Chapter One

The indicator strip displayed a pink plus sign—the very same thing she had hoped not to see. Amber Sweet swore and tossed the hard plastic against the wall. The pregnancy test shattered, scattering plastic pieces everywhere.

Pink! Amber swore again, flushed the toilet, and washed her hands. She would get one of the genterns to clean up the mess—they'd been complaining about being bored lately—because she had more important things to do than clean up messes.

On her way out of the bathroom, she caught another glimpse of the colored strip. Fugliest shit I've ever seen.

The Graverobber had slipped on his coat and was about to head out for the night when someone lifted the lid of the dumpster. Their loss, he thought wryly. This trash has been sitting here for weeks.

"Graverobber," Amber growled. "We need to talk."

"We'll talk later," He grabbed his bag and climbed out of the trash receptacle. The empty vials on his belt clinked together as he moved. Through the bag, the blue glow of the Zydrate was unmistakable. He was running low on Z, though, and he needed to stop by the graveyard tonight if he wanted to make any money. "Time for me to go to work."

"I'm fucking pregnant."

He hesitated. "Really?"

"I've taken eighteen tests."

"Had to happen sooner or later." The Zydrate peddler turned on his heel and began to walk away, whistling. Why the hell does she think I care? It's not my problem... for once.

"Graverobber!"

He kept walking. "No free hits tonight, princess. I've got to go get—"

"You're the father."

Her words punched Graverobber in the gut. He whirled around to face her as air wheezed from his lungs. "What did you say?"

"I said it's your baby." She pressed a hand against her stomach. How much longer would it be until she showed? "I could get one of the genterns to confirm it, but I don't think that's necessary."

His pulse pounded in his ears. "And you're sure it's me?"

"Who else do you think I've been with?"

Oh, Amber... "Well, I've certainly heard the rumors about the way the Largo family works. And let's be honest—your reputation exceeds you." He smirked, almost sadly. "It explains why your brothers haven't killed you to gain control of GeneCo. I'm sure Pavi and Luigi don't mind the arrangement, either."

Amber was speechless. Sure, people talked—it was no secret everyone questioned the Largo siblings' relationships with each other. It wasn't the first time the subject had come up. But honest to God, does he expect me to back his embarrassing claim? "What I do in my spare time, especially in my own home, is absolutely none of your business," she snapped. "But due to the, uh, recency of this… development, you're the only man who could've gotten me pregnant."

Graverobber cursed long and low, pulling his furry coat tight against his body. He wasn't sure whether he was cold or just trying to protect himself from this shocking revelation, but he was pretty sure he wasn't that cold. Actually, he was sweating—beads of sweat were running down his face and into his eyes. It stung. Jesus Christ, what are we getting so damn anxious about? There's a simple solution. "Get rid of it, Amber—the baby, I mean. There's a clinic near your house." He ran a hand through his hair. "You could even have some of your private surgeons do it, I guess."

"You want me to have an abortion?"

"If word gets out you're pregnant, the whole city will be abuzz with rumors worse than any you've heard. And once people find out that I'm the father…"

Amber turned white—an impressive feat for someone already so pale. She could see the headlines now: GENECO'S CEO TO HAVE GRAVEROBBER'S CHILD—AMBER SWEET SLEEPS WITH ZYDRATE DEALERS. "You're right. I've got to do something about this, and fast. I just hope… I hope it's not too late."

Graverobber shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, good luck with that. I've got business to attend to." It's not my fault. She was the one who paid with her body. I suggested credit, but no... It was all business. He'd had no choice but to accept the payment. Wouldn't have hurt to mention the hormones, though. Street-grade Zydrate—that is, Zydrate without rigorous purification—had been proven to contain hormones that cancelled out birth control capsules. Graverobber had always known that—he just never thought it relevant enough to share with anyone. That scary shit is bad for business and best left well-enough alone.

Amber was torn between anger and fear. She was mad at the Graverobber for having blown her off so easily; mad at him for being so completely uncaring. I can't believe he's just walking away. It's not like I just got myself pregnant. The very least he owed her was an apology or a couple hundred credits for the operation—something. All he offered her was that familiar sardonic smile, that smooth voice with its cutting remarks, that… that… damnable apathy! God damn it! She channeled her energy into kicking at an empty vial, whose cerulean contents were spilled out along the ground. The Zydrate had been wasted. Just like my life.

The idea to terminate the pregnancy was becoming more and more appealing to Amber with the passage of time. She was nervous about the procedure, but it was probably similar to every other surgery she'd had before. She knew they'd give her plenty of Zydrate. There was just the matter of whether to use the clinic or her personal surgeons.

She rode the elevator up to the top two floors of the GeneCo tower without another thought. The first of the two floors housed a living room, kitchen, guest suite, and a dining hall. The second contained all of the Largo children's suites and a communal space with couches, bookshelves, and a viewscreen. How long's it been since I even watched that viewscreen? Damn. Since their father's death three months ago, she'd been so busy dealing with business, she'd taken to sleeping in her office, on the very same couch where she and Luigi first—

Luigi! Oh, god. Amber's stomach turned. What'll he do when he finds out I'm pregnant? He and Pavi were both fiercely protective of her, but Luigi was more unconventional in his methods. Once something kindled his rage, he became an unstoppable force who obliterated everything in his path. Amber shuddered. Maybe he won't find out until all is said and done, she thought. If he doesn't know I'm getting an abortion, he'll never know I was pregnant. That logic ruled out using her personal surgeons. They were all too eager to divulge her secret surgeries to Luigi, who tried to prevent Amber from throwing all their inheritance away. And Pavi always had four or five genterns hanging off of him. I have to go to that clinic. It's the only way to keep things quiet..

Amber's private suite had recently been redecorated to resemble a jungle. Converting the room had been difficult, mostly due to the fact that there were no jungles or rain forests on the planet. They had all been wiped out by the year 2013, so no one had any frame of reference for the design. Amber had had to rummage through her father's holographic encyclopedia files to find pictures, and even then, the designers were confused. After several threats from Luigi, however, Amber soon found herself in the midst of an honest-to-God Garden of Eden. They'd even put in a fountain with a waterfall.

The plants are droopy. Amber changed out of her black silk bathrobe into something more clinic-appropriate. Her valets were also nowhere to be seen, and it looked as though the gentern who cleaned her suite was slacking off. I'm trying to run the most powerful corporation in the world. Is it too much to ask for a little obedience?

She had finished dressing and was rolling on some lipstick when Pavi walked into the room. "What are you doing in here?" Amber snapped without thinking.

"The door was… ah, open, so I thought…" Pavi fumbled for the right words. "I wanted to, a-talk to you about something."

He was wearing another face—a face that looked nothing like hers—and she was obviously offended. So he'd rather wear the face of a generic scalpel slut than the face of the woman in charge of the cosmos? Some brother. "Spit it out. I've gotta be somewhere."

If Pavi was upset by her curt reply, he gave no indication. "I… I ah, found a-something in the bathroom this morning." He held the shattered remains of a pregnancy test out to her. The telltale pink strip screamed obscenities. "There were seventeen others in the trash."

Amber stared at him. Holy shit.

"Is there a-something you wish to make known to the Pavi?"

"I guess you already know I'm pregnant." She debated whether or not to say more. I never should've claimed that test. I could've pinned it on a gentern. Amber swallowed and without thinking, added, "I haven't told Luigi yet, so if you see him, could you send him over here?"

Luigi's not the father. Why the hell did I just say that?

"Oh." From under the slut's face, Pavi's eyes blinked slowly. He knew Amber and Luigi had been together several times, but he'd never imagined a resulting infant. "Aha... ah, yes. I will… let him know."

Amber watched as her brother folded the broken plastic up in his hands and left the room. What the hell did I just do? She picked up a brush and touched it to her hair. Immediately, she set it back down again. Luigi's gonna slit my throat for sure.