The surgery is going to work!"

I quietly hung up.

By now, they had to know I'd passed out, but not one of them had come to see me.

My phone buzzed. Sofia had sent me a photo.

It showed my parents and Dylan gathered around her bed. Underneath, she'd written:

"Aria, I'll live on in your place as the daughter of the Leone family."