THE MAID, THE MAFIA BOSS, AND THE SISTER'S SECRET

The knife in Don Bellini’s hand wavered.

The untouchable mafia boss stared at the shattered photograph on the concrete floor as if it were a live grenade.

“Vanessa isn't your biological daughter, is she?” Luca asked, his voice slicing through the heavy silence of the cell. “She’s adopted. From Ruth Sullivan’s foster home.”

Bellini swallowed hard, the color draining from his face. “Keep your mouth shut, Luca.”

But the truth had broken the dam. I looked at the photograph, then up at Bellini.

“My father knew,” Luca continued, stepping slowly forward, forcing Bellini to keep his eyes on him instead of Sarah. “He knew your dark secret. The great Don Bellini, head of the most ruthless bloodline in the state, is sterile. You couldn't produce an heir. So, sixteen years ago, you went to Ruth’s foster home and bought one.”

“Lies!” Bellini spat, but his grip on Sarah loosened.

“You paid off the state to forge the birth certificates,” Luca pushed, his voice rising in power. “You took Vanessa and raised her to be a mafia princess. But my father found out. And Claire’s mother, your bookkeeper, found the paper trail of the bribes.”

Sarah gasped, looking at me with wide eyes. “That’s why she killed Mom. Not just for the embezzlement. Mom knew Vanessa was a fake heir. If the Commission found out you didn't have Bellini blood to pass on, you would have been stripped of your seat.”

Bellini’s aristocratic facade completely shattered. He looked like a cornered animal.

“And you kept Sarah and Vanessa in the same foster home for three years before the adoption,” Luca realized. “Sarah knew Vanessa when she was just a scared orphan. That’s why Vanessa hated you, Claire. You were a living reminder of the gutter she came from.”

“Shut up!” Bellini roared, raising the knife.

It was the opening Luca needed.

With blinding speed, Luca lunged forward. He didn't shoot. The noise would bring the compound down on us. Instead, he grabbed Bellini’s wrist, twisting it violently until the bone snapped with a sickening crack.

Bellini screamed, dropping the knife.

Luca drove his knee into Bellini’s stomach, sending the older man crashing to the concrete floor. Luca pressed his heavy boot against Bellini’s throat, cutting off his air.

“Keys,” Luca demanded softly.

Bellini gasped, patting his pockets with his good hand, and tossed a ring of heavy iron keys onto the floor.

I scrambled forward, grabbing the keys. My hands shook so badly I dropped them twice before finally sliding the right key into the heavy iron padlocks binding Sarah’s wrists and ankles.

The chains fell away.

Sarah collapsed forward into my arms. We hit the concrete floor together, holding each other so tightly it physically hurt. I buried my face in her shoulder, inhaling the scent of damp wool and tears.

“I’m so sorry, Claire,” Sarah sobbed into my hair. “I’m so sorry I left you.”

“You didn't leave me,” I cried fiercely, pulling back to look at her bruised face. “You were protecting me. And I’m never letting you go again.”

“Touching,” a voice sneered from the floor.

Bellini was wheezing under Luca’s boot, spitting blood onto the concrete. “You think you’ve won? The moment you step out of this cell, my men will cut you to ribbons. You’re in my house, Moretti.”

“Not for long,” Luca said.

He reached down, grabbed Bellini by the collar of his expensive suit, and hauled him to his feet. He jammed the barrel of his silver pistol directly under Bellini’s chin.

“You’re going to walk us out of here, Don,” Luca ordered. “Nice and slow.”

I helped Sarah to her feet. She was weak, staggering slightly under the massive weight of the navy-blue wool coat.

“Sarah,” I whispered, touching the heavy fabric. “Is it really in here?”

Sarah nodded, a tired but victorious smile breaking through her bruised lips. “Mom sewed the original ledger into the lining. Four billion dollars of embezzlement, blackmail, and bribery. Enough to put Marco and Bellini away for ten lifetimes.”

“Let’s move,” Luca commanded.

He shoved Bellini out into the corridor, keeping the gun pressed tightly to the man’s spine. Sarah and I followed closely behind, my arm wrapped around her waist to keep her upright.

We retraced our steps through the labyrinth of the underground bunker. Every shadow felt like a trap. Every sound made my heart stop.

As we approached the heavy metal grate that led to the drainage pipe, a blaring, deafening siren suddenly erupted through the compound. Red emergency lights began flashing violently in the corridor.

INTRUDER ALERT. SECTOR 4.

Bellini let out a cruel, bloody laugh. “Marco must have called my security team. He told them you were coming. You’re dead, Moretti.”

“In the pipe! Now!” Luca yelled over the sirens.

He shoved Bellini face-first into the concrete wall, knocking him unconscious, and turned to us.

I helped Sarah climb up into the narrow drainage pipe. The freezing water was rising, the storm outside intensifying. I scrambled up behind her, and Luca followed, pulling the heavy grate shut behind us.

We crawled desperately through the dark, rushing water. Above us, I could hear the terrifying sound of heavy boots and shouting men swarming the bunker.

“Faster, Claire!” Sarah gasped ahead of me, her breath ragged.

We burst out of the ivy-covered grate, tumbling into the freezing mud of the pine grove.

The storm was a hurricane now. Trees whipped violently in the wind. We scrambled to our feet, running blindly toward the spot where Luca had parked the armored SUV.

Through the sheets of rain, I saw the headlights of the SUV flash twice.

Ruth was waiting.

“We made it!” I cried, pulling Sarah toward the vehicle.

But as we broke through the final line of trees, my blood turned to ice.

The SUV was there. But Ruth wasn't in the driver’s seat.

Standing in the pouring rain, leaning casually against the hood of the car, was Uncle Marco.

He was holding an umbrella in one hand.

In his other hand, he held a gun pressed to Ruth’s head.

And surrounding the car were twenty heavily armed men in black tactical gear.