And the reason I had never conceived an heir in all those years of cold marriage was not fate. It was design. They had bribed the surgeon. While I was sedated for a routine procedure, they had hollowed me out. Removed the possibility of legacy from my body entirely, so that no Genovese blood would ever complicate their plans. They did it to prove their devotion to her. A tribute of flesh, offered at my expense.
In this new life, I swore a single, unbreakable oath to myself.
Stay away from all of them. Survive. Rise. And live on my own terms.
The sound of tearing paper filled the empty classroom like a gunshot.
My teacher stared at the shredded remains of the Blood Invitation from the Valenti Family's territory, the prestigious acceptance into their domain that every young operative in Riviera City would have killed for. Her face drained of color.
"Seraphina, what are you doing?"