THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE LET HIM WALK TOWARD THE STAIRS HALF-BLIND—THEN I SAW THE TWO EMPTY SCREW HOLES WHERE HIS SAFETY RAIL HAD BEEN

Leo aimed the gun directly at Marco’s chest.

Marco shielded the little boy behind his body, squinting through the sudden, agonizing brightness of the library lights. “Let the boy and the girl go, Leo,” Marco said evenly. “This is between us.”

Leo chuckled, stepping into the room. Vivian trailed behind him, looking pale and terrified. “Nobody leaves, Marco. You think I’m stupid? You think I’m going to let you walk out of here alive after what you know?”

Leo turned his cold eyes toward me. “Go fetch the watch, Sofia. You have three minutes before I put a bullet in your boss.”

I didn't move. I looked at Vivian. “Vivian, he’s going to kill all of us. You know that, right? Even you.”

Vivian flinched. “Leo said nobody else had to die,” she whispered.

“Leo lied!” Marco yelled. “He lied about my son being dead for four years. He lied about the ambush. He’s using you, Vivian!”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Marco. Vivian, keep your mouth shut.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m not going to get the watch, Leo.”

Leo pulled back the hammer of his gun. “Excuse me?”

“Because the watch I threw out the window was empty,” I said calmly.

Leo froze. “What?”

I reached into my apron pocket. I pulled out a small, intricately engraved micro-SD card. “Marco gave me the watch in the stairwell. I took the card out before we came up here. The watch is just melted metal.”

Leo’s face contorted in rage. “Give me that card!”

“No,” my father’s voice echoed from the hidden doorway.

Leo spun around. My father stepped into the light, leaning heavily against the doorframe, his gun aimed squarely at Leo’s head.

“Antonio,” Leo hissed, stepping backward. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I’m hard to kill,” my father rasped. “Drop the gun, Leo. It’s over. Dominic already bypassed the lockdown downstairs. The police are pulling up to the front gates.”

It was a bluff. We had no idea what was happening downstairs. But Leo didn’t know that.

Leo looked at my father’s gun. Then at Marco. Then at me holding the SD card. He made his choice.

He didn't shoot Marco. He grabbed Vivian.

In one swift motion, Leo pulled Vivian in front of him as a human shield and pressed his gun to her temple. Vivian screamed, thrashing against his grip.

“Back off!” Leo roared. “Everybody drop your weapons, or her brains decorate the first editions!”

Marco slowly stood up, keeping his son hidden behind his legs. “Let her go, Leo. She’s no use to you.”

“She’s my ticket out of here!” Leo backed toward the main hallway doors. “Slide the SD card across the floor, Sofia. Now!”

I looked at my father. He gave me a barely perceptible nod.

I knelt down and placed the tiny SD card on the polished hardwood floor. I flicked it with my finger. It slid across the room, stopping inches from Leo’s boots.

Leo smiled. He kept his gun pressed to Vivian’s head as he slowly crouched down to pick up the card.

That was his mistake.

As Leo bent down, Vivian finally fought back. She didn't try to run. She slammed the heel of her stiletto directly into Leo’s kneecap.

Leo roared in pain, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second. Vivian shoved herself away, falling to the floor.

My father didn't hesitate. He fired once.

The bullet struck Leo in the shoulder—the exact same shoulder Leo had shot my father in days earlier. Leo dropped his gun and collapsed, howling in pain.

Marco immediately stepped forward and kicked Leo’s weapon across the room.

It was over.

Vivian lay on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Marco looked down at her, his expression unreadable. Then he turned to me and my father.

“Thank you,” Marco said softly.

But before we could take a breath, the heavy wooden doors of the library burst open. Dominic ran in, followed by a dozen loyal security men.

“Marco!” Dominic yelled, stopping dead in his tracks as he took in the scene. The bleeding traitor, the sobbing fiancée, the returned dead driver, and the little boy.

Dominic looked at the child. “Is that...?”

“My son,” Marco said proudly, lifting the boy into his arms.