Page 58 of The Viper's Wife

An hour later,his words are still tumbling through my head like broken glass.

Nico’s dad wants me to have kids. To have them now.

Whatever I feel for Nico, I can’t let that happen.

Our children would be cursed—destined for corruption. There’s not enough love in the world to save them from the wealth and power Nico’s family would offer.

Nico is proof.

He’s a murderer. He’s not a good person. He’s just like the rest of the Family.

And I am nothing like my mom—if I have a kid with him, I’m condemning myself too, because I would never, ever leave their side.

My heart squeezes so hard, it feels like it might burst.

At work, I go through my usual motions. I say hello to the security guard at the door, I walk down the hallway to the lab to start my day.

The moment I step inside and say hello to Trey, a knock sounds at the lab door.

Melissa pokes her head through. “Good morning,” she says. “Valeria, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I glance at Trey who grins.

“Yeah,” I say, shrugging off my bag. “Let me drop off my things real quick.”

“No, bring them with you,” Melissa says.

In my peripherals, Trey’s smile falls.

My stomach twists into a knot.

Trailing Melissa down the hall to her office feels like heading to my own execution. Posters of health code violations and HR statements hang from the walls.

She gestures me inside and shuts the door behind us.

I sit in front of her desk, already sweltering in my coat, my tote bag on my lap. The memory of sweating in front of Nico to conceal my bruise flashes in my mind.

“I’ll cut straight to the chase,” she says as she moves to her desk and folds her hands across the smooth surface. I glance at the framed picture of her grandkids. “This morning, we got an anonymous tip. Do you know what it might be about?”

I shake my head. My hands are clammy.

Melissa tilts her head, considering me. “Someone believes you’ve brought cocaine into work. They believe you’re going to use it to tamper with evidence.”

My heart skips a beat. “What?”

She smiles. “I know. It’s unusual, and I might disregard it under different circumstances, but the tip was very precise. They said they saw you slip the cocaine into the lining of your purse.”

I swallow. My bag weighs like an anvil on my lap.

“I’ve seen how devoted you are to your job, and I know you take the law very seriously, but this is so specific that I have to do my due diligence here.”

I’ve never done cocaine. Never touched it outside of a professional context.

But I know what’s going to happen next.

“Can I see your purse?”

My body feels simultaneously crushed and weightless as I pass her my purse.