“THAT CHAIR IS FOR FAMILY, NOT A MAID'S LITTLE BOY!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE SCREAMED, DRAGGING MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD SON AWAY FROM THE DINNER TABLE.

The sight of the dried blood on the silver beads knocked the breath right out of my lungs.

I stumbled back, pressing my hand over my mouth. Oliver clung to my leg, sensing my panic. "Mommy? Why is the necklace dirty?"

Luca didn't answer. He stared at the rosary in his palm, his chest rising and falling in sharp, jagged breaths. The hope I had secretly harbored for three long years—the foolish dream that my husband was living somewhere far away, waiting for it to be safe to send for us—evaporated in that dusty train station corridor.

"He was bleeding," Luca whispered, his voice cracking. "He came to the safehouse, he was attacked, and he still managed to hide this in the locker."

"Why?" I cried, tears hot and fast on my cheeks. "Why would he risk his life to hide a rosary instead of just running?"

Luca wiped a smudge of dried blood off the silver cross with his thumb. "Because Matteo wasn't a thief. Silvio convinced the whole family that Matteo ran away with millions of dollars from the family trust. But this..." Luca held up the rosary. "This is the key."

He pressed a tiny, hidden latch at the bottom of the crucifix.

With a soft click, the cross split in half.

Inside the hollow silver cavity rested a tiny, black micro-USB drive.

"Matteo didn't steal the money," Luca said, his eyes burning with a sudden, fierce light. "He found out who was stealing it, and he stole the proof."

We rushed back to Luca's SUV. He pulled a sleek laptop from a compartment in the backseat and plugged the drive in. I held Oliver tight, my heart pounding against his small back.

An audio file appeared on the screen. Luca pressed play.

A grainy, muffled voice filled the car. It was Silvio.

"The accounts are drained. As soon as the boy is out of the picture, the European buyers will finalize the transfer. But Matteo is asking too many questions."

Then, a woman's voice answered. Vanessa.

"I took care of it. I went to the maid's house. I told Matteo if he didn't walk away tonight, I’d have his wife and the brat slaughtered. He agreed to meet at the docks."

Silvio's laugh was chilling. "Good. My men will be waiting. Make sure the body is never found. We need the family to believe he's a coward who ran off with the cash."

The recording clicked off.

Silence heavy as lead filled the SUV.

Luca slowly closed the laptop. The muscles in his jaw ticked so hard I thought his teeth would shatter. He had spent three years hating his brother for abandoning the family, only to find out his brother had died trying to protect us all.

Luca pulled out his phone and made one call. "Lock down the mansion. Nobody leaves. Especially Vanessa."

By the time we pulled back through the wrought-iron gates of the Moretti estate, the grounds were swarming with armed guards.

We walked into the grand foyer. Vanessa was standing by the door, surrounded by four large men. She was clutching a designer suitcase, her face pale but her eyes filled with venom.

"You can't keep me here, Luca!" she snapped.

Luca walked right up to her. He didn't yell. He just held up the silver rosary.

Vanessa’s eyes locked onto it, and all the color drained from her lips.

"He hid it," Luca said softly. "My brother fought off your hitmen long enough to stash the proof. You're done, Vanessa. Silvio is done."

Vanessa let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. "You think you've won? You're too late, Luca! The money transfer to Europe happens at midnight. Without those funds, the family commission will execute you for losing their wealth!"

Luca stepped closer. "Then I guess I'll just have to stop the transfer."

Vanessa smiled, a cold, evil thing. "You can't. Silvio already moved the money to a ghost account. And you have no idea where it is."

She leaned in, lowering her voice so only we could hear.

"By the way, Claire," Vanessa sneered, looking past Luca at me. "You really should keep a closer eye on your little boy. I slipped something into his pocket when I grabbed him in the dining room."

My blood turned to ice.

"Oliver!" I gasped, dropping to my knees. I frantically patted down his little jeans.

Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy, glittering diamond bracelet.

"The lady dropped this," Oliver said innocently.

Luca snatched the bracelet from his hand. He turned it over, ripping the diamond casing apart with his bare hands.

Hidden inside the expensive jewelry was a blinking red light. A GPS tracker.