THE MAN AT THE END OF THE TABLE

Vanessa froze, still clutching the hundred-dollar bill. Her tear-streaked face snapped up to look at me, but the pathetic desperation in her eyes vanished for a fraction of a second.

It was replaced by a flash of pure, terrified realization.

"I bought it at a thrift store," Vanessa stammered, scrambling to her feet and backing toward the lobby doors.

"You're lying," I said, my voice rising. I lunged forward and grabbed the gray scarf off the sofa. "I knit this. My initials are stitched into the tag."

I flipped the edge of the scarf. There, stitched in pale blue thread, were the letters N.B.

Luca spun around, his hand instinctively dropping to his waist. "Where did you get Margaret's scarf, Vanessa?"

"I... I found it!" Vanessa yelled, taking another step backward. "I found it on the street!"

"Thomas!" Luca roared.

Thomas stepped through the front doors, immediately blocking Vanessa’s exit. He grabbed her by the arms, pinning her in place. She thrashed wildly, screaming obscenities.

"You were at the estate today," Luca realized, his face draining of color. "How did you get past the gates?"

"I didn't! I swear!" Vanessa shrieked.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the house landline. My hands were shaking so violently I dropped the phone twice before hitting the call button.

It rang three times before one of the kitchen staff answered.

"Maria," I gasped. "Where is Leo?"

"He's in the garden, miss," Maria replied casually. "He's playing with the puppy."

"And Margaret? Where is Mrs. Ellis?"

There was a pause. "I believe she went up to her room to rest about an hour ago. She said she felt a chill."

"Go check her room," I ordered. "Now. Do not hang up."

I waited, my heart hammering against my ribs. I could hear Maria’s footsteps echoing through the phone as she walked up the grand staircase.

Through the lobby, Vanessa had stopped fighting. She was staring at the floor, breathing heavily, a sick, twisted smile slowly forming on her lips.

"Miss Natalie?" Maria's voice came back on the line. She sounded panicked.

"Is she there?"

"No. Her room is empty. But... the back door leading to the servant stairs was left propped open."

I dropped the phone.

I looked at Luca. "Margaret is gone."

Luca grabbed Vanessa by the collar of her cheap coat and slammed her against the brick wall of the lobby.

"Where is she?" Luca snarled, his eyes burning with a rage I hadn't seen since the shootout in Milwaukee.

"I didn't take her!" Vanessa laughed, a hysterical, manic sound. "I just opened the door!"

"For who?"

"For the people who actually want you dead, Luca," Vanessa spat, blood coating her teeth where she had bitten her lip. "Marcus had partners. The men running the docks in New York. They lost millions when the FBI raided the pier. They blame you."

My blood ran cold.

"They contacted me two days ago," Vanessa confessed eagerly. "They knew I knew the security blind spots at the estate. They told me if I got them inside, they’d pay me enough to disappear forever."

"And they took Margaret?" I asked, horrified.

"They wanted Leo," Vanessa sneered. "But the old lady got in the way. She locked the boy in the garden shed and told them to take her instead. She sacrificed herself for the brat."

Luca's grip tightened around her throat. "Where did they take her?"

"I don't know!" Vanessa gasped, clawing at his hands. "They just told me to come here and distract Natalie so you'd leave the house!"

Luca shoved her away in disgust. "Thomas. Call the police. Have her arrested for conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Then lock down the estate."

He grabbed my hand. "We have to go."

We bolted out of the apartment building and threw ourselves into the armored SUV. Luca didn't wait for Thomas. He jumped behind the wheel and slammed on the gas, tearing through the city streets with sirens blaring from the vehicle's hidden grill lights.

"If they wanted Leo, they'll realize Margaret is useless to them," I said, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "They'll kill her, Luca."

"They won't kill her yet," Luca said, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "They know I'll tear the city apart to find her. They'll use her to lure me out."

My phone rang. It was an unknown number.

I answered it and put it on speaker.

"Moretti," a voice rasped. It was thick, heavily accented, and cold.

"This is Luca."

"We have the old woman. We wanted the boy, but she'll do. You cost us thirty million dollars, Moretti."

"I can wire you the money," Luca said instantly, without a second of hesitation. "Forty million. Right now. Tell me where to send it."

The man laughed. "We don't want your money. We want the shipping routes back. And we want you to bleed for what you did to Marcus."

"Where are you?" Luca demanded.

"Pier 87. The old shipping warehouse. You have twenty minutes to come alone. If you bring cops, or if you bring your muscle, we put a bullet in her head and throw her in the lake."

The line went dead.

Luca hit the brakes, spinning the heavy SUV into a brutal U-turn in the middle of an intersection. He floored the accelerator, heading east toward the industrial docks.

"You can't go in there alone," I pleaded, grabbing his arm. "It's a trap, Luca. They're going to execute you."

"I have to," Luca said, his jaw locked. "She's Leo's grandmother. She saved his life tonight. I am not letting her die in some freezing warehouse."

"Then I'm coming with you."

Luca looked at me, his eyes softening for just a fraction of a second. "Natalie, no. Absolutely not."

"She is my family now too," I insisted, tears spilling down my face. "I am not losing either of you tonight."

Luca drove in silence for three agonizing minutes. Then he pulled the SUV into a dark alley a block away from Pier 87.

He put the car in park and turned to me.

He reached into the center console and pulled out a small, heavy silver handgun. He handed it to me.

"I'm going in the front," Luca said softly. "You take this. You go around to the back loading doors. Wait until you hear me talking. If they point a gun at Margaret, you don't hesitate. You shoot."

I took the cold metal in my hands. I nodded.

Luca leaned over and kissed me, hard and desperate. "I love you, Natalie."