Chapter 5 - The Trap at the Conservatory
The Lincoln Park Conservatory was a lush, glass-domed oasis filled with exotic ferns, orchids, and tropical palms, standing in stark contrast to the chilly Chicago rain outside.
Ava walked through the humid, mist-filled aisles of the Fern Room, her hands tucked deep inside her coat pockets. Her palms were sweating.
"You're five minutes late, Mrs. Choi."
Ava turned around. Stepping out from behind a massive fan palm was Arthur Choi. He wore an expensive camel-hair coat, carrying a polished silver-headed cane despite walking with no visible limp. Behind him, standing near the glass exit doors, were two large men in dark coats with their hands resting inside their jacket pockets.
"What do you want, Arthur?" Ava asked, keeping her voice steady, refusing to show the terror clawing at her throat.
Arthur smiled—a cold, cruel movement of his lips that didn't reach his gray eyes. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket and held it out.
It was a printed receipt from the West Town Health Clinic, listing a pregnancy consultation under the name Claire Bennett.
"You were careless, my dear," Arthur said smoothly. "My men have been monitoring every civilian clinic in a ten-mile radius since Daniel brought you to Chicago. We knew it was only a matter of time before a young woman forced into a mob marriage tried to find a way out—or revealed a secret."
"It's not what you think," Ava said.
"Oh, I think it is exactly what it looks like," Arthur chuckled darky. "My nephew Daniel is sterile. The medical consensus from three independent European urologists was absolute. He cannot father children. Which means..." Arthur stepped closer, his eyes glinting with predatory triumph. "...the child growing inside you belongs to another man."
"It belongs to Daniel!" Ava snapped, her eyes flashing with defiance. "The diagnosis was wrong! It is Daniel's child!"
Arthur laughed out loud, the sound echoing off the humid glass roof. "Do you honestly think the syndicate council will believe a miracle story from a desperate girl whose father owes us millions? The old code is brutal, Ava. A Don’s wife who commits adultery is executed. And the bastard child she carries is eradicated to protect the family lineage."
Ava’s stomach twisted into a hard knot. "You're going to tell him."
"Not yet," Arthur said, his smile vanishing, replaced by cold, calculating malice. "Daniel is besotted with you. If I simply walk into his office with a clinic receipt, he might kill me in a blind rage before considering the truth. I need something far more public."
"What do you want from me?" Ava demanded.
"Next week is the annual Meridian Gala at the Drake Hotel," Arthur whispered, leaning close so only she could hear. "All the regional capos, the allied families from New York and Detroit, and the press will be there. You will publicly announce your separation from Daniel. You will claim that he abused you, and that you are fleeing the city. In exchange, I will grant you safe passage out of the country, a new identity, and enough money to raise your bastard child in peace."
"And if I refuse?"
Arthur’s gaze turned icy. "If you refuse, I will leak the clinic records to Daniel's most volatile capos tomorrow morning. They will demand a blood test. And while you wait for the results in a basement room, accidents happen. Pregnant women are so terribly fragile, Ava."
He tapped his cane once on the stone pathway.
May you like
"You have forty-eight hours to decide, my dear. Choose wisely."
Arthur turned and walked away, flanked by his two bodyguards, leaving Ava alone amidst the damp, suffocating greenery of the conservatory.
