THE MEN AT THE WEST DOOR

The phone slipped from my hand, clattering onto the glass table.

Luca’s head snapped up.

He saw the color drain from my face.

“Rachel? What is it?”

I couldn't speak. I just pointed at the screen.

Luca picked up the phone. His eyes narrowed instantly as he analyzed the photograph.

The relaxed, happy father playing blocks vanished. The Boss of Chicago returned in a heartbeat.

“Marco!” Luca roared, his voice echoing through the sunroom.

Marco ran into the room within seconds, his hand hovering near his holster.

“Boss?”

Luca shoved the phone into Marco’s chest.

“Run facial recognition on the man behind Sarah. Contact our associates in Montreal. I want eyes on her now.”

“Right away.” Marco spun on his heel and sprinted back out.

Luca turned to me. He pulled me up from the floor, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“She’s okay,” Luca said fiercely, though I could hear the tension in his chest. “The picture was taken from a distance. If they wanted to hurt her immediately, they wouldn't have sent a warning.”

“Why are they doing this?” I panicked. “Vanessa is in jail! Her family's assets are frozen!”

“Because the Bellinis aren't just a family,” Luca said grimly. “They are a syndicate. Vanessa’s uncle, Carlo Bellini, operates out of Canada. He’s the one who controls their offshore accounts. He must have recognized her.”

“We have to go get her, Luca. We can't let them take her.”

“We will,” Luca promised.

He knelt down in front of Leo, who was watching us with wide, confused eyes.

“Leo, buddy, I need you to go with Marco to the safe room. Just for a little while, okay? We have to handle some business.”

Leo nodded bravely, grabbing his favorite dinosaur toy.

“Okay, Dad. Be careful.”

Luca kissed his son’s forehead. “Always.”

Once Leo was secured, Luca and I went to the command center in the basement.

Monitors covered the walls, tracking flights, security feeds, and communication lines.

Marco was furiously typing at a keyboard.

“I got a hit on the face,” Marco said, pulling up a file on the main screen. “It’s Dominic Russo. He’s a high-level enforcer for Carlo Bellini. He specializes in extractions.”

“Extractions?” I repeated, my stomach turning. “They aren't going to kill her. They want to kidnap her.”

“Why?” Luca muttered, pacing the room. “What does Sarah have that Carlo Bellini wants?”

I thought back to the train station. The rushed goodbye. The velvet pouch.

“She said she placed me in foster care because the Bellinis were closing in,” I said slowly. “She faked her death twice. Once with Marcus Hayes, and once again when she went to Canada.”

Luca stopped pacing.

“Sarah was Julian’s wife. Julian had access to the master ledger that proved the Bellinis embezzled the funds.”

“You already gave that to the Feds,” I pointed out.

“No,” Luca said, his eyes widening with a sudden realization. “I gave the Feds the copies my father made. The originals—the ones with Carlo’s actual signatures authorizing the theft—were never found. We assumed they burned in Julian’s car.”

“They didn't burn,” I breathed. “My mother took them.”

“And Carlo knows it. He needs those original documents to prevent the Canadian government from seizing his offshore accounts.”

Luca turned to Marco.

“Prep the jet. We leave for Montreal in twenty minutes.”

“Luca, wait,” Marco interjected, pointing at a blinking light on the console. “We have an incoming encrypted call. It’s bouncing off Canadian cell towers.”

Luca hit the speaker button.

“Speak,” Luca commanded.

A smooth, heavily accented voice echoed through the speakers.

“Luca Moretti. And the newly discovered princess, Rachel. Congratulations on the family reunion.”

It was Carlo Bellini.

“If you touch her, Carlo, there isn't a hole deep enough for you to hide in,” Luca growled.

Carlo chuckled.

“I haven't touched her. Yet. She is currently enjoying a coffee at a cafe in Old Montreal. My man is sitting three tables away.”

“What do you want?” I demanded, unable to stay quiet.

“Ah, Rachel. You have your father’s fire. I want the original ledgers your mother stole twenty-six years ago.”

“We don't have them!” I shouted.

“I know you don't,” Carlo said calmly. “But I believe your mother hid them somewhere safe before she crossed the border. I want you to ask her where they are.”

“Let me talk to her,” I demanded.

“I can't do that,” Carlo sighed. “Because she doesn't know she is being watched. And if you alert her, or if you call the Canadian authorities, my man will put a bullet in her spine.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the edge of the console.

“You have exactly twelve hours to find the original ledgers and bring them to the drop point I will text you. Fail, and Sarah Hayes dies for real this time.”

The line went dead.

I looked at Luca in pure terror.

“We don't know where she hid them! She could have buried them anywhere twenty years ago!”

Luca stared at the blank screen.

“She didn't bury them,” Luca said softly.

He turned to look at me.

“She gave them to the only person she trusted more than herself. The man she was willing to die for.”

Luca pointed at the velvet jewelry box I had brought down from the dressing room earlier.

The one containing Marcus Hayes’s silver police ring.