THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME SERVE EVERY GUEST AT HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER EXCEPT THE MAN IN THE GRAY SUIT

The threat hung in the freezing air of the car.

My father’s oxygen tanks.

My blood turned to ice. My father was at St. Jude’s clinic on the South Side, recovering from emphysema. He was entirely dependent on those machines.

“You touch him, and I’ll kill you myself,” I breathed into the phone, a fierce, protective rage rising in my chest that surprised even me.

A soft chuckle came through the speaker. “Spirited. But unnecessary. Just bring the boy to the warehouse, Emily. Vanessa is a very reasonable woman when she gets what she wants.”

The line went dead.

I looked at Luca. The devastation of betrayal had vanished from his face, replaced by a cold, calculating violence.

“Drive,” Luca ordered.

“To the warehouse?” I asked, panic making my voice pitch up. “Luca, my dad—”

“They won’t touch your father.” Luca pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “I own St. Jude’s clinic. I bought it three years ago to launder medical supplies. My men are already there.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“Drive to the safe house on 18th Street,” Luca commanded. “We need to get the boy off the street before Daniel realizes I know.”

I slammed the car into gear and sped into the night.

The safe house wasn’t a mansion. It was a nondescript brownstone in a quiet, affluent neighborhood. We hurried inside, the heavy steel door locking securely behind us. The interior was modern, stark, and utterly silent.

Daniel immediately retreated to the corner of the living room, wrapping his arms around himself. He was exhausted, terrified, but still watching Luca like a hawk.

Luca didn’t push him. He stood in the center of the room, staring at the silver rosary in his hands.

“Ten years ago,” Luca began, his voice rough. “Elena told me she was pregnant. Two days later, my car was bombed. I survived, but I was in a coma for a week. When I woke up, Daniel—my bodyguard—told me Elena had been killed in the crossfire. He showed me photos of a burned-out car in Italy. He showed me her gold watch in the wreckage.”

Luca pulled a heavy gold pocket watch from his jacket. The same one he had been holding in his study.

“This belonged to my father. I gave it to Elena on our wedding day. Daniel pulled it from the ashes. I never questioned him. He was my brother in every way that mattered.”

I looked at the boy in the corner. “Daniel lied. He staged her death to get her away from you. Why?”

“Because of Vanessa’s family,” a new voice said.

I whipped around.

Standing at the top of the stairs, stepping out of the shadows, was Daniel. The bodyguard. The enforcer.

He had his gun drawn, pointing directly at Luca’s chest.

My heart stopped. How did he know about the safe house?

“Put the gun down, Dan,” Luca said. His voice was steady, but the betrayal in his eyes was staggering.

“I can’t do that, boss,” Daniel said, walking slowly down the stairs. “Vanessa’s brother tracked your SUV. They know you’re here. They’re coming.”

“You set Elena up,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “You told her I wanted her dead. You gave her my mother’s rosary to prove it.”

“I saved her life!” Daniel snapped, his calm facade finally cracking. “Vanessa’s father found out about the pregnancy. He demanded you marry Vanessa to merge the families. If Elena had stayed, they would have slaughtered her and the kid. You were in a coma, Luca! I couldn’t protect her here. So I gave her cash, the rosary to scare her into never coming back, and I put her on a train.”

“And the watch?” Luca demanded.

“I bought a replica. Tossed it in the burning car.” Daniel kept the gun steady. “I kept tabs on them for ten years. Kept them hidden. Until Elena got sick last month. She went to a public hospital. Vanessa’s people flagged her name in the system.”

I looked at the boy. Little Daniel’s eyes were wide. “You’re the man who visited my mom,” he whispered. “Before she died.”

“I tried to move her,” the bodyguard said, his voice softening for a fraction of a second. “But Vanessa got to her first. They paid off a nurse to overdose her IV.”

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room.

Vanessa had murdered Elena.

“And now?” Luca asked, stepping in front of his son, shielding him with his body. “Are you here to finish the job for Vanessa?”

Daniel’s grip on the gun tightened.

“No,” he said quietly. “I’m here to finish it for me.”

Before Luca could react, Daniel shifted his aim.

He didn’t point the gun at Luca.

He pointed it directly at me.

“The maid has to die, Luca,” Daniel said coldly. “She’s the only loose end that ties me to the boy. If Vanessa’s family finds out I kept the heir alive, they’ll kill me. We hand over the maid’s body, claim she was blackmailing you, and we disappear the kid.”

My blood ran cold.