**THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME SERVE HIS ENTIRE ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH MY LEFT HAND—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE BURNED IT IN THE KITCHEN,” BEFORE ANYONE HAD ASKED WHAT HAPPENED.** For three seconds, nobody at the table seemed to understand why Luca Moretti had stopped eating. I did.

Panic, cold and sharp, pierced Luca’s chest.

He drew his weapon in a fluid, silent motion and stepped into the doorway of the guest suite, sweeping the room.

The lamps were on. The canvas duffel bag was still on the floor. The bathroom door was open, the light spilling onto the Persian rug.

“Nora?” he called out, his voice a harsh whisper.

No answer.

He moved further into the room, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. He checked the bathroom. Empty. He checked behind the heavy velvet curtains. Nothing.

Then he heard it. A soft, muffled sniffle coming from the far side of the king-sized bed.

Luca rounded the corner, lowering his gun.

Nora was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest. Maya was asleep on the bed above her, blissfully ignorant of the danger, clutching her stuffed rabbit.

Nora looked up at Luca. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed and wide with shock. She wasn’t hurt. But she was holding something in her uninjured left hand.

“I told you not to open the door,” Luca said, his voice dropping into a harsh, relieved growl as he holstered his weapon.

“I didn’t,” Nora whispered, her voice trembling violently. “I locked it. Just like you said.”

“Then how is it open?”

“I don’t know.” Nora swallowed hard. “I went into the bathroom to wet a towel for Maya’s face. When I came out, the door was open. And this… this was on the bed.”

She held out her hand.

Luca stepped closer. Resting in Nora’s trembling palm was a heavy gold object attached to a broken chain.

It was a vintage gold pocket watch.

The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

Luca didn’t need to open the watch to know what was engraved on the inside cover. He knew exactly what this object was.

It belonged to Don Salvatore Bellini. Vanessa’s father.

Or rather, it had belonged to him, right up until the night he was brutally murdered in his own study six months ago. The murder remained unsolved. The only thing missing from the crime scene had been his signature gold pocket watch.

“Where did you find this?” Luca demanded, dropping to one knee in front of her.

“I told you, it was sitting on the pillow next to Maya.” Nora’s breathing was erratic. “Luca, what is it? Why did someone leave it here?”

Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out the muddy, torn train ticket he had found in the garden. He laid it on the floor between them.

Nora stared at it. “A train ticket to Montreal? In my name?”

“They aren’t just trying to scare you into silence, Nora,” Luca said grimly. “They are framing you.”

Nora’s eyes darted from the ticket to the gold watch. “Framing me for what?”

“For the murder of Salvatore Bellini.”

Nora let out a choked gasp, dropping the watch onto the carpet as if it burned her. “No. No, I was working in the kitchen the night he died. I never even saw him! Why would they do this?”

“Because they need a scapegoat.” Luca picked up the watch using a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped it down meticulously, erasing any trace of Nora’s fingerprints. “If my father and Vanessa conspired to kill her father to consolidate power, they need someone to take the fall. A maid trying to flee to Montreal with the murdered Don’s stolen pocket watch? It’s a perfect narrative.”

“But I don’t want to go to Montreal!”

“They know that. You were never going to make it onto that train.” Luca looked into her eyes, his expression brutally honest. “They were going to kill you and Maya tonight, dump your bodies near the station, and plant the watch on you. Case closed.”

Nora covered her mouth with her left hand, a sob tearing from her throat. She looked up at Maya, who was sleeping peacefully.

“I have to get her out of here,” Nora cried softly. “Please, Luca. Help me get her out.”

“I will,” Luca promised. “But we can’t run now. Whoever dropped this watch is still in the house. If we make a move, they’ll know we found it. We have to play their game until dawn.”

He stood up, shoving the wrapped watch into his jacket pocket.

“Stay here. Lock the door. Do not open it, no matter what you hear.”

“Where are you going?” Nora asked, grabbing the hem of his jacket.

Her touch was light, but it anchored him. He looked down at her. She was terrified, a pawn in a game of monsters, yet she was fighting with everything she had. A fierce, protective warmth bloomed in his chest, entirely foreign to him.

“I’m going back to my engagement party,” Luca said smoothly. “I need to look my father in the eye.”

Luca walked back into the main house. The party was winding down. Guests were having final drinks in the parlor.

Luca bypassed the parlor and walked directly into his father’s private study.

Vittorio Moretti was pouring a glass of scotch at a crystal decanter. He looked up as Luca entered.

“There you are,” Vittorio said, smiling thinly. “Vanessa was looking for you. You shouldn’t abandon your own engagement party, son.”

“I had to handle a staff issue,” Luca said calmly, walking over and pouring himself a drink.

“Ah. The clumsy maid.” Vittorio took a sip of his scotch. “Vanessa told me. A shame. She’ll have to be let go.”

“I’ve already handled it,” Luca said, taking a slow sip. He watched his father over the rim of the glass. “She’s packing her bags as we speak. She’s leaving on the morning train to Montreal.”

Vittorio’s eyes flickered. Just for a fraction of a second. But it was enough.

“Montreal?” Vittorio repeated casually. “A cold place to start over.”

“People do desperate things when they’re in trouble,” Luca said.

He set his glass down, leaning against the desk. He looked directly into his father’s eyes.

“Tell me something, Papa,” Luca asked quietly. “If you found out someone in this house was betraying our family, what would you do?”

Vittorio’s smile faded. The room grew suffocatingly quiet.

“I would cut their throat,” Vittorio said softly. “Without hesitation.”

“Good to know.” Luca nodded slowly. “Enjoy the rest of the party.”

Luca turned and walked out of the study. His father was guilty. The trap was set.

He just needed to get Nora and Maya out before it snapped shut.

He hurried back toward the east wing. As he rounded the corner to the guest suite, his heart stopped.

Standing outside the reinforced mahogany door was Vanessa.