**THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME GATHER THIRTY-SEVEN WOODEN BEADS FROM THE MARBLE FLOOR AFTER HIS TEN-YEAR-OLD SON'S FIANCÉE CUT THE BRACELET OFF HIS WRIST DURING THEIR ENGAGEMENT DINNER—THEN SHE SAID, “HE BROKE IT BECAUSE HE WANTS YOU TO FEEL GUILTY,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY THE LITTLE BOY WAS COUNTING EVERY BEAD AND WHISPERING, “I WAS SAVING THE LAST ONE FOR DADDY.”**

The storm raged through the night, rattling the grand windows of the Moretti estate.

Luca stared at the small silver key resting in his palm. E.M.

Elena’s key.

"She had it all along," Luca whispered, his voice dangerously hollow. "Vanessa had Elena's watch. She had her safe deposit key. She scavenged my dead wife like a vulture."

Mason clung to his father’s neck, crying quietly. "Daddy, I'm scared."

"I've got you, buddy. Nothing is going to happen to you," Luca promised, pressing a kiss to the boy's hair. He looked up at me. "Melissa. Take him upstairs. Lock the door. Do not come out until I come for you."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"I am going to prepare for a war," Luca said.

I scooped Mason up in my arms. He was heavy for a ten-year-old, but adrenaline made him feel as light as a feather. I carried him up the sweeping staircase, running past the portraits of Luca's ancestors, their stern eyes watching us in the dark.

Once inside Mason’s room, I threw the deadbolt and dragged a heavy oak chair under the doorknob.

"Are the bad men coming?" Mason asked, sitting on his bed, pulling his knees to his chest.

"Your father won't let anyone hurt us," I promised, though my own hands were shaking as I pulled the curtains shut.

Downstairs, the estate was waking up. I could hear the roar of heavy SUV engines in the driveway. The sound of boots on marble. Luca’s men—the soldiers of the Moretti family—were arriving. The house was becoming a fortress.

I sat on the bed next to Mason and pulled him close. He rested his head against my shoulder.

"Miss Melissa?"

"Yes, honey."

"Are you going to go away? Because of your brother?"

My throat tightened. "I don't want to go anywhere, Mason. I want to stay right here."

"I want you to stay too," he whispered. "You're the only one who didn't lie to me."

He reached into his pajama pocket. He pulled out the broken leather cord. He had managed to string three beads back onto it. The dark brown one. The blue one. And the special gold one.

"Hold out your hand," he said softly.

I offered my wrist.

With trembling fingers, Mason tied the broken cord around my wrist, pulling the knot tight.

"Now you have to stay," he said. "Because you have the gold one."

A tear slipped down my cheek. I hugged him fiercely. "I will never take it off."

We sat in the dark for three hours. The sun began to rise, casting a pale, gray light through the gaps in the curtains.

At 6:00 AM, heavy footsteps approached the door.

"Melissa," Luca's voice called out. "Open the door."

I shoved the chair away and unlocked the deadbolt.

Luca stood in the hallway. He was dressed in a tactical black jacket. Five of his heavily armed men stood behind him, their faces grim.

"We located the safe deposit box," Luca said, stepping into the room. "It's at a private vault downtown. I'm going to open it. I need to know what Vanessa was hiding."

"What about the Bellinis?" I asked.

"They’ve gone to ground. They know we have the file. But they also sent a team to find your brother, Michael. My men are tracking him down right now. If we get to him first, he lives. If they get to him..." Luca trailed off, but the implication was clear.

"Please save him, Mr. Moretti. He made a terrible mistake, but he's all I have left besides my mother."

Luca nodded once. "I will do everything I can." He looked at his son. "Mason. You are going to stay with Melissa today. Vito and six men are downstairs. Nobody gets in or out."

"Okay, Daddy," Mason said bravely.

Luca turned to leave, but he stopped and looked at my wrist. He saw the three wooden beads tied there.

A profound sadness crossed his eyes, followed by a deep, unspoken gratitude.

"Keep him safe," Luca whispered to me.

"With my life," I swore.

Luca left. The house fell into a tense, agonizing waiting game.

For the next four hours, I tried to keep Mason distracted. We read books. We played a quiet game of cards on the floor. But every time a floorboard creaked or a car drove past the estate walls, we both jumped.

At 11:00 AM, my cell phone buzzed in my apron pocket.

It wasn't a number I recognized.

I hesitated, then answered it. "Hello?"

"Melissa," a voice rasped on the other end.

My blood ran cold. I hadn't heard that voice in five years.

"Michael?"

"Listen to me very carefully, Mel," my older brother panted. It sounded like he was running. Sirens wailed faintly in the background of the call. "You need to get out of that house right now."

"Michael, where are you? Luca’s men are looking for you to protect you!"

"Don't trust them!" Michael shouted, his voice cracking with panic. "Luca doesn't know the whole truth! The Bellinis paid me to cut the brakes, yes. But they didn't act alone!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Elena Moretti was going to leave Luca, Mel! She had a lover. She was taking the kid and running away. The hit wasn't just Vanessa's idea to steal Luca. Someone inside the Moretti family wanted Elena dead to stop her from taking the boy!"

The room spun. "Who?"

"I don't know the name!" Michael coughed violently. "But I have the proof. Elena left a diary. I took it from the car before the police arrived. I hid it. I was going to use it for blackmail if they ever came after me."

"Where is it?" I demanded.

"It's buried in the greenhouse behind the Rossi garage. You have to get it to the cops, Mel. Do not give it to Luca. If the traitor in his family finds out we know, they'll kill you and the boy!"

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed over the phone.

"Michael!" I screamed.

"They found me," he choked out. "Run, Mel. Protect the kid."

A gunshot rang out through the speaker.

Then, dead silence.

I dropped the phone.

Mason looked at me, his eyes wide with horror. "Miss Melissa? Who was that?"

Before I could answer, the bedroom door handle slowly turned.

The deadbolt was still locked, but someone was sliding a master key into the keyhole from the outside.

"Vito?" I called out, my voice trembling.

The lock clicked.

The door swung open.