THE WOMAN WAITING IN THE BLACK CAR

"Go away!" I yelled, pulling Noah tighter against my chest. "Luca is going to kill you!"

"Listen to me," Daniel’s voice came through the thick oak, urgent and strained. "Luca is currently searching the west wing for me. If he finds me, I am dead. And if I am dead, your mother doesn't survive the night."

"You kidnapped her!"

"I relocated her!" Daniel snapped, pounding a fist against the door. "Vanessa ordered her men to terminate your mother’s life support tonight. The Whitmore family doesn't take hostages, Grace. They erase liabilities."

My blood ran cold.

"I moved her to a private clinic by the docks," Daniel continued, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Did you see the coordinates in the watch?"

"Why should I believe you?" I cried.

"Because I loved Eleanor," Daniel said.

The silence that followed was absolute. Even Noah stopped breathing.

"What?" I whispered.

"Twenty-six years ago, I was the Moretti syndicate enforcer sent to the hospital to ensure Luca’s mother didn't survive childbirth. I was supposed to take the baby." Daniel's voice cracked. "But Eleanor stood in front of the crib. She looked me in the eye and told me to shoot her first. She was the bravest woman I ever met. I let her run. I lied to the bosses. I told them the baby died."

Tears streamed down my face. The pieces were slamming together with terrifying speed.

"The Whitmores found out last week," Daniel said. "Vanessa found the old hospital records. She blackmailed me. She said if I didn't help her get rid of Noah tonight, she would tell Luca the truth—that I betrayed his family and let you live."

I stared at the locked door. "You were protecting us."

"I am trying to," Daniel said. "But Vanessa’s father just sent a hit squad to Pier 42. They know where I hid Eleanor. I can't fight them alone. You have to tell Luca. He won't believe me, but he will believe you."

I scrambled to my feet. I didn't care about the risk anymore. I unlocked the heavy door and pulled it open.

Daniel stood there. He looked exhausted, his tie loosened, a dark bruise forming on his jaw.

But behind him, at the end of the long hallway, stood Vanessa.

She was holding a heavy bronze statue from the foyer.

"You really are pathetic, Daniel," she spat.

Before Daniel could turn around, Vanessa hurled the heavy bronze piece. It struck Daniel in the back of the head with a sickening crack.

He collapsed onto the carpet, completely unconscious.

Vanessa stepped over his body, panting heavily. She looked at me, then at Noah.

"I told my father it was a mistake to rely on hired help," Vanessa sneered. She reached into her designer purse and pulled out a small, black taser.

"Come here, Noah."

Noah screamed and buried his face in my skirt.

I grabbed the only weapon I had—the heavy wooden picture frame Noah had painted. The one Vanessa had thrown in the trash.

As she lunged forward, I swung the frame with everything I had.

It caught Vanessa perfectly across the cheekbone. The wood splintered, the glass shattered, and Vanessa shrieked as she stumbled backward into the wall.

She dropped the taser.

"Luca!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "LUCA!"

Footsteps thundered up the staircase. A second later, Luca rounded the corner.

He took in the scene in a fraction of a second. Daniel on the floor. Vanessa bleeding against the wall. Me, standing over Noah with a broken piece of wood.

Luca didn't hesitate. He grabbed Vanessa by the throat and pinned her against the wall, lifting her an inch off the ground.

"Give me one reason," Luca whispered, his eyes black with rage. "One reason I shouldn't throw you off this balcony."

Vanessa gasped for air, a bloody smile spreading across her teeth.