Mafia's Surrogate Bride Chapter 27

Aria’s POV

The morning shift at Romano's café came with a familiar routine that I'd grown to appreciate over the past week. Wipe down tables, refill sugar dispensers, take orders from tourists and local workers grabbing quick espressos before their day began. The work was simple, honest, and paid just enough to cover basic expenses—though nowhere near what I needed for Jessica's mounting medical bills.

After Damian's proposition that night, I'd deliberately chosen the most ordinary job I could find. Something that would anchor me to normal life, to the person I'd been before powerful men started offering me impossible choices. The café owner, Signor Romano, was a kind elderly man who asked no questions about my background and paid in cash at the end of each shift.

"You're a hard worker," he'd said when hiring me after a five-minute interview. "That's all I need to know."

If only the rest of the world operated with such simple decency.

My tips for the day totaled fifteen euros—enough for bus fare and a small grocery run, but barely a drop in the ocean of what Jessica needed.

-

Sant'Anna Hospital looked exactly the same as it had every day for the past two months.

Jessica was awake when I entered her room, though she looked smaller than ever against the hospital bed's white sheets. The dialysis had helped stabilize her condition, but I could see the toll it was taking—the way her skin had grown paler, how her bright smile seemed to require more effort each day.

"Aria!" she said, her voice carrying that same warmth that had sustained me through our darkest moments. "I was hoping you'd come early today. The nurse said I might be able to go outside for a few minutes if the weather stays nice."

"That's wonderful news. How are you feeling? Any pain today?"

"A little tired, but better than yesterday." Jessica reached for my hand with fingers that felt impossibly fragile. "Tell me about your new job. Are the customers nice?"

I launched into carefully edited stories about the café—the regular customer who always ordered the same cappuccino and left poetry written on napkins, the tourist couple who'd tried to order pizza at an establishment that only served coffee and pastries, the way Signor Romano hummed old Italian songs while he worked the espresso machine.

Jessica listened with the intense focus she brought to everything, as if my mundane experiences were the most fascinating entertainment imaginable.

"You look happier," she observed after I'd finished describing my morning shift. "More like yourself again."

"I'm working on it," I said, though I wasn't sure how convincing I sounded.

But for now, in this moment, I could pretend we had time.

"Miss Rossi?"

The voice came from the doorway, formal and clipped in a way that immediately set my nerves on edge. I turned to see a young woman in an expensive coat standing just inside the room.

My blood ran cold as I recognized her.

Adriana Montrosso.

What is she doing here?

"I thought that was you," Adriana said, stepping into the room with the confident stride of someone accustomed to owning whatever space she entered. "Such an interesting coincidence, running into you in a place like this."

"What do you want?" I asked, instinctively moving closer to Jessica's bed. My sister looked between us with confused curiosity, clearly sensing the tension but not understanding its source.

"Want? I'm simply visiting patients, as any charitable person might do. Though I have to say, I'm surprised to find you here. I would have thought someone in your... position... would have more pressing concerns than hospital visits."

"This is my sister," I said firmly, placing a protective hand on Jessica's shoulder. "I have every right to be here."

"How... touching. And what brings little sister to such an expensive medical facility? Surely someone of your background could find more... appropriate... care elsewhere."

Jessica's grip tightened on my hand, and I could feel her confusion turning to distress. Whatever game Adriana was playing, I wouldn't let her drag Jessica into it.

"Our medical care is none of your business," I said, my voice low and warning.

"Oh, but it is, though, isn't it? When people of... limited means... occupy resources that could be better used by those who can actually afford them. It raises questions about priorities."

"Aria?" Jessica's voice was small, uncertain. "What's she talking about?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," I said, not taking my eyes off Adriana. "This woman was just leaving."

"Was I?" Adriana's smile sharpened. "Because from what I understand, your sister requires quite expensive ongoing treatment. Dialysis, potential transplant surgery, months of recovery care. Resources that could save multiple patients," Adriana continued, her voice growing colder with each word, "wasted on one little girl whose family can't even afford basic care. It seems rather... selfish, don't you think?"

"Stop," I said, standing up so quickly the plastic chair scraped against the floor. "You have no right to talk about my sister that way."

"Don't I? I'm simply pointing out reality. Some lives are worth the investment, and others..." She shrugged elegantly. "Others are unfortunate casualties of economic circumstance."

Jessica began to cry—quiet, confused tears that broke my heart. She didn't understand what was happening, why this beautiful stranger was saying such cruel things, why the air in her room had suddenly become thick with tension and unspoken threats.

"You're scaring her," I said, my voice shaking with rage. "Get out. Get out right now."

"I'm scaring her?" Adriana's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "I think what's truly frightening is watching resources wasted on hopeless cases while deserving patients go without care."

"My sister is not a hopeless case!"

"Isn't she? Without proper funding, without the ability to pay for treatment, what exactly is her prognosis? From what I understand, patients in her condition have very limited time without intervention. And intervention requires money that you simply don't have."

"Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The sharp voice of hospital security cut through our confrontation. A uniformed guard stood in the doorway

"Nothing serious," Adriana said smoothly, her entire demeanor shifting to gracious civility. "I was simply visiting with Miss Rossi and her sister, offering some perspective on their situation."

The guard's eyes shifted between us, and I could see him making the same calculations everyone always made—expensive clothes and confident bearing versus desperation and obvious poverty.

"Miss Montrosso," he said, and the recognition in his voice confirmed my worst fears. Of course they knew her here. The Montrosso family probably donated enough money to this hospital to have entire wings named after them.

"There's no problem, Officer Martinez," Adriana said with a warm smile that never reached her eyes. "Though I am concerned about the disruption Miss Rossi seems to be causing. Her emotional outbursts are quite distressing for the other patients."

"That's not what happened," I protested, but the guard was already looking at me with suspicion.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to lower your voice," he said, his tone carrying official warning. "This is a medical facility, and we can't have visitors disturbing other patients."

"She was the one—"

"Ma'am." His voice grew sharper. "If you continue to cause disruptions, I'll have to ask you to leave the premises. And depending on the severity of the situation, we might need to consider whether your visiting privileges should be revoked entirely."

"Why?" The word came out raw, desperate. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you? I'm nobody. I'm nothing to you. So why do you hate me so much?"

For a moment, something flickered across Adriana's features.

"I don't know. I just hate you. Everything about you. But especially that face."

"Your face is so... familiar. You look exactly like..." She trailed off.

"Signorina." The sharp voice of Signora Russo cut through whatever Adriana had been about to say. The woman stepped closer, placing a firm hand on Adriana's arm. "We should go. You have other appointments today."