FIVE WORDS WRITTEN IN BLACK INK

I stared at the screen.

The blood drained from my face.

The Bellinis were dismantled. Salvatore had told us that the leadership was arrested, that the docks were seized, that the family was broken.

But someone was out there. Someone with a camera. Someone looking right at my window.

"Emma?" Luca noticed my expression. "What's wrong?"

I turned the phone around and showed him the picture.

Luca’s eyes darkened instantly. The soft, vulnerable man from a moment ago vanished, replaced by the ruthless Boss of Chicago.

He grabbed his radio from his belt. "Daniel. East wing, now."

"What is it, Boss?" Daniel’s voice crackled back.

"Someone is outside the main gate. They just took a picture of Emma’s window. Sweep the perimeter. Do not let them get away."

"Copy that."

Luca turned back to me. He took the phone from my hands and looked closely at the image.

"They used a high-powered lens," Luca said, his voice tight. "They were across the street, in the tree line."

"I thought your father said it was over," I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself.

"In our world, Emma, it's rarely over," Luca said grimly. "There are always cousins, lieutenants, ghosts who slip through the cracks. They know Vanessa failed. They know you have the thirty million."

Panic flared in my chest. "They're coming for the money."

"Let them come," Luca said. He stepped close to me, his hands gripping my shoulders. His touch was firm, grounding me. "Listen to me. They are cowards. They take pictures from the trees because they know if they step foot on my property, they die."

He looked deep into my eyes.

"I promised Isabella I would protect you. I promised Noah. And I promise you. You are a Moretti now. Nobody touches a Moretti."

I looked up at him, feeling the strength radiating from him.

I wasn't a scared girl anymore. I wasn't just surviving. I had a family to protect, too.

"I'm not running," I said. My voice was steady. Strong. "I'm not hiding. This is my home."

A proud, fierce smile touched Luca’s lips. "Good."

The bedroom door swung open. Daniel rushed in, out of breath.

"Boss," Daniel said. "We swept the tree line."

"Did you find them?" Luca demanded.

"No," Daniel said, holding up a small, black object. "But we found this pinned to a tree with a hunting knife."

Daniel handed it to Luca.

It was a black rose.

Tied to the stem was a small, silver Bellini family crest. The exact same crest that was on the ring Luca had taken from the cardboard box earlier.

Luca stared at the black rose.

He didn't look afraid. He looked ready.

He crushed the rose in his fist.

"Daniel," Luca said, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "Double the guards. Lock the gates. And tell the men to prepare."

"For what, Boss?"

Luca tossed the crushed black rose onto the floor.

"For war," Luca said.

He turned to me, offering his hand.

I looked at the crushed rose, then at the silver bracelet sparkling on my wrist. The legacy of a woman who fought back. The legacy of a family that refused to break.

I reached out and took Luca’s hand. His grip was warm and unbreakable.

Whatever came next, whatever ghosts emerged from the shadows of Chicago, we would face them. Not as a boss and a maid, but as equals. As a family.