My boss’s six-year-old son pointed at me in a hallway full of dangerous men and announced that I was too beautiful to be alone, so I should become his mommy. Everyone expected Adrian Kane, Manhattan’s most feared crime boss, to shut him down, but instead he asked one quiet question, and his little boy’s answer wiped every trace of color from his face.

The elevator dropped like a stone, leaving my stomach somewhere on the fiftieth floor.

“Dad!” Noah screamed in the dark, pounding his tiny fists against the metal doors.

“Noah, come here,” I sobbed, pulling him into my arms and dropping to the floor of the descending car. I held him as tightly as I could, burying my face in his soft hair, praying to a God I hadn’t spoken to in years that Adrian was still alive.

When the doors slid open to the dimly lit underground garage, I expected to find Adrian’s men waiting for us.

Instead, the garage was dead empty.

A sleek, black bulletproof SUV was parked fifty feet away, its engine idling quietly. Adrian had prepared this escape route for us. But he wasn’t here to drive it.

I grabbed Noah’s hand and sprinted toward the car. I threw open the back door, buckling him into the heavy leather seat.

“Clara, we have to go back for him,” Noah cried, tears streaming down his face, clutching Gerald the elephant until his knuckles turned white.

“I know, baby, I know,” I whispered, climbing into the driver’s seat. I locked the doors and slammed my foot on the gas, tearing out of the parking garage and merging recklessly into the chaotic Manhattan traffic.

My hands shook violently against the steering wheel. I had to get Noah to safety. I had to go to the safehouse Adrian had programmed into the GPS.

But as I drove, Marcus’s cruel smile flashed in my mind.

Why did Marcus look so smug when we got in the elevator?

I glanced in the rearview mirror at Noah. He was rubbing his face against his stuffed elephant, crying quietly.

“Noah,” I said gently, trying to keep my voice steady. “Can I ask you a question about Gerald?”

He sniffled. “What?”

“Why is Gerald so heavy today?” I had noticed it when I moved the toy off the couch earlier. A stuffed animal shouldn't weigh three pounds.

Noah looked down at the elephant. “Dad put a secret in his tummy this morning. He said I couldn’t open the zipper unless I was with you.”

My blood ran cold.

I pulled the SUV into a dark, secluded alleyway and threw the car into park. I climbed into the backseat next to Noah. “Can we open the zipper now, sweetie?”

Noah nodded. His little fingers fumbled with a hidden zipper on the elephant’s stomach. He reached inside and pulled out a heavy block of metal wrapped in black velvet, handing it to me.

I unwrapped it carefully.

It was a backup hard drive. And taped to the front of it was a handwritten note from Adrian.

Clara, if you are reading this, I am already dead or captured.

A sob ripped from my throat. I forced myself to keep reading.

The GPS in the car is a decoy. Marcus compromised my security team three days ago. If you go to the safehouse, Eleanor’s men will be waiting for you.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, sheer terror washing over me. We had been driving straight into a trap.

This hard drive contains the financial ledgers proving Eleanor stole from the syndicate. It’s the only thing that can destroy her. But she doesn't know where the decryption key is. She thinks I have it. I don’t.

I flipped the note over.

The decryption key is hidden in the only place Eleanor would never look. It’s at your childhood home, Clara. Your mother hid it before she died. Go there. Find it. Save my son. I love you.

I stared at the last three words until they blurred with my tears. I love you. The cold, ruthless billionaire didn't just trust me. He loved me.

Suddenly, the silence of the alley was shattered by the screech of tires.

A black van blocked the exit of the alley. Two more SUVs pulled up behind us, boxing us in completely.

Bright headlights flooded the cabin of our car, blinding me.

Heavy footsteps approached my window. Someone knocked sharply on the reinforced glass with the butt of a gun.

I wrapped my arms around Noah, shielding him with my body, preparing for the end.

The man outside wiped the grime from the glass and peered inside.

When my eyes finally adjusted to the glare, my heart stopped beating entirely.