THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS FIANCÉE TAKE A FORK OUT OF A 76-YEAR-OLD WOMAN'S SHAKING HAND AT HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—THEN SHE SAID, “SHE ASKED TO EAT IN THE KITCHEN,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY THE OLD WOMAN WAS CRYING OVER A PLATE SHE HADN'T TOUCHED.

I didn't go home.

I couldn't.

I sat in my beat-up Honda Civic at the edge of the Moretti estate, staring at the small brass key in my palm.

Use the key, Natalie. Before it's too late.

Agnes knew Vanessa was hiding something. She had known all along. That’s why Vanessa wanted to send her to Switzerland.

But what did the key open?

I looked up at the caretaker’s cottage down the driveway. Agnes was in the main house tonight, sleeping in one of the guest rooms to stay close to Leo.

The cottage was empty.

I grabbed my flashlight, got out of the car, and quietly made my way through the dark estate grounds to Agnes’s small home.

The door was unlocked.

I stepped inside. The three packed suitcases were still sitting in the living room, a heartbreaking reminder of how close Vanessa had come to erasing Agnes completely.

I moved into Agnes’s small bedroom.

It was neat and modest. A quilt on the bed. A Bible on the nightstand.

I started searching. I looked under the mattress, inside the dresser drawers, and behind the small framed photos of a young Luca playing baseball.

Nothing.

Then my flashlight beam caught something on the top shelf of the closet.

It was an old, wooden music box. Beautifully carved, but dusty.

I pulled it down and set it on the bed.

It had a small brass keyhole on the front.

My hands shook as I inserted the key.

It turned with a soft click.

I opened the lid.

There was no ballerina. No music played.

Inside the hollowed-out box was a small stack of documents and a velvet pouch.

I opened the pouch first.

Inside was the silver rosary.

I stared at it in shock.

Vanessa didn't have it. She thought she did, but Agnes must have found it in Vanessa's room weeks ago and replaced it with a fake, hiding the real one here.

I set the rosary down and looked at the documents.

They were banking records.

Not Moretti records. Bellini records.

Agnes had kept the house accounts for years before she retired. She must have noticed the discrepancies.

I flipped through the pages.

The Bellini family was completely, entirely bankrupt.

They had been bleeding money for a decade. The only thing keeping their syndicate afloat was the promise of Vanessa’s marriage to Luca, which would legally merge their assets.

But the last document was the most damning.

It was a transfer deed.

Signed by Vanessa Bellini and Dr. Arthur Vance.

It was the deed to the 'clinic' downtown where they had kept Leo.

It wasn't a clinic at all. It was an abandoned warehouse owned by the Bellini family, registered under a shell corporation. Vance was using it as a private, off-the-books medical facility to treat wounded cartel members for cash.

And Vanessa had locked a six-year-old boy in there to scare him into silence.

I realized with sickening clarity why Vanessa was so desperate. If Luca found out about the bankruptcy, the wedding was off. If he found out about Vance and his mother's murder, the Bellini family wouldn't just be broke—they would be eradicated.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was a text from an unknown number.

I told you to go home, Natalie. Such a shame about your mother's apartment building. The fire trucks won't make it in time.

My blood turned to ice.

Vanessa.

She had seen my car on the estate cameras. She knew I hadn't left.

I dialed my mother’s number frantically.

It rang and rang.

Pick up. Please, mom, pick up.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"Mom! Get out of the apartment! Right now!" I screamed.

"Natalie? Honey, what's wrong? It's three in the morning."

"Mom, please! Just grab your coat and go down to the street! Don't use the elevator! Do it now!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going," she said, sounding terrified.

I hung up.

I grabbed the banking records, the deed, and the silver rosary.

I ran out of the cottage and sprinted up the driveway toward the main mansion.

I didn't care about the threats anymore. I didn't care if I got fired.

I burst through the front doors of the mansion, screaming for the guards.

"Where is he?! Where is Luca?!"

Two large men in suits stepped into the foyer, looking alarmed.

Before they could speak, Luca appeared at the top of the grand staircase. He was wearing dark trousers and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. He looked exhausted.

"Natalie? What are you doing here?"

I ran up the stairs and shoved the documents and the rosary into his chest.

"I lied to you," I gasped, out of breath. "She threatened to kill my mother. She threatened to burn down her building."

Luca’s expression instantly turned lethal.

He looked down at the silver rosary in his hand.

"Agnes hid it," I said quickly. "And she found these. The Bellinis are broke, Luca. The marriage is a scam to steal your money. And the clinic... it's a front. Vance runs it for Vanessa."

Luca didn't say a word.

He didn't yell. He didn't explode.

He just meticulously folded the documents and handed them to the guard standing behind him.

"Call my brother's crew," Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Tell them to send three cars to Natalie's mother's apartment. Secure the building. Anyone holding a match gets a broken neck."

"Yes, Boss."

Luca turned back to me.

"Where is Vanessa right now?"

"She texted me," I said, showing him my phone. "She's watching the cameras. She must be at the warehouse."

Luca reached into his waistband and pulled out a heavy black pistol. He checked the chamber.

"Stay here with Agnes and Leo," Luca ordered. "Lock the doors."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my voice trembling.