"How can I not worry?" Aria's eyes glistened. "I don't have insurance that covers all of this. My scholarship's gone. I can't even?—"
"Aria." Serafina's voice was firm. "Stop. I'm handling it."
Angelo leaned forward in his chair, his brow furrowed. "Handling it how? Sera, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. The loans alone?—"
"I've been working on it," Serafina said. "I have a job. High pay. I can't say much about it, but I'll find the money."
They both stared at her.
"I have to go away for a while," she continued. "A few weeks, maybe longer. Angelo, you'll stay here with Aria. Help her through recovery."
She reached into her bag and pulled out the envelope—the ten thousand dollars, still crisp and banded. She held it out to him.
Angelo's eyes widened. "Where did you get this?"
"Something I saved for a rainy day."
"Sera, I can't take this?—"
"Don't be stupid." Her voice was sharper than she intended. She softened it. "It's Aria. It's you. Of course you can take it."
He stared at the money in her hand, his jaw tight. She knew that look. He was a proud man. He'd worked his wholelife, provided for his family, never asked for help from anyone. Taking money from his stepdaughter—even now, even for this—went against everything he was.
"You can pay me back later," she added quietly.
That was what he needed. His expression softened, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly. He reached out and took the envelope.
"I'll make it up to you," he said. "Every cent."
"I know you will."
"Where are you going?" Aria's voice cut in, thick with concern. She pushed herself up slightly, wincing again. "Sera, you can't handle all of this on your own. Let's talk this through. Take it slowly."
Serafina leaned in and kissed her sister on the forehead, breathing in the familiar scent of her beneath the antiseptic smell of the hospital.
"Aria. It's okay. Trust me." She pulled back and met her sister's eyes. "Your dad's here now. He'll take care of you."
Aria opened her mouth to argue, but Serafina shook her head.
"Rest. Heal. I'll be back before you know it."
She wished she could tell them the truth. But they wouldn't believe her—wouldn't believe how crazy she was, what she'd agreed to, what she'd seen behind that frosted glass in a Los Angeles office building.
They'd think she'd lost her mind.
Maybe she had.
She stayed for a few more hours, sitting beside Aria's bed, listening to Angelo's quiet stories about nothing in particular, watching her sister drift in and out of sleep. The afternoon light shifted through the window, golden and warm, and for a little while, the world felt almost normal.
Then she stood, gathered her things, and said her goodbyes.
Angelo walked her to the door of the hospital room. He put a hand on her shoulder—rough, calloused, familiar.
"Be careful," he said. "Whatever this is."
"I will."
She pressed the Outback's keys into his hand. "Parking structure, level two. Use it if you need to."
