HE THOUGHT THIS WAS A CORPORATE EVENT

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white.

Across the room, little Leo was watching me. Helen had stopped going through the safe and was staring at my face, reading the absolute terror in my eyes.

“Nora?” Helen asked sharply. “Who is it?”

I held up a hand to silence her, my brain working frantically. If I told this man I was locked in a safe room and his brother-in-law was currently being beaten to a pulp by a mafia boss, Maya would die.

“Yes,” I lied, staring blankly at a portrait of Vincent’s late father on the wall. “Helen is… she’s in the car. It’s done.”

“Good,” Thomas purred on the other end of the line. “And Vincent? Did he suspect anything?”

“No,” I said, forcing my voice to remain steady. “He was busy with the guests. He thinks she went to the retirement home.”

“Excellent. See, Nora? When people follow instructions, everyone gets to go home happy.” I could hear the smirk in his voice. “I’ll be leaving your daughter’s dorm now. Don’t do anything stupid.”

The line went dead.

I dropped the phone. My legs gave out, and I sank to the carpet, dry-heaving.

“Nora!” Helen wheeled over to me, grabbing my shoulder. “Was that about Maya? What did they do?”

“Caroline’s brother,” I gasped, trying to pull air into my lungs. “He’s at her college. He used her to make sure I got you out of the house tonight.”

Helen’s face hardened into a mask of pure, aristocratic fury.

She turned her wheelchair toward the study door just as a heavy knock sounded.

“Mom. Nora. Open up.” It was Vincent.

I scrambled to my feet, unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.

Vincent stood there, straightening his cuffs. His knuckles were bruised, and there was a smear of blood on his white shirt collar. Behind him, two guards were dragging an unconscious Mark down the hallway toward the basement stairs.

Caroline was sitting on the floor of the living room, weeping hysterically, flanked by three men in dark suits who did not look like party guests.

Vincent stepped into the study and immediately saw my face.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“They have my daughter,” I choked out, the tears finally coming. “Caroline’s brother. He was at her dorm. He called me to make sure I had put your mother in the car.”

Vincent’s jaw tightened. He turned and walked back into the living room.

I followed him, terrified of what he was going to do.

He walked up to Caroline, reached down, and grabbed a fistful of her expensive designer dress, hauling her to her feet. She screamed, thrashing against him.

“Where is your brother?” Vincent asked quietly.

“I don’t know! I swear!” she sobbed.

Vincent let go of her. He turned to one of his men. “Get me the car. We’re going to the university.”

“Vincent, wait,” Helen’s voice rang out from the doorway of the study. She wheeled herself out, holding the brown leather folder from the safe.

She tossed it onto the coffee table. It landed with a heavy slap.

“Thomas isn’t just her brother, Vincent,” Helen said. “Look at the files. They’ve been running this con for a decade.”

Vincent picked up the folder and opened it. I saw his eyes scan the documents.

“Marriage certificates,” Vincent murmured. “Five of them. All wealthy men. All dead within a year of the wedding.”

He looked at Caroline with absolute disgust. “You’re a black widow. Mark isn’t an accomplice. He’s your next victim. You were going to kill him and pin it on the Morettis tonight.”

Caroline stopped crying. The hysterical, terrified woman vanished.

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and let out a short, cold laugh.

“You’re smart, Helen,” Caroline said, her voice completely changed—hard, flat, and devoid of emotion. “But you’re too late.”

She looked at her wristwatch. It was the same small gold watch I had seen her check earlier.

“Thomas isn’t at the college anymore, Nora,” Caroline sneered. “He just needed you distracted. He’s already here.”