11. Valeria #2
“I am thinking—it would be good for you to go live with Nico now.”
A ball of lead drops into my stomach. “What?”
“I know we Italians can be very traditional about things, but in this case, Nico’s father wants an heir. Now.”
I go cold. An heir?
A child?
Nico told Giovanni about what we said in the bathroom.
I clench my teeth together. That’s a stupid kink, it doesn’t mean anything.
I can’t raise a kid with these people. I couldn’t even imagine exposing a child to my own family, and I know enough about Nico—his dad sending him to jail, Nico lashing out—that his family would be poison to an innocent child.
And I could never do something like that to a baby.
“We haven’t spoken about kids yet.”
Giovanni watches some passerby before returning his intense gaze to me. “That does not matter. His father wants an heir. You will give him one.”
“We’re not even married.”
“You are not a virgin,” he says impassively. “For many reasons, you were not the best choice for Nico, but if you are with child before the wedding, you will make his father happy.”
It feels like gliding my finger along the edge of a knife to ask out loud, but I do anyway. This isn’t just about me anymore. “And if I’m not? Not everyone is able to have a kid.”
“It will not be so good for your health.”
“What does that mean?”
Giovanni steps in close, looming his enormous weight over me, reminding me just how insignificant I am.
He places his heavy hand on my shoulder and murmurs, “The lamb taken from the herd gets eaten by the wolf. It is in your best interest to make sure Nico, and your future in-laws, like you very much. How much family do you have left?”
The train comes to a stop next to us, sucking all the air out of my lungs. “Where is my dad?”
“Nico might seem like he wants a wild girl, Valeria, but he is like all men. He wants a silent, obedient wife. We will be talking again soon.” With that, Giovanni turns and walks away, disappearing into the crowd.
Dread swirls through me as I look at the coffee cup in my hand. The one his mouth touched.
I think about how much DNA was left on the lid and walk back to Lacey’s place to give her one more sample to test.
An hour later, his words are still tumbling through my head like broken glass.
Nico’s dad wants me to have kids. To have them now.
Whatever I feel for Nico, I can’t let that happen.
Our children would be cursed—destined for corruption. There’s not enough love in the world to save them from the wealth and power Nico’s family would offer.
Nico is proof.
He’s a murderer. He’s not a good person. He’s just like the rest of the Family.
And I am nothing like my mom—if I have a kid with him, I’m condemning myself too, because I would never, ever leave their side.
My heart squeezes so hard, it feels like it might burst.
At work, I go through my usual motions. I say hello to the security guard at the door, I walk down the hallway to the lab to start my day.
The moment I step inside and say hello to Trey, a knock sounds at the lab door.
Melissa pokes her head through. “Good morning,” she says. “Valeria, can I talk to you for a minute?”
I glance at Trey who grins.
“Yeah,” I say, shrugging off my bag. “Let me drop off my things real quick.”
“No, bring them with you,” Melissa says.
In my peripherals, Trey’s smile falls.
My stomach twists into a knot.
Trailing Melissa down the hall to her office feels like heading to my own execution. Posters of health code violations and HR statements hang from the walls.
She gestures me inside and shuts the door behind us.
I sit in front of her desk, already sweltering in my coat, my tote bag on my lap. The memory of sweating in front of Nico to conceal my bruise flashes in my mind.
“I’ll cut straight to the chase,” she says as she moves to her desk and folds her hands across the smooth surface. I glance at the framed picture of her grandkids. “This morning, we got an anonymous tip. Do you know what it might be about?”
I shake my head. My hands are clammy.
Melissa tilts her head, considering me. “Someone believes you’ve brought cocaine into work. They believe you’re going to use it to tamper with evidence.”
My heart skips a beat. “What?”
She smiles. “I know. It’s unusual, and I might disregard it under different circumstances, but the tip was very precise. They said they saw you slip the cocaine into the lining of your purse.”
I swallow. My bag weighs like an anvil on my lap.
“I’ve seen how devoted you are to your job, and I know you take the law very seriously, but this is so specific that I have to do my due diligence here.”
I’ve never done cocaine. Never touched it outside of a professional context.
But I know what’s going to happen next.
“Can I see your purse?”
My body feels simultaneously crushed and weightless as I pass her my purse.
The strap goes from my hand to hers.
Melissa grabs a pen off her desk and prods delicately inside the bag. I can’t see the contents from my seat, but I know what they should be—my empty water bottle, lipstick, my wallet, a beanie, and a scattering of bobby pins at the bottom. That’s all.
Except, like a magic trick, Melissas pulls out a small baggie filled with white powder.
Silence rings in the room like a gunshot.
She places the baggie on her desk and leans back in her chair. The firm, but caring grandmother disappears. She’s the steely-eyed police officer, and I’m the perpetrator. “Do you know where this could’ve come from?”
I blink back tears. Giovanni at the train station? Or whoever broke into my house while I was out with Nico? Even Stefano could’ve done it. He sees me leave for work with the same bag every day.
I wish the building would fall, that it’d crumble around my ears and bury me alive.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Melissa says.
What possible explanation could I give her?
It’s not my cocaine? I was holding it for a friend? I thought it was sugar?
“It’s not mine.”
Unsurprisingly, her expression of doubt doesn’t change.
“Despite all evidence to the contrary, I believe you. But due to the nature of these circumstances, I need to treat this seriously. You’re going to be put on leave while we perform a full investigation.
” Melissa taps a pen against her desk, once.
“I’ll be honest with you, Valeria, if I were you, I would start looking for a new job.
I’ll do everything in my power to defend you, but ultimately, if the tests confirm drugs in the bag, there’s nothing I can do for you. ”
“I understand.”
The first breath of cold air as I step out of the forensic science building turns my blood to a slush of ice water. My skin and muscles are paper, offering me no protection.
I want to know who did this.
It’s pointless. It doesn’t matter when the damage has been done.
I’ve always been independent, but I’ve never felt this alone before.
The lamb taken from the herd.
I walk to the train station, my coat wrapped tightly around me.
I didn’t say goodbye to Trey or Connor. It was too embarrassing.
Four years of school and so many more of scraping together the money to afford it all circle the drain.
What’s left for me?
Nico’s ring sits heavily on my finger.
To be Nico’s wife? To bring children into all of this?
A low, simmering anger lights in my belly. This isn’t fair. I didn’t ask for any of this.
I think back to what Annetta said—that Nico wanted me because I was such an awful choice for him. How he wanted a scandal. How Giovanni told me to be silent and obedient.
I text Lacey and head to her apartment.
When she steps through her bedroom door hours later, she finds me on the edge of her bed where I haven’t moved since I entered her place.
“I got fired,” I say in a small voice.
“Oh, babe.”
In a few quick strides, she has her arms around me. I sit there limply and allow my friend to hug me.
At least I have her.
“Do you want to watch a show with me and eat ice cream, or do you want to vent? I’ll call out of work.”
I scrub my face with my palms. “No, don’t call out. I’m going with you.”
She gives me a wary look. “You need money?”
I have thousands of dollars sitting on my ring finger, and money stuffed into a duffel bag, but for once, it doesn’t matter.
Nico needs a reminder why I will never be the right woman for him.
“Yeah,” I lie. “As much money as I can in the shortest time possible.”
Lacey inhales. “Okay, babe. Let’s get you dolled up.”