Page 21 of Blood Debt

“Of course.”

“She has workbooks in the blue bag. Art supplies, too. Keep her busy.” I hesitate, then meet her gaze. “Don’t take her off the property. Ever. Not even for a walk.”

My mother studies me. “Is this classified?”

I nod once.

Her voice drops. “Don’t tell me anything else. I don’t want to lie for you.”

I nod again.

She takes a small step closer, her fingers brushing mine briefly. “But Serafina…let this be the last one.” Her voice cracks on the edge. “For Bianca’s sake. Please. We can’t lose you.”

I stare at the stone tile for a long moment. My throat is dry. I close my eyes, the sound of my mother’s words dragging me back through years I thought I’d hardened over.

She had been disappointed when I told her I was pregnant. I still remember the silence in the kitchen, her hands frozen around a mug of coffee, her eyes searching mine as though they could rewind time. But she hadn’t screamed. She hadn’t cursed. She’d simply sighed, set the mug down, and touched my cheek with trembling fingers.

“You’ll still be my daughter,” she whispered. “And this child will still be loved.”

When Bianca was born, she looked down at the tiny bundle in my arms, her face soft and sure in a way I hadn’t expected. “I’ll take care of her,” she said, her voice steady. “Pursue your dreams, Serafina. Don’t bury yourself too early.”

So she did. My mother became Bianca’s world when I couldn’t be. While I pushed through the grueling steps—fitness trials, language immersion, combat training, endless psychological evaluations—my mother was there. Feeding Bianca. Teaching her to walk. Holding her when she cried at night.

I told myself it was temporary. That one day I’d balance it all—motherhood and the badge. And when my first undercover assignments came with Isla by my side, I started paying my mother money every month. A way to pay back the countless nights she had given up her own sleep for my daughter’s.

Now, as her plea echoes in my ear, my throat tightens. For Bianca’s sake. She’s right. Every dangerous step I take is another chance Bianca loses her mother, and my mother loses her child.

Still…I can’t stop. Not yet. Because stopping would mean accepting that Isla died for nothing.

Then I nod. “I hear you.”

She leans in and presses her lips to my temple, then turns back to the window.

Tony’s voice drifts in before his footsteps do. “We found a lizard with no tail. She’s naming it Carmelo.”

Bianca appears a second later, breathless and glowing. She runs straight for me. “Mama!”

I kneel before she can crash into me and catch her tight against my chest. She’s warm from the sun, smelling like rosemary and sunbaked grass. Her arms lock around my neck.

“Sweetheart,” I murmur, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “Mama has to travel for a little while.”

Her body stills.

She pulls back to look at me, blinking up with wide eyes. “Can I come?”

I shake my head, slowly.

Her lower lip trembles, just a little. Then she nods. “Okay, Mama. I’ll be good with Grandma.”

I press my forehead to hers and hold back the sting rising behind my eyes.

“Of course you will,” I whisper. “You’re my brave girl.”

She kisses my cheek. “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you more.”

I stand, swallowing hard, and smooth the shoulders of her little dress. She runs back to my mother, who gathers her close with both arms.