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Bria had clearly been mistaken when calling me “Mommy”. It had been a mistake and nothing more, but the thought of earning that title from her shattered every last piece of my resolve. It took everything in my power to keep from breaking down at the dinner table that night.
It took even more of my resolve to look her in the eyes all night, knowing I would be killing her uncle tonight.
Valentino had no reason to lie about Dante being involved in my father’s murder.
I considered it for hours before finally steeling myself and my resolve.
But to be calledMommy?
I stormed through the drugstore, knowing I was being paranoid, as I grabbed a single pregnancy test and purchased it. I’d never considered the possibility of being a mother. Hell, I never even thought it would be possible for someone like me, but as I tucked the test away in my bag and moved toward the meetup, I couldn’t help but wonder.
It was a fluke. It couldn’t be anything more.
I moved through the streets, avoiding all eye contact until I finally reached the designated address and knocked twice on the door.
It swung open, revealing a surly old man with a hunched back. He ushered me inside wordlessly, not greeting me or saying anything as he turned his back and moved through the house. I wondered if I should turn back and find my own methods to kill Dante as he disappeared and began sifting through something out of sight.
I took a small step back and reached for the door handle.
I could take care of this myself. The last thing I needed was to be caught unaware by a man I didn’t know.
But before I could leave, he moved back through the house carrying two vials. One looked like nothing more than water, and the one beside it was an opaque white serum.
“The clear one is poison. The white one is the antidote. Don’t get them mixed up.” I nodded and pocketed each of them. “It takes effect within thirty seconds. Come back here by midnight once your job is completed, and an escort back to New York will be waiting.”
I nodded and gripped the handle tighter, twisting it.
“Tonight only. If you get caught, there will be nobody to bail you out.”
I knew the words had come directly from Valentino. It was exactly what I’d been told going into this. If I succeeded, he’d continue grooming me to take over his businesses and assets. I’d become his next in line. But if he didn’t, I’d be on my own.
From the moment I was sent on a mission, it was the same warning.
If I fall, I fall alone.
I ground my teeth and nodded, turning and moving back through the city where I’d find my guard and allow him to escort me back to Gabriel’s home.
***
There was a set of lacy underthings waiting when I returned. They sat beside a note, instructing me to dress and meet him on the rooftop balcony for an intimate evening. I knew he thought dinner the other night had gone horribly wrong, and this was his way to make up for it.
I also knew it would be the perfect opportunity to poison his food and slip away without being seen.
I took a deep breath as I pulled the pregnancy test from my bag and peed on it, leaving it upside-down before getting dressed. It felt like more of a precaution. It wouldn’t be positive, and I knew that. It was silly to even consider such a thing.
I slid on the perfectly fitted outfit he’d picked out and stared at myself in the mirror.
It was time to finish this.
Then, it would be time to return home.
The thought soured my stomach, but I shook it off. I’d allowed myself to become too emotionally connected to my target here.
As I flipped the pregnancy test and tossed it in the garbage, I froze.
I glanced down at where I’d thrown it, expecting a clear negative.
With trembling fingers, I bent, and picked it up from the trash as I looked at the two bright lines there.
