THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS FIANCÉE ORDER ME TO REMOVE AN ELDERLY WOMAN'S DINNER PLATE IN FRONT OF TWENTY-EIGHT GUESTS—THEN SHE SAID, “SHE'S ALREADY BEEN PAID TO KEEP QUIET

I stared at the pharmacy receipt, all the air leaving my lungs.

Authorized by: Lucas Bennett, RN.

My little brother. The brother whose nursing school tuition I was currently working as a maid to pay off.

“No,” I whispered, stumbling backward. “No, that’s a mistake.”

Adrian looked up from the journal. “Sophie? What is it?”

I couldn't speak. I just pointed a trembling finger at the receipt.

Adrian looked at the signature. He frowned. “Lucas Bennett. Who is that?”

“He’s my brother,” I choked out, tears spilling down my face. “He’s a nursing student. He works for a private medical staffing agency to pay his tuition.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened. “Your brother has been administering the sedatives keeping my brother in a coma?”

“He didn't know!” I cried, terrified of the look on Adrian’s face. “He’s just a student! They probably told him it was standard protocol for a comatose patient! He wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone!”

Adrian gripped the edge of the table. He took a deep breath, fighting the violent instincts that made him a mafia boss. He looked at me, seeing the absolute terror in my eyes.

“Call him,” Adrian ordered. “Right now. Tell him to get here.”

My hands shook as I pulled out my phone and dialed Lucas’s number.

He answered on the second ring. “Soph? It’s late, is everything okay?”

“Lucas, where are you?”

“I’m at my apartment. Why?”

“Get out,” I said, my voice cracking. “Leave the apartment right now. Do you remember the address of the old brick house on 42nd Street? The one we used to walk past?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Go there. Make sure nobody follows you. Please, Lucas. Just do it.”

I hung up before he could ask more questions.

Adrian closed the leather journal. “If Vivienne is running the blackmail, she’s the one who hired your brother. She used a naive nursing student because he wouldn't ask questions.”

“But why did Daniel wake up?” I asked, wiping my tears. “If my brother was giving him the drugs, why is Daniel awake now?”

Before Adrian could answer, Margaret walked out of the back bedroom.

She looked pale, wringing her hands nervously.

“Adrian,” Margaret said softly. “Daniel is resting. But his breathing is very shallow. He needs a real doctor.”

“I’m bringing one,” Adrian promised.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the front of the house.

The heavy oak front door shattered inward.

Three men in black tactical gear stormed into the living room, aiming assault rifles directly at us.

“Nobody move!” the lead man shouted.

Adrian instantly shoved me behind the sofa, drawing his pistol in one fluid motion, but he was vastly outgunned.

A figure stepped through the shattered doorway, silhouetted by the streetlights.

Vivienne.

She wore a tan trench coat, her perfectly styled hair catching the rain. She looked at the guns, then at Adrian, and smiled a cold, terrifying smile.

“Hello, darling,” Vivienne purred. “I see you found the safe house.”

“You’re trespassing, Vivienne,” Adrian said, keeping his gun aimed at her chest.

“Oh, I think we’re past property disputes,” she laughed. “My father called me from the hospital. He has a broken jaw, Adrian. I’m very unhappy about that.”

She snapped her fingers.

Two of her men marched past us, heading straight for the back bedroom.

“NO!” Margaret screamed, throwing herself in front of the hallway door.

One of the men grabbed the elderly woman by the arm and violently shoved her to the floor.

“Margaret!” Adrian roared. He raised his gun, but the three assault rifles immediately clicked, their laser sights painting his chest red.

“Shoot him and you all die,” Vivienne warned her men. “He’s a Moretti boss. The commission would slaughter us.”

She looked down at Margaret, who was weeping on the floor.

The men dragged Daniel out of the bedroom. He was too weak to fight, his eyes rolling back in terror as they threw him over a shoulder.

“Put him down!” Adrian yelled, stepping forward.

Vivienne held up a hand. “Ah, ah, ah. You shoot me, my men kill you, and Daniel dies anyway. But if you let us walk out of here, I’ll keep him comfortable. Just like I have for the last three years.”

She walked over to Margaret.

She reached down and violently yanked the pearl necklace from Margaret’s neck. The string snapped, pearls scattering across the hardwood floor like hail.

Vivienne knelt down, whispering into Margaret’s ear.

“You should have taken the twenty-five thousand and stayed in Florida, old woman.”

Vivienne stood up, clutching the broken string of pearls.

She looked at Adrian.

“I’m keeping the ghost, Adrian. And you are going to marry me next month, just like we planned. You will transfer the waterfront properties into my family’s name. If you don't...”

She threw the torn pearl necklace onto the coffee table.

“I’ll stop his heart instead of just slowing it down.”

Vivienne turned and walked out into the rain. Her men followed, carrying Adrian’s brother into the darkness.

Adrian stood frozen, the gun shaking in his hand. He had lost him again.

I rushed to Margaret, helping her sit up. She was sobbing, clutching her chest.

“I’m sorry,” Margaret wept. “I’m so sorry, Adrian.”

Adrian didn't answer. He stared at the scattered pearls on the floor.

Then, the back door of the kitchen slowly creaked open.

Adrian spun around, aiming his gun.

Standing in the doorway, soaking wet and looking terrified, was my brother, Lucas.

He raised his hands slowly.