MY DEAD MOMMY TALKS TO ME THROUGH THE WALL,” THE MAFIA BOSS’S SIX-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHISPERED—BUT WHEN THE BROKE HOUSEKEEPER DISCOVERED WHERE THE VOICE WAS COMING FROM, HIS FIANCÉE BEGGED HER NOT TO TELL HIM.**

I spun away from the window, my heart slamming against my ribs.

The heavy oak doors of the study were still locked. Grace was still sitting on the sofa, holding Sophie.

Everything looked perfectly normal.

But Victoria’s smile burned in my mind. Look behind you.

“Hannah? What is it?” Grace asked, noticing my panic.

“She smiled at me,” I breathed, scanning the room. “Victoria smiled.”

I walked toward the center of the study, my eyes darting over the bookshelves, the fireplace, the heavy mahogany desk.

And then I saw it.

Sitting on the edge of the desk, perfectly aligned with the edge of the wood, was a small, black object.

It hadn't been there when Dominic left.

I slowly walked toward it.

It was a wireless speaker.

The exact same model I had pulled from behind Sophie’s bed.

The tiny green light on the side blinked twice.

Click.

A voice echoed through the quiet study.

It wasn't Adrian’s voice. It wasn't Victoria’s.

It was a voice I hadn't heard in six months.

“Hannah, honey. It’s Dad.”

I stopped breathing.

The voice was crystal clear. It was my father, Arthur Miller.

“If you’re hearing this, it means I’m gone. And it means you’re standing in the Romano house.”

Grace stood up, pulling Sophie behind her. “Hannah, what is this?”

I couldn't speak. I just stared at the speaker.

“I’m so sorry I lied to you, Livvy,” my father’s recorded voice continued, using his childhood nickname for me. “I had to protect you. The witness protection program kept us safe for twenty years. But the cancer came back. I knew I didn't have much time.”

Tears spilled over my cheeks.

“Six months ago, I found out Adrian Romano was planning a coup against Dominic. Adrian discovered my real identity. He tracked me down in Ohio.”

The room felt like it was shrinking.

“Adrian told me that if I didn't help him launder the stolen money, he would kill you and your sister. He knew I was an accountant. He needed my skills.”

My father hadn't died owing $18,000 because he was bad with money. He died owing $18,000 because he was being extorted by the mafia.

“I refused,” my father’s voice cracked. “I told him I would rather die than betray Dominic’s mother’s memory. So, Adrian poisoned me.”

A sob tore from my throat. My father hadn't died of a natural heart attack. Adrian had murdered him.

“But before the poison took me, I did one last thing to protect you,” my father said, his voice growing weaker on the recording. “I forged a debt collection notice for $18,000. And I arranged for the Romano estate to have an opening for a housekeeper.”

I covered my mouth with my hands.

He had orchestrated my entire employment.

“I knew if you were inside that house, Dominic would protect you. He honors his mother’s debts. And I knew that you, with your sharp eyes and brave heart, would figure out what Adrian was doing before it was too late.”

The recording crackled slightly.

“I love you, Hannah. Be safe.”

The speaker clicked off.

I collapsed onto my knees, weeping uncontrollably.

My father had sacrificed his life to keep me safe. He had sent me into the lion’s den, knowing the lion would protect me from the jackals.

Grace knelt beside me, wrapping her arms around my shaking shoulders.

“He was a good man, Hannah,” Grace whispered. “He saved my husband’s life thirty years ago, and he saved my daughter’s life tonight through you.”

Suddenly, the lock on the study door clicked open.

I jumped, wiping my tears.

Dominic walked in. He holstered his weapon, looking exhausted but victorious.

“Victoria is in police custody,” Dominic announced. “She confessed to everything to avoid the death penalty. She gave up the location of the ledger.”

He looked at me, kneeling on the floor, and Grace holding me.

“What happened?” he asked gently.

I picked up the black speaker and handed it to him.

“My father left a message,” I choked out.

Dominic took the speaker, his expression softening into profound understanding.

“Marco found the original recording on Victoria’s phone,” Dominic said quietly. “She was planning to use it to taunt you. To break you before she left.”

He knelt down in front of me.

“Arthur Bellini was a man of honor,” Dominic said, looking me dead in the eyes. “The debt my family owed him was immense. But what you did tonight... protecting Sophie, pulling me out of that vent... you paid that debt a thousand times over.”

Dominic stood up, holding out his hand to me.