STOP STARING AT MY FATHER! HE DOESN'T KNOW YOU, AND YOU CERTAINLY DON'T BELONG TO HIS FAMILY!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED THE YOUNG HOUSEMAID IN FRONT OF FORTY GUESTS—BUT WHEN LUCA MORETTI HEARD THE OLDER MAN WHISPER, “MAGGIE?” HE QUIETLY ASKED, “WHY DOES YOUR FATHER KNOW MY MAID'S CHILDHOOD NAME?”**

"Get down!" Luca roared, tackling me to the floor as a volley of automatic gunfire tore through the shattered library windows.

Bullets chewed through the mahogany bookshelves, raining splinters and shredded paper over us.

"Vanessa?" I screamed over the deafening noise. "The Commission banished her!"

"She must have bought a rogue mercenary crew with the last of her hidden offshore accounts!" Luca yelled, shielding my body entirely with his own. "She has nothing left to lose!"

The gunfire paused as the mercenaries reloaded.

Luca grabbed my hand and yanked me to my feet. "Run!"

We sprinted out of the library and into the grand hallway. The mansion was in chaos. Luca’s guards were returning fire from the upper balconies, but Vanessa had brought heavy artillery.

"Mom!" I panicked, pulling against Luca’s grip. "My mother is in the cottage!"

"Daniel has a detail on her! She's safe!" Luca promised, dragging me toward the basement door. "We need to get to the panic room!"

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, ripping my hand away as we reached the heavy steel door of the bunker. The betrayal of the letters still burned like acid in my chest. "You let me suffer for nine months! You used me as bait!"

Luca slammed his hand against the wall, trapping me. His eyes were wild, desperate.

"I protected you!" Luca yelled over the alarms. "If Claudia knew I knew who you were, she would have killed you and Evelyn instantly! I had to let Vanessa think she was in control! Every night you scrubbed those floors, it killed me, Margaret! But it kept you alive!"

I stared at him, my heart hammering.

He wasn't lying. The agony in his voice was raw and real. He had played the villain to keep the monsters from noticing the princess.

"I'm sorry," Luca whispered, resting his forehead against mine. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you."

Before I could answer, the basement door above us blew open with a deafening crash.

Vanessa stood at the top of the stairs, her elegant dresses replaced by tactical gear, her face twisted into a mask of pure, unhinged madness. She held a submachine gun.

"How touching," Vanessa sneered.

Luca shoved me behind him, raising his Glock.

But Vanessa was faster. She fired a burst.

Luca jerked backward with a violent grunt, collapsing onto the concrete stairs. Blood blossomed rapidly across his white shirt, high on his shoulder.

"Luca!" I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him.

"I told you I wasn't finished," Vanessa laughed, walking slowly down the stairs. "My mother might be a coward, but I am not. This empire is mine. It has always been mine."

She pointed the gun at my head.

"Any last words, little sister?" Vanessa smiled.

I looked at the gun. I looked at Luca, bleeding on the stairs, his eyes fading.

I didn't cower. I didn't beg.

I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out the silver watch Luca had given me at the hospital. The watch that belonged to our father, Dante.

"Answer One, Open Two," I said softly.

Vanessa frowned. "Stop saying that stupid phrase."

"You really should have checked the watch closer before you kept it as a trophy, Vanessa," I said, holding the heavy silver timepiece up.

I didn't press the hidden compartment button.

I pressed the winding crown three times in rapid succession.

A high-pitched, electronic whine filled the narrow stairwell.

Vanessa froze. "What is that?"

"Dante Moretti was paranoid," I bluffed flawlessly, praying the security feature Daniel had mentioned weeks ago was real. "He installed a dead-man's switch in his watch. High-frequency acoustic scrambler. It triggers the mansion's automated lockdown."

Heavy steel blast doors slammed shut at the top of the stairs, trapping Vanessa in the stairwell with us.

She panicked, spinning around and firing at the impenetrable steel doors.

In that split second of distraction, Luca pushed through the pain. He lunged upward, grabbing Vanessa’s ankle and ripping her feet out from under her.

Vanessa shrieked, crashing hard against the concrete steps. Her gun clattered away.

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed the heavy silver watch and swung it with all my strength, striking Vanessa across the temple.

She went limp instantly.

The stairwell fell silent, save for the blaring alarms.

I dropped the watch and scrambled to Luca. He was breathing heavily, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I panicked, ripping the hem of my shirt to press against his wound.

Luca managed a weak, incredulous smile.

"Acoustic scrambler?" he wheezed.

"I read about it in a spy novel," I confessed, tears of relief spilling over. "Daniel just installed the blast doors last week. I triggered them with a remote in my pocket."

Luca laughed, coughing slightly. He reached up with his good hand and pulled me down, kissing me fiercely, tasting like blood and absolute victory.

"You are definitely a Moretti," Luca whispered.

The heavy blast doors slowly hissed open. Daniel stood there with ten armed guards.

"Area secure, boss," Daniel reported, looking down at unconscious Vanessa. "The mercenaries surrendered when they realized they were trapped."