THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME STRUGGLE TO CARRY A HEAVY SILVER CENTERPIECE WITHOUT STRAIGHTENING MY BACK—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE FELL IN THE UPSTAIRS GUEST ROOM,” BEFORE HE HAD ASKED WHY I WAS HURT. I almost made it to the table.

"Vanessa," Luca said, his voice cold and steady. He didn't reach for his gun. He stepped slightly in front of me and Leo, shielding us.

"How did you get out?" I demanded, pulling Leo tightly against my legs.

"The same way Harris did," Vanessa smirked. "Friends in high places. Eleanor thought she was the smartest woman in the room. But she underestimated me."

She stepped further into the office, the gun perfectly level.

"I wasn't working for your mother, Luca," Vanessa said. "I was working for the Commission all along."

Luca narrowed his eyes. "You played Eleanor."

"Eleanor was a relic," Vanessa scoffed. "She thought she could negotiate with the shadow board. They just used her to get close to your ledger. And when she failed tonight, they activated me."

"To do what?" Luca challenged. "Kill me? The USB drive is already in the hands of the Attorney General. The syndicate is dead."

"Not quite," Vanessa smiled.

She reached into her designer jacket and pulled out a faded polaroid photograph.

She tossed it onto Luca's desk.

"Look at it," she ordered.

Luca didn't move.

"Look at it!" Vanessa shouted, gesturing with the gun.

Luca slowly reached down and picked up the photograph.

I watched his face.

For the second time that night, the color completely drained from his skin.

His hand began to tremble.

"Where did you get this?" Luca whispered.

"It doesn't matter," Vanessa said. "What matters is that the Commission has the negative. And if you don't do exactly what I say, that photo goes to the press, the FBI, and every enemy you've ever made."

I couldn't stand it.

I stepped out from behind Luca and looked at the photo in his hand.

It was a picture of a young woman holding a newborn baby.

The woman looked exhausted but happy.

It was me.

Twenty-three years old, sitting in a hospital bed, holding Leo the day he was born.

But David wasn't standing next to me in the photo.

Standing next to my hospital bed, looking down at my son with a protective, loving expression...

Was Luca.

My mind shattered.

"No," I whispered. "That's impossible."

I looked at Luca. "You didn't know me six years ago. We met ten months ago when I took this job."

Luca closed his eyes.

He didn't say anything.

"Tell her, Luca," Vanessa taunted. "Tell her the biggest secret of them all."

"Luca?" I pleaded, my voice breaking. "Why are you in this picture?"

Luca opened his eyes. They were filled with absolute agony.

"David wasn't just my accountant, Sophie," Luca said softly. "He was my best friend. We grew up together."

"But... you didn't know us," I stammered, holding my head. "David never introduced us."

"He did," Luca said. "Six years ago. The day Leo was born. I came to the hospital to congratulate him."

"I don't remember you!"

"Because I made sure you wouldn't," Luca said, his voice thick with guilt.

He looked down at Leo.

"The Commission suspected David was stealing. They ordered a hit on him. I found out too late to stop it."

I stopped breathing.

"You knew they were going to kill my husband?"

"I tried to stop it," Luca pleaded, taking a step toward me. "I swear to God, Sophie, I tried. But when he died, I knew they would come for you and the boy next. So I paid off the hospital. I scrubbed David's connection to me. I made you disappear into a quiet life."

He swallowed hard.

"And when things got dangerous again last year... I hired you as a maid. To keep you close. To protect you without you knowing."

Tears streamed down my face.

My whole life.

My husband's death. My poverty. My job.

It was all orchestrated by the man standing in front of me.

"Aw," Vanessa mocked. "A tragic romance. Now, Luca, here are the terms. You will publicly retract your testimony. You will claim the USB drive was faked by a disgruntled employee. You will hand the syndicate over to me."

She pointed the gun directly at Leo's chest.

"Or I shoot the boy right now."

Luca's expression instantly changed from guilt to pure, unadulterated violence.

"Vanessa," Luca said, his voice eerily calm. "Look at the photograph."

Vanessa frowned. "I've seen it."

"Look at the background," Luca said.

Vanessa’s eyes darted down to the photo on the desk for a fraction of a second.

It was a fatal mistake.