nna

er, a combination that felt like a damp wad of cotton pressed into the sinuses. The tinted windows

urn. He held it with a twisted, possessive reverence. The posture might have suggested patern

ther seat. I tried to ta

turning to the estate," he murmured, his voice a low, resonant

. I looked straight into h

m I did not know I possessed. "Have you held our dead daughte

es in his jaw ticked. His sil

rols the funding for the private sanatorium where your mother resides," he warned

s quietly enforcing my total de

?" I choked out, the sound hollow and broken. "To freeze my accounts? To dep

ing our dead daughter's ashes as a hosta

boy's name?

the window. He

dates aligned in my head. Serafina died in

were never for her anniversary, were they? You timed them for his birthday. On

ll the confirmation I needed. One itinerary. Two fulfillments for the Don.

I demanded, my voice c

a long time before he knocked on the priv

s phone rested on the center console. T

ish that his Papa won't bring the lady to see the aurora next time.

uding on their family vacation, and now he was ev

sanatorium. I got out before the car even fully stopped. Dante f

He looked nervous, wiping at the sweat on his

walked straight toward the elev

s throat. "Signora," he stammered. "Your mother, Rosa...

my tracks. I turne

ect orders," the Director quickl

lt in the dark, one message at a time, while Dante slept beside me. I bypassed the main elevators, sprinting down a hidden stairwell that led to the underground VIP medical wing-a secure sector

on the sill was a child's paper airplane,

ng in messy crayon were the words: Pap

mother. He had let his mistress