She Fled Chicago Carrying the Mafia Boss's Baby—Then He Found the Medical File That Changed Everything : The night Meline Hayes learned Dominic Valente was engaged to another woman, she burned the only picture of his unborn child over her kitchen sink.

The armored guards from the Valente convoy moved instantly, their weapons raised as they formed a protective wall around the steps of the plane.

Seraphina did not stop. She walked right up to the line of guns, her eyes fixed on Dominic as he stepped out onto the metal platform.

"You left the city for her," Seraphina said, her voice carrying over the roar of the idling jet engines. "You broke the agreement, Dominic. My father is already in New York. He’s calling a meeting of the Commission."

"Your father can call whoever he wants, Seraphina," Dominic said, his voice flat. "Your men tried to kill my wife and my child in Boston."

"She’s not your wife!" Seraphina shrieked, her control finally slipping. "She’s an art appraiser! A civilian! Our union was supposed to secure the ports for both our families! You’re throwing away a billion-dollar empire for a girl who doesn't even know how to use a fork at a state dinner!"

"She knows enough," Dominic said, stepping down the stairs until he was standing just inches from her. "She knows that when a Valente makes a promise, he keeps it."

He leaned close, his voice dropping into a whisper that made Seraphina’s eyes widen in fear.

"I have the ledger books from your father’s shipping terminal in Newark, Seraphina. The ones Julian Vance Sr. kept before your family had him killed. If you don't take your father and his soldiers back to New York by midnight, those files will be on the desk of every federal prosecutor on the East Coast."

Seraphina stared at him, her face turning pale beneath her makeup.

"You wouldn't," she whispered. "It would destroy the ports for everyone."

"I don't care about the ports," Dominic said. "I care about my family. Move your car, Seraphina. Or I will have my men move it for you. Permanently."

Seraphina looked at the guards, then at the dark, reinforced windows of the plane where Meline was watching.

With a sharp, angry hiss, she turned on her heel and walked back to her limousine.

The car accelerated, its tires screaming as it left the runway.