Chapter 2

• Aria's POV
• "She looks familiar."
• The words hung in the air, freezing the blood in my veins.
• Did he recognize me? I held my breath, waiting for the realization to dawn in those icy blue eyes.
• But before the silence could stretch another second, Jasmine intercepted.
• "Oh, Dom, this is my cousin," Jasmine said, her voice dropping into a flawless, sugary purr.
• She stepped closer to him, subtly blocking his line of sight. "People always say we share a family resemblance."
• Cousin.
• Standing right there in front of Dominic Valentino, wearing my ring, with my son breathing somewhere inside those stone walls, my only sister looked me dead in the eye and called me her cousin.
• I didn't flinch. I smiled. Because twenty-five years of cleaning up Jasmine's messes taught me one thing, survival first, anger later.
• "I don't think you two look alike." Dominic held the gate a second longer than necessary. His gaze dragged from Jasmine's forced smile to my face, dark and unreadable, calculating a sum neither of us could see.
• Then, he gave a curt nod and walked inside.
• The moment the heavy door clicked shut behind us, Jasmine's fingers dug into my wrist. She dragged me into a side parlor, out of the camera's blind spot, and shoved the door shut.
• The sweet, relieved sister vanished.
• "Don't say a word, Aria," she hissed.
• "You're wearing my ring."
• Jasmine glanced at the heavy silver band on her left hand. She didn't look guilty; she looked cornered. "Aria, you don't understand..."
• "I understand you told the most dangerous man in the city that my son is yours."
• Tears welled in her eyes. It was a flawless, terrifyingly quick transition. The same look she used when we were kids to get my last dollar.
• "I was terrified! When I found him, his men were practically shooting the traitors. He was covered in blood. I handed him the ring, and he just... assumed. He looked at me like I was his savior."
• "So you played the saint."
• "I played to stay alive!" Her voice broke, looking like she did something great.
• "He took us in. He gave Luca everything..."
• "Luca." The name felt like a physical blow.
• "That's what Dominic named him." Jasmine stepped closer, her tone softening into something venomous and pleading.
• "Aria, we've been married for three weeks. If he finds out I lied now, he won't just throw me out. He'll kill me. He'll take the baby and you'll never see him again."
• She let that hang in the air. The ultimate threat disguised as a warning. She knew exactly where to twist the knife.
• "What do you want, Jasmine?" I kept my voice dead flat.
• "Be his nanny." Relief washed over her features. "Just for a while. You get to be close to him. I get someone I can actually trust in this house. I'll tell Dominic you needed work. That's it."
• She reached out, touching my arm. "He's your son, Aria. He needs you."
• I stared at her hand. Then at her face. I knew none of this was about what Luca needed. It was about Jasmine keeping her throne.
• "If anyone hurts him in this house," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper, "I will burn it down with you inside."
• Jasmine blinked, stepping back. She forced a smile. "Follow me."
• The nursery was on the second floor. I heard the crying before we even reached the door, a frantic, exhausted wail that made my chest physically ache.
• I pushed past Jasmine and went straight to the crib.
• He was tiny, red-faced, fists curled tight. Four months old. Dark hair. My son. My hands were shaking as I scooped him up. The second his cheek hit my chest, he startled.
• Then, he inhaled, buried his face into the crook of my neck, and grabbed a fistful of my collar. The crying stopped instantly.
• Hi, baby, I thought, closing my eyes as a tear slipped down my jaw. I'm so sorry I'm late.
• "He's been crying for an hour." My eyes snapped open.
• Dominic stood in the doorway. He'd shed his suit jacket. The gun holstered at his ribs was in plain sight. He wasn't looking at Jasmine. He was staring at me.
• "He wanted to be held," I said, my voice tighter than I meant it to be.
• "Jasmine said to let him cry it out. Said he needed discipline." Dominic's voice was a low rumble.
• I didn't look at my sister. I just tightened my hold on Luca.
• Dominic took a slow step into the room. His gaze drifted down, just for a fraction of a second, to my left shoulder, which was covered by my collar, where my birthmark was.
• Did he remember something about that night a year ago?
• His eyes snapped back up to mine. The temperature in the room plummeted.
• "What did you say your name was?"
• "Aria," I said. "Just Aria."
• He nodded, slow and deliberate. "You're on night duty, Aria." He turned and walked out, leaving the air completely entirely out of the room.