"SHE WANTED ME TO CALL YOU BEFORE THE WEDDING AND TELL YOU I NEVER WANTED TO BE YOUR DAUGHTER AGAIN."

My father’s head snapped toward my voice.

Through the thick security glass, his exhausted, bruised face went completely pale when he saw me standing in the open terminal.

"Rachel! Run!" he yelled, though his voice was muffled by the glass.

The two Romano thugs turned around.

When they saw Luca Moretti standing there with his gun leveled directly at them, they froze.

"Drop them," Luca ordered, his voice echoing like thunder across the empty baggage claim.

The thugs looked at each other, then slowly raised their hands, dropping their weapons onto the polished floor.

"Kick them away," Luca commanded.

They complied.

"Now get on the ground. Facedown."

Once they were on the floor, Luca gestured for me to go to the door.

"Mr. Bennett," Luca called out. "Open the door."

My father hesitated, looking at the gun in Luca's hand with deep distrust.

"Dad, it's okay," I pleaded, pressing my hands against the glass. "He's helping us. He saved me."

Slowly, my father unlocked the heavy metal door.

I threw myself into his arms, burying my face in his torn gray coat, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I thought you were dead," I cried, holding him as tightly as my broken ribs would allow.

"I'm okay, peanut," my dad whispered, kissing the top of my head, though he winced in pain as he hugged me. "I'm okay."

Luca kicked the thugs' guns out of reach and stepped into the office, locking the door behind us.

Daniel and Mia hurried over a moment later, slipping into the secure room before anyone else could spot them.

We were safe, temporarily barricaded inside the long-term luggage office.

Luca looked at my father.

"Thomas Bennett," Luca said. "You were my father's chief accountant twenty-five years ago."

I pulled back, staring at my dad in shock.

"You worked for the Moretti syndicate?" I asked, my voice trembling. "You told me you worked for a commercial bank."

My dad sighed, lowering the heavy black duffel bag onto a desk.

"I did work for a bank, Rachel. But the bank was owned by his father." He pointed a shaking finger at Luca. "I laundered their money. I kept their books. I was a criminal, peanut. I'm sorry I lied to you."

I felt like the ground had vanished beneath my feet.

"Why did you leave?" Luca asked, his eyes narrowing. "My father tore the city apart looking for you when you disappeared."

"Because I found out what he was planning," my dad said, wiping blood from his forehead. "Your father was planning to massacre the entire Romano family. Wives. Children. Everyone. It would have started a war that would have burned Chicago to the ground."

My dad unzipped the dusty duffel bag.

"So I took the only thing that could stop him. I took his leverage."

My dad reached into the bag and pulled out a thick, leather-bound book.

"The master ledger," Luca breathed, staring at the book as if it were a ghost.

"Every bribe, every dirty politician, every hidden account your father ever used," my dad explained. "I told your father that if he went through with the massacre, I would send this ledger to the FBI. It forced a truce. It saved hundreds of lives."

"And it ruined the Romanos anyway," Luca murmured. "Without the war, they slowly lost their territory to us."

"Exactly," my dad said. "Which is why Vanessa wants this book."

"Vanessa is a Romano," Luca said, nodding.

"She's not just a Romano," my dad corrected, his eyes locking onto Luca's. "She is the daughter of Carmine Romano. The man your father humiliated into signing that truce."

The room went dead silent.

"She doesn't just want revenge, Luca," my dad continued, his voice urgent. "She wants to take your empire legally. She knows about the succession clause in your syndicate's bylaws."

Luca's face hardened. "If I die, the syndicate passes to my legal spouse. Unless I have a living heir."

"Mia," I whispered, looking at the terrified nineteen-year-old girl.

"That's why Vanessa tried to bribe Mia into disowning you today," my dad said. "If Mia legally signs away her inheritance, and Vanessa marries you tomorrow..."

"She kills me on our wedding night," Luca finished, his voice devoid of emotion. "And the Romano family takes over my empire without firing a single shot."

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.

Vanessa had planned this for years. She had infiltrated Luca's life, charmed his friends, and meticulously plotted his murder.

Suddenly, Luca's cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled it out.

The caller ID read: Vanessa.

Luca held up a hand for silence, then answered, putting it on speaker.

"Where are you, darling?" Vanessa's sweet, melodic voice echoed through the small office. "The guests are starting to wonder if the groom got cold feet."

"I had to handle a security issue," Luca said smoothly.

"Oh, I know," Vanessa purred. "I heard Daniel took the armored SUV to the airport. I assume he found your runaway daughter?"

Luca didn't answer.

Vanessa sighed. "Listen to me very carefully, Luca. I know you're at the airport. I know you found the old bookkeeper. But if you aren't standing at the altar of the estate chapel tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, I am going to detonate the thermite charges my men placed in the basement of your mansion."

My heart stopped.

Mrs. Carter. The staff. The twenty-six innocent guests sleeping upstairs.

"You're bluffing," Luca said, though his knuckles were white gripping the phone.