Chapter 4

Elara Sovrano POV:

I stared at the pregnancy test wrapped in tissue paper buried at the bottom of my bag.

I couldn't tell Mark. I couldn't tell Julian. The Outfit had ears everywhere, embedded in the walls like rot. If anyone knew I was carrying Dante's child, the information would be sold before I even reached the airport.

I dialed Mark's number, my fingers trembling against the screen.

"Did you get the signatures?" he asked immediately.

"Yes," I said, keeping my voice steady. "But don't file them yet. Wait twenty-four hours."

"Elara, that's risky. If he realizes what he signed-"

"He won't look at those papers again until he needs to buy his conscience clean. Just wait, Mark. I need a head start."

"Okay. Be safe."

I hung up and called Julian.

"I'm leaving," I said. "Now."

"Good," Julian said, his voice thick with relief. "The car is waiting in the alley behind the service entrance. My cousin is driving. He's clean. No ties to the Families."

"Thank you, Julian. For everything."

"Go, Elara. Find yourself again. Paint something beautiful."

I hung up and took one last look around the bedroom. It was a museum dedicated to a marriage that never really existed.

I walked over to the nightstand and slid the 4-carat diamond ring off my finger. It felt heavy, like a shackle falling off. I placed it on the polished wood, where it clattered softly.

Next to it, I placed a small photo album. I had made it for our second anniversary. It was full of pictures of me alone-at holidays, at dinners, at the gallery.

A record of his absence.

I picked up my duffel bag. I didn't look back.

I took the service elevator down to the basement. The shift change for the guards was at 4:00 PM. It was 4:02 PM-the only blind spot in the fortress.

I slipped out the back door just as the new guards were distracted by the handover protocol. I kept my head down, pulling my hood up against the wind. Julian's cousin was there in a beat-up sedan, engine idling.

The ride to O'Hare was a blur of gray highway and white-knuckled panic. Every siren made me jump. Every black SUV made my heart stop.

At the airport, I moved through security like a robot. Elena Rossi. Tourist. Going to Switzerland for the mountains.

I sat at the gate, watching the news on a hanging monitor.

"Dante Sovrano departs for New York Summit."

The screen showed footage of Dante and Isabella walking up the stairs of his private Gulfstream jet. He looked powerful, untouchable. He was flying in luxury, surrounded by his soldiers, thinking his world was perfectly in order.

I looked out the window at my commercial plane. It was small, crowded, and ordinary.

It was perfect.

We boarded. I took a window seat. As the plane taxied down the runway, I saw a sleek black jet taking off on the private strip parallel to us.

It was him.

Our paths crossed for a split second in the sky. He was going East, to expand his empire. I was going West, to save my soul.

The engines roared, pressing me back into the seat. As the wheels left the ground, Chicago began to shrink below me. The Sovrano Tower became just another needle in the haystack.

I placed my hand on my stomach again, protective and fierce.

"You're mine," I whispered to the tiny life inside me. "Just mine."

I closed my eyes and finally, finally exhaled.