Chapter 2

The black sedan idled at the curb, windows tinted so dark nothing inside was visible. When I opened the rear door, the scent of sandalwood and old money wrapped around me — sharp, clean, nothing like the grease and bleach of the diner where I’d worked the night shift. The woman waiting there was striking in a tailored crimson suit, her dark hair pulled back in a severe, elegant knot. She looked me over once, then nodded.

“Get in, Seraphina.” Her voice was low, smoky, and left no room for argument. “We don’t have time to loiter.”

I slid onto the leather seat, the door clicking shut with a sound that felt like a seal closing. The car pulled away instantly, merging into Manhattan traffic as if it belonged there — as if it owned the lanes.

“Who are you?” I asked, my hand resting unconsciously over my stomach. “You said my family. You said the Romanos. I’ve never heard that name before.”

She extended a hand. “Elena Voss. Your mother’s cousin. And the head of Romano security.” She waited until I shook her hand — her grip was firm, calloused at the knuckles — before continuing. “Your parents were Julian and Lila Romano. They ran the largest criminal organization on the East Coast — legitimate empires, yes, but also… things the law never sees. Five years ago, they were murdered. Their empire was swallowed by enemies. And you — you were hidden, kept safe, told nothing, until you were old enough to survive the truth.”

My head spun. “Hidden? By who? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Because the people who killed them were still watching.” Elena leaned forward, her gaze intense. “And because the same conspiracy that took your parents also targeted the Thornes. Alexander’s father didn’t die in a car crash, Seraphina. He was murdered, too. Both families were set against each other — while the real enemy picked the bones clean.”

I stared at her. “Alexander said his father’s accident—”

“A lie. Just like the lie that your parents were ruthless monsters who deserved to die.” She pulled a thick manila folder from the seat beside her and handed it to me. “Everything you need to know is in here. Birth certificates, financial records, letters from your mother to you. Proof.”

I opened it with trembling fingers. The first document was a birth certificate — my name, my parents’ names, a seal I didn’t recognize but that felt heavy, official. Beneath it, a photograph: a little girl with my eyes, sitting between a man and woman who looked at her like she was their whole world. My throat tightened.

“Why now?” I whispered. “Why find me now?”

“Because the silence broke three weeks ago.” Elena’s expression darkened. “Signals, messages — old enemies are moving again. And because you’re pregnant.” She glanced down at my hand, still pressed to my stomach. “The blood doesn’t just run in you, Seraphina. It runs in him, too. And whoever is pulling the strings knows it. They’ll hunt that child. They’ll hunt you.”

Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through me — but beneath it rose something else. Anger. Purpose. “So what do I do?”

“Survive. Learn. Grow strong enough to take back what’s yours.” She gestured to the city passing outside — lights, skyscrapers, power that I’d only ever watched from below. “The Romano name carries weight. Fear. Respect. But right now, it’s sleeping. You are the only one who can wake it up.”

I looked down at the birth certificate again. Julian & Lila Romano. Parents. I thought of Alexander’s words — weak, human, nothing — and of the way he’d turned his back while the room laughed. If I was nothing, then why had they hidden me? Why were they afraid of me?

“When do I start?” I asked quietly.

Elena smiled — a flash of sharp, proud teeth. “Good. We leave the city tonight. For a safe house in the mountains. There you’ll learn everything — the family’s history, the business, the power that runs in your blood. You’ll train. You’ll study. And when you come back…” She paused, her voice dropping to a dangerous purr. “You won’t be the waitress he rejected. You’ll be the heiress he never saw coming.”

The car slowed as we approached the private airfield. Through the window, I saw a sleek private jet waiting on the tarmac, its engines already idling. Elena opened the door.

“Your life as Seraphina Cole ends tonight. When you step onto that plane, you become Seraphina Romano.” She stepped back, giving me space. “The choice is yours. Walk away, and we’ll disappear. But if you come with me… you’ll never be powerless again. And you’ll be able to protect your son with everything you are.”

I looked back — toward the city, toward the Thorne Hotel, toward the man who’d broken my heart and my pride in front of everyone. I thought of the life I’d planned — waitressing, saving up, a small apartment, a quiet baby. It was gone. It was never mine to have.

I stepped out of the car.

“Seraphina Cole is dead,” I said, my voice steady. “Take me home, Elena.”

As we walked toward the plane, my phone buzzed in my pocket — a single, unknown number, a text that appeared the moment I reached the steps:

The girl lives. The heir grows. The game begins.

I froze. Elena saw my face. “What is it?”

“Someone knows.” I looked up at the jet’s door, at the dark sky beyond. “They’ve been waiting for me to wake up.”

Elena drew a weapon from her coat — a sleek, silver handgun — and fell into step beside me, her eyes scanning the shadows. “Then we move faster. Once we’re in the air, no one touches us.”

I boarded the plane without looking back. But as the engines roared and we lifted into the night, I pressed my hand to the window, watching Manhattan shrink beneath us — and made a silent vow.

I will come back. And when I do, the truth will burn everything down.