Chapter 1

The day I went for the abortion, I brought only the Cassella family’s most loyal steward to an unmarked private clinic deep in Queens, off the Castellano family’s books entirely.

A young nurse kept stealing glances at me before leaning over to whisper to her colleague, “Isn’t that Donna Castellano? Why on earth would she be here alone for this?”

Her colleague yanked her arm sharply. “Shut your mouth. The Don built her an entire private hospital. That can’t be her. You’re seeing things.”

“Ma’am, if you could just sign here,” the nurse said, her voice cutting through my thoughts.

I lowered my eyes to the consent form.

On the television across the room, an interview with Vincent was playing on a loop.

The notoriously cold-blooded Don of New York’s most powerful crime family looked into the camera with a tenderness few people in the world had ever seen.

“My wife is carrying twins,” he said, his voice softening. “Watching how hard this pregnancy is on her breaks my heart. Once the babies are born, everything I own belongs to her and our children.”

The nurse let out a quiet sigh, her eyes full of envy.

“You’ll never find another man like Mr. Castellano in all of New York. They’ve been inseparable since they were kids. When the Cassella family was ambushed, he defied his own blood, wiped out the enemy compound, and proposed to her that same night.”

My pen froze above the paper.

I remembered it all too well.

When I was a child, the Cassellas were betrayed from within, and my parents were slaughtered in cold blood. It was Vincent who had knelt before the heavens and sworn a blood oath to me that night.

“Seraphina, my life is yours. I will be your shield against every storm this world has to offer.”

For that promise, I had turned down an invitation to a top-secret national research laboratory, laid down my family’s legacy, and become his Donna.

In the end, he was the one who shattered that vow into a million pieces.

They were right, of course. Vincent Castellano had loved me with a devotion that made the whole city believe I was the luckiest woman alive.

I had been frail since childhood, so he built Seraphina Private Hospital for me, filled it with the finest medical minds on the East Coast, and opened its doors to the public free of charge in my name, all to earn blessings for my health.

He never knew that the very afternoon I confirmed the twins, I received explicit nude photos from his mistress, Isabella Rossi.

That was the moment I realized the hospital bearing my name had long since ceased to mean me.

During my first trimester, while I was hospitalized and drifting in and out of consciousness from violent morning sickness, Vincent had been in the room next door, tangled in the sheets with her.

The second I saw those photos, I knew these children did not deserve to be born into a marriage already rotting from the inside out.

The nurse spoke again, gentle now, but firm with professional warning.

“Ma’am, the twins are developing perfectly. Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this? A twin termination carries significant health risks, and given your medical history, it could leave you unable to conceive again.”

Her words jolted me back to myself.

These children were innocent. They carried my blood, the last of the Cassella line.

What I wanted to destroy was not them. It was the life he had poisoned. Vincent was the one I should have cut out.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I said abruptly, turning to my steward. “We’re not doing this procedure.”

Once we were outside, I spoke again.

“Contact the professor at the lab. Tell him I accept his offer to join the classified project. And arrange a new identity for me. Completely clean. No ties to either family. No paper trail whatsoever.”

My steward hesitated for only a second before bowing his head in silent assent.

When the professor heard my decision, he texted me at once.

[Seraphina, I’m glad, though my heart aches for you. But you must understand: once you enter this project, you sever all contact with the outside world. Think carefully before you reply.]

His offer had not been new. He had asked me more than once over the years to join the project, and every time, I had refused for Vincent.

This time, I did not hesitate.

I replied at once, reaffirming my decision.

I knew better than anyone how all-consuming Vincent Castellano’s need for control was.

He would tear the world apart to find me.

And so there was only one way forward.

Seraphina Castellano had to vanish from this world completely.