THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED ME GUIDE A BLIND OLD MAN INTO HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER WITH BLOOD ON MY COLLAR—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SAID, “SHE FELL ON THE CHAPEL STEPS,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY MY LIP WAS SPLIT. "Take my arm, sir. Just three more steps."

The heavy silence of the storage unit was broken only by the steady drum of rain against the metal roof.

Silvio, wearing a dark cashmere overcoat that looked perfectly dry, kept his weapon leveled at Luca. He was a man in his late sixties, with silver hair and eyes as cold and flat as coins. I had served him scotch countless times at the mansion, always terrified of his quiet, deadly presence.

"Uncle Silvio," Luca said, stepping slightly in front of me, shielding me from the gun. "What are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up a mess, unfortunately," Silvio sighed. He looked at Vanessa with total disgust. "I told you to handle the old man at the chapel, Vanessa. Instead, you let him talk to my nephew. You’ve become sloppy."

Answer one: Vanessa wasn't acting alone. She had been working for Silvio all along.

Open two: If Vanessa worked for Silvio, why was she crying frantically while searching the car? What was she trying to find before he got here?

"I couldn't find the ledger, Silvio!" Vanessa cried out, her glamorous facade completely shattered. "I looked everywhere in the trunk! It’s not here!"

"Then you’ve outlived your usefulness," Silvio said coldly, his finger tightening on the trigger.

A reversal suddenly clicked in my mind. The drawing in Luca’s hand. The child's car seat. Vanessa wasn't searching for a ledger to give to Silvio. She was searching for it to stop him.

"Don't shoot her!" I yelled, my voice shocking even myself.

Silvio’s cold eyes snapped to me. "Ah, the observant housekeeper. You should have stayed at the mansion, Emily. You’re about to become collateral damage."

"Wait!" Luca barked, holding up the child’s drawing. "Silvio, what is this? Who is Leo?"

Silvio laughed—a dry, humorless sound. "Leo is your nephew, Luca. Michael’s bastard son."

Luca looked like he had been physically struck. "Michael had a son? Where is he?"

"That’s exactly what I sent Vanessa to find out," Silvio sneered. "Nine years ago, your idiot brother decided he didn't want to inherit the family business. He fell in love with a civilian, got her pregnant, and told me he was going to the FBI to trade our family's shipping ledgers for witness protection."

Silvio took a slow step into the garage.

"I couldn't let him destroy everything we built. So, I handled it. I had Michael’s Porsche crushed into a cube. I made sure he vanished." Silvio looked at the dusty blue sedan. "But the girl... the mother. She got away in this piece of junk. She took the boy, and she took the ledger."

Luca’s chest heaved. "You killed my brother."

"I protected our family!" Silvio snapped. "Four years later, Michael’s girl died of pneumonia. She left the kid, Leo, with her sister. Do you know who her sister is, Luca?"

Silvio pointed the gun at Vanessa.

I gasped. Vanessa wasn't just Silvio's pawn. She was the sister of Michael's murdered lover. She was Leo's aunt.

"I only agreed to marry you so I could find the ledger in your estate!" Vanessa sobbed, looking at Luca. "Silvio promised if I found it and gave it to him, he would let Leo live! But he’s lying! He’s going to kill us both!"

"Very astute, Vanessa," Silvio said calmly. "The boy is a liability. He has Michael’s blood. He’s the true heir. I can’t have him popping up in ten years challenging my authority."

Suddenly, a loud, shrill ringing pierced the air.

It was coming from inside the blue sedan.

We all froze. The ringing was muffled, echoing from the glovebox.

Vanessa lunged for the passenger door, but Silvio fired a shot. The suppressed bullet shattered the passenger window, showering Vanessa in glass. She screamed, falling backward onto the concrete.

"Nobody moves," Silvio growled. He walked toward the car, keeping the gun trained on Luca. He reached through the broken window and popped the glovebox.

He pulled out an old, heavy winter coat that had been stuffed inside. As he pulled it out, a large, dark rust-colored stain was visible on the collar. Blood.

Wrapped inside the heavy wool coat was a cheap, disposable burner phone. It was ringing.

Silvio smiled cruelly. He answered the phone and put it on speaker.

"Auntie V?" a small, trembling voice echoed from the phone. "The men are at the front door. They’re trying to break it down. Auntie V, I'm scared."

Silvio chuckled. "Don't worry, Leo. We'll be there very soon."

He crushed the phone under his expensive leather shoe.

"Kill them both," Silvio said to the shadows behind him.