Chapter 8 #2
"We need to discuss what happened today," she says calmly, as I walk inside.
"Which part? The part where I killed Dimitri Morozov, or the part where I found out I'm going to be a father?"
Her expression doesn't change. "Both."
"So, Reeves told you?"
"Of course he did," she says. "After all, he works for me." She puts her book down primly. "We need to discuss how to handle this."
"There's nothing for us to handle."
"You murdered Alexei Morozov's cousin."
I laugh. "Alexei can't stand Dimitri. He's a low-level thug."
"Doesn't matter. You just committed an act of war." She stands, moving to the window. "Do you understand what you've done? Do you understand the consequences?"
"I'm protecting what's mine," I say evenly. "Dimitri attacked a pregnant woman. Alexei would have done the same in my position, and you know it. The only difference is I didn't ask permission first."
"Alexei won't see it that way."
"Alexei can be handled."
"How? What is your plan? Starting a war we can't afford?" She moves closer, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "You're out of control, Adrian. First the incident at Eclipse, now this. You're letting emotion dictate your actions."
"And this girl—"
"Is pregnant with my child. I'm thirty-three, mother. It's hardly a teen pregnancy."
She glares. "Don't be smart," she says. "This is serious. She could be working with any of our enemies."
"She didn't know—"
"You don't know that. You WANT to believe she didn't know. Because it makes this easier. Makes you feel less foolish." Bianca's eyes narrow. "But wanting something to be true doesn't make it so."
The words hit harder than I'd like to admit.
"I looked into her," I say. "Full background check. I know her brother has a gambling problem. I know she works at Antiquarian Rare Books. I know—"
"Did you know that her brother has been off the grid for weeks?" she interrupts. "He went underground almost to the day you met Seraphina."
"This doesn't prove anything."
"Doesn't it? A woman with no paper trail.
A brother in debt to the Morozovs. She seduces you at a gala she shouldn't have been able to attend, disappears, and now suddenly she's pregnant and you're compromised.
" Bianca tilts her head. "If I were trying to destroy you, this is exactly how I'd do it. "
I want to argue, but I know there's nothing she will accept. My mother has survived so long because of her cunning. A cunning she thinks I do not possess.
"She's still pregnant with my child," I say finally. "Real or not, that doesn't change."
"No. It doesn't." Bianca's expression softens slightly. "Which is why we need to handle this carefully."
"We?"
"The pregnancy changes things," Bianca says. "An heir is valuable."
I stay quiet, waiting to see where she is going with this.
She leans forward, intent. "I've spent twenty years building this family's reputation. Making us untouchable. Legitimate. We're not common criminals, Adrian. We're power brokers. And power brokers don't have bastard children."
The word makes my jaw clench. "Don't—"
"It's the truth. If this child is born outside of marriage, it will be seen as weakness. As lack of control. As proof that you're not ready to lead this family." Her eyes bore into mine. "Is that what you want?"
"What I want is to not be manipulated by you," I say coldly. "And for you not to use my child to do it."
"This isn't manipulation. This is reality." She stands again, pacing now. Calculating. "The girl is pregnant. You're the father. Marriage is the only option."
"She won't agree to it."
"She will."
"You don't know her—"
"I know her brother owes fifty thousand dollars to the Morozovs. I know he's missing. I know she's desperate." Bianca's smile is cold. "And I know that desperate people do desperate things to save the ones they love."
Understanding hits me like a fist to the gut.
"You're going to use her brother as leverage." It's a smart move. It's one I'd do. Though, while my mother likes emotional manipulation, I'd be more likely to send Sera pieces of her brother until she agrees to marry me.
From the Morozovs, of course.
"I'm going to give you leverage. What you do with it is up to you." She returns to her desk, pulls out a folder, slides it across to me. "Everything we know about Gabriel Romano. His debts. His gambling problem. His current location."
I don't touch the folder. "You found him?"
"Of course I did." There's satisfaction in her voice. "He wasn't difficult to locate once I knew what to look for."
"Alexei hasn't found him."
"Because Alexei was looking for a gambler hiding from debts." Her smile is sharp. "I was looking for a man who'd put his sister in danger. Different search parameters yield different results."
I take the folder, opening it slowly.
Inside are surveillance photos. Gabe outside a betting parlor—two months ago. Outside a bar—six weeks ago. Meeting with known Morozov enforcers—four weeks ago.
And one photo of him talking to Alexei Morozov himself.
My blood goes cold.
"When was this taken?"
"Ten weeks ago. Right before your little encounter at the gala.
" Bianca's voice is clinical. "Notice the timeline.
Gabe meets with Alexei. Two weeks later, Sera appears at a gala she shouldn't have been able to access.
You take her to bed. She disappears. And now she's pregnant and conveniently back in your orbit. "
I flip through more photos. Gabe at the docks. Gabe in Queens.
And then one that makes my stomach drop.
Gabe three blocks from the alley where Dimitri attacked Sera. Watching. Waiting.
"When was this taken?" My voice is barely controlled.
"This afternoon. About twenty minutes before Dimitri made his move." Bianca's eyes gleam. "He knew, Adrian. Your precious Seraphina's brother knew she was walking into a trap. He watched it happen."
"Where is he now?"
"Safe. For now." She waves a hand dismissively. "I had him picked up after the attack. He's in one of our safe houses. Alive. He'll stay that way as long as his sister cooperates."
Rage floods me. My mother refuses to allow me to handle this. "I am more than capable—"
She leans forward, cutting me off. "You're going to marry Seraphina Romano. You're going to legitimize that child. And you're going to stop acting like a lovesick fool and start acting like the heir to this family."
"Or what? You'll kill her?" I want to know how far she is willing to go. I like to get a sense of my enemies, and right now, my mother is at the top of that list.
She sneers. "I would never kill my grandchild, Adrian." She purses her lips. Her eyes gleam. "You want her, Adrian. I'm giving you a way to have her. Do not spite yourself because of me."
She's right. God help me, she's right.
I do want her. Want her trapped and mine and unable to run.
But not like this.
Not with my mother pulling the strings.
"She'll hate me." It's a statement of fact.
"Probably. But she'll be yours. She'll bear your children.
She'll legitimize your claim to this family.
" Bianca's voice softens slightly. "You could do worse, Adrian.
She's young. Pretty. Intelligent enough to work with rare books.
And most importantly, she has no connections.
No family allies to complicate things. No one to protect her except you. "
The words should horrify me.
Instead, they feed something dark and primal in my chest.
She's alone. Vulnerable. Completely dependent on me.
Mine.
"What about the Morozovs?" I ask. "What do you want to do about Alexei?"
"I'll reach out and offer compensation. Explain that Dimitri attacked a pregnant woman under Nero protection." She waves a hand dismissively. "He won't be happy, but he'll accept it, especially when he learns that she is your fiancée. The alternative is war, and war is bad for business."
"And if he doesn't accept it?"
"Then we go to war." Her eyes harden. "But that's not your concern right now. Your concern is ensuring the legitimacy of your child."
Her silver eyes bore into mine.
"Make her agree, Adrian. I don't care how you do it. Seduce her. Threaten her. Bargain with her brother's life. But make her agree." She stands, moving to the window. "You have forty-eight hours. After that, I handle it my way."
"Why forty-eight hours?"
She turns back, and for the first time, I see calculation mixed with something almost like concern.
"Because in forty-eight hours, Alexei is meeting with the Commission to formally request restitution for Dimitri's death.
If you walk into that meeting as an unmarried man with a pregnant mistress, you look weak.
Reckless. Like someone who can't control his impulses.
" Her voice hardens. "But if you walk in as a married man who defended his pregnant wife?
That's honor. That's strength. That changes the entire narrative. "
The political strategy is sound. Infuriating, but sound.
"And if she refuses?"
"Then Gabriel Romano dies, and I present your child's mother to Alexei as restitution. A life for a life." Bianca's smile is cold. "I've built this family through calculated ruthlessness. Don't make me use it on your child's mother."
The threat is clear. Unmistakable.
Marry Sera. Control her. Or Bianca will.
I stand slowly, folder in hand. "You're going to regret threatening me."
"Am I? Because from where I'm standing, I just gave you everything you wanted. A reason to keep her. A way to make her stay. An heir to secure your position." She tilts her head. "You should be thanking me."
I should walk out. Should tell her to go to hell and find a way to keep Sera safe and hidden.
But I'm calculating now. Really calculating.
Bianca thinks she's forcing my hand. Thinks she's controlling the situation.
But she's wrong.
I wanted Sera from the moment I had her. Wanted to keep her, trap her, make her mine in every way that matters. The pregnancy just gave me an excuse. Bianca's ultimatum just gives me leverage.
And once Sera is my wife, once that ring is on her finger and my name is attached to hers legally—not even my mother will be able to touch her.
Bianca thinks she's won. Thinks she's maneuvered me into position.
She has no idea I'm playing my own game.
"Forty-eight hours," I say. "I'll handle it."
"See that you do." Bianca returns to her desk, already dismissing me. "And Adrian? Next time you want to kill someone, at least make sure it's not someone important."
I leave without responding.
Outside, the sun is setting. Manhattan glows gold and red, beautiful and merciless.
I pull out my phone and text Leo.
Me: Is she awake?
Leo: Not yet. Should be soon.
Me: I'm on my way back. Don't let her leave.
Leo: Understood.
I slide into the car, the folder heavy on the passenger seat.
Forty-eight hours to make Seraphina Romano agree to marry me.
Forty-eight hours to turn obsession into ownership.
Forty-eight hours to trap us both.
The only question is whether Sera is a victim or a player. Whether her brother sold her out or if she walked into my bed knowing exactly what she was doing.
Either way, she's about to become my wife.
And once she is, I'll make sure no one—not Alexei, not Bianca, not even Gabe—can ever use her against me again.
I should feel guilty. Should feel something other than this dark satisfaction.
But I don't.
She tried to run. Tried to disappear. Tried to take my child and vanish like none of it mattered.
Now she's going to learn what it means to belong to a Nero.
She's going to learn there's no escaping me.
Ever.
I start the car and drive back to Dr. Reeves' office.
Back to Sera.
Back to my future wife.
Whether she knows it yet or not.