**THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS FIANCÉE PUSH MY NINE-YEAR-OLD SON'S WALKER AWAY FROM HIM DURING HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—THEN SHE SAID, “HE NEEDS TO SHOW OUR GUESTS WHAT HE CAN DO.” BUT WHEN MY LITTLE BOY WHISPERED, “MOMMY, I'M SCARED TO FALL AGAIN,” LUCA STOOD UP AND ASKED, “WHO TOLD YOU HE HAD TO WALK TONIGHT?”**

Arthur Bellini looked massive in the dim light of the boathouse, his expensive camel-hair coat completely out of place in the damp, gasoline-scented room.

The heavy revolver in his hand didn't shake. He wasn't a desperate coward like Michael. He was a seasoned killer who had spent decades burying his problems.

“How did you know we were here?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper, pulling Ben firmly behind my legs again.

“I didn't,” Arthur chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. “I was waiting for Michael. The idiot called me ten minutes ago to say he was securing his escape route. When I heard the boat leave without me, I assumed he had double-crossed me. But finding you with the ledger? That’s a lovely stroke of luck.”

He took a slow step forward on the wooden dock.

“The book, Sarah. Toss it over.”

I gripped the heavy leather ledger. It felt like an anchor in my hands. If I gave it to him, the evidence against him would vanish forever. Luca would spend the rest of his life in a federal prison for a murder Arthur orchestrated.

But if I didn't give it to him, my son would die tonight.

I looked down at Ben. He was shivering in the cold air, his bare feet pressed against the damp wood, staring up at me with complete trust.

I couldn't risk his life. Not for a mafia boss. Not for a ledger.

“If I give it to you, you let us walk away,” I demanded, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

Arthur smiled, a cruel, predatory expression. “Of course, my dear. I have no interest in murdering a housemaid and a crippled child. I just want my property back.”

He was lying. I knew it the second the words left his mouth. He couldn't leave witnesses.

I slowly held the ledger out.

“Toss it,” Arthur ordered, raising the revolver slightly.

I took a deep breath.

Instead of tossing it to him, I threw the heavy book as hard as I could toward the open water.

The ledger sailed through the air, completely missing the dock, and splashed into the dark, churning depths of Lake Michigan.

Arthur’s face twisted in absolute fury.

“You stupid bitch!” he roared.

He lunged toward the edge of the dock, dropping to his knees, frantically searching the dark water for any sign of the floating book. But it was heavy leather, filled with thick parchment paper. It sank like a stone.

“Run, Ben!” I screamed, grabbing his hand.

I practically carried him as we scrambled toward the heavy metal side door of the boathouse that led out to the estate’s private beach.

Arthur scrambled to his feet, raising his gun.

BANG.

The gunshot was deafening in the enclosed space. The bullet shattered the wooden frame of the door just inches from my head, showering us in splinters.

I threw my body over Ben, shielding him as I shoved the heavy metal door open.

We spilled out onto the cold sand of the beach.

“Keep going, baby! Don't look back!” I yelled, pulling him toward the thick line of trees that bordered the property.

Ben stumbled, crying out in pain as the sharp rocks and shells cut his bare feet, but he kept moving. His bravery was astonishing.

I heard Arthur’s heavy boots hit the sand behind us. He was surprisingly fast for a man his size.

“You’re dead!” Arthur screamed into the night wind. “I’m going to kill both of you!”

We reached the treeline. The darkness of the woods enveloped us. The ground was uneven, covered in roots and fallen branches.

“Mommy, my legs hurt,” Ben sobbed, his pace slowing significantly.

“I know, baby, I know. I’m going to carry you,” I gasped.

I scooped him up into my arms. My lungs were burning, my muscles screaming in protest. I forced myself to run deeper into the woods, dodging trees blindly in the dark.

I heard Arthur crashing through the brush behind us, swearing violently. He was losing ground in the darkness.

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet disappeared.

I stepped into a steep, muddy ravine hidden in the shadows. We tumbled down the embankment, sliding violently through the mud and wet leaves.

I held Ben tightly against my chest, taking the brunt of the fall as we crashed into the bottom of the ravine.

Pain exploded in my shoulder. I groaned, biting my lip to keep from screaming.

“Mommy?” Ben whispered, terrified in the dark.

“Shh,” I breathed, covering his mouth gently with my hand. “Don't make a sound.”

We lay perfectly still in the mud at the bottom of the ravine.

Above us, I heard Arthur pacing the edge of the embankment. His heavy boots snapped twigs and crushed leaves.

“I know you’re down there,” Arthur growled, his voice echoing eerily through the trees. “You can't hide from me forever. I have the entire police force looking for you.”

He clicked a flashlight on. The bright beam cut through the darkness, sweeping across the top of the ravine, searching for movement.

I pressed my face into the mud, pulling Ben tight against me, praying the darkness would hide us.

The beam of light passed right over our heads.

Arthur swore again. “You think you’re smart? Throwing the book in the lake? It doesn't matter! The only person who knows what was in it is you. And once I find you, the secret dies anyway.”

He began walking along the edge of the ravine, searching for a way down.

If he found us here, we were trapped.

I slowly let go of Ben.

“Stay here,” I whispered directly into his ear. “Do not move until I come back for you. Promise me.”

Ben shook his head frantically in the dark, grabbing my shirt. “No, Mommy! Don't leave me!”

“I have to, baby. I’m going to lead him away. You stay perfectly still.”

I kissed his forehead, ignoring the mud and tears.

I crawled away from him, moving quietly along the bottom of the ravine until I was about twenty yards away.

I found a heavy rock in the mud. I picked it up and threw it as hard as I could up the opposite side of the embankment.

It crashed into the brush with a loud thud.

Arthur’s flashlight beam instantly snapped toward the noise.

“There you are,” he snarled.

He began scrambling down the steep, muddy slope toward the sound.

I waited until he was halfway down, sliding and cursing in the mud.

Then, I stood up and sprinted in the opposite direction, deliberately stepping heavily on dry branches to make noise.

“Hey!” Arthur yelled, realizing he had been tricked.

He aimed his gun toward the sound of my footsteps and fired blindly into the dark.

BANG. BANG.

A bullet slammed into a tree trunk inches from my face, sending bark flying into my eyes.

I stumbled, blinded for a second, but forced myself to keep running. I had to draw him far enough away so Ben could escape.

I burst through the treeline, stumbling out onto a paved access road that ran along the edge of the estate.

I fell hard onto the asphalt, scraping my knees and palms raw.

I scrambled to my feet, gasping for air. I looked back toward the woods. The flashlight beam was bouncing wildly as Arthur chased me through the trees.

I turned to run down the access road, desperate to find help.

But as I turned, headlights suddenly washed over me, blinding me in the dark.

A vehicle had been parked on the road, waiting silently with its lights off.

My heart sank. It was the police. Arthur’s corrupt cops had surrounded the perimeter.

I threw my hands up in surrender, exhausted, defeated, and terrified for the son I had left alone in the woods.

The doors of the vehicle opened.

But it wasn't a police cruiser. It was a sleek, black SUV.

And the man who stepped out wasn't wearing a police uniform.

He was wearing a tailored suit, his hands resting casually in his pockets, a calm, terrifying smile on his face.