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 air in the catacombs was freezing and smelled of ancient dust and damp earth.

Luca carried Leo in one arm, using his phone’s flashlight in his other hand to guide us through the labyrinth of stone tombs. Vanessa held onto my apron strings so we wouldn't get separated in the pitch black.

Above us, the muffled sounds of shouting and breaking wood echoed through the ceiling. Silvio’s men were tearing the church apart looking for us.

"Uncle Luca?" Leo whispered, his voice trembling in the dark.

"I'm right here, buddy," Luca said, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Why do those bad men want to hurt Auntie V?"

"They aren't going to hurt anyone," Luca promised, though his jaw was tight.

I looked at the wooden rosary Father Michael had pressed into my hand. My thumb ran over the smooth beads.

Answer one: Father Michael stayed behind to buy us time, knowing Silvio’s men wouldn't hesitate to kill a priest to get to the boy.

Open two: Where did the smuggler’s tunnel actually lead, and how would we survive once we got out with the Police Commissioner working for Silvio?

Suddenly, Luca stopped. His flashlight beam hit a solid brick wall.

"A dead end," Vanessa gasped in horror. "Luca, there's no tunnel!"

"There has to be," Luca said, handing Leo to Vanessa. He frantically pushed against the damp bricks, searching for a lever or a hidden mechanism. "My grandfather built these tunnels during Prohibition. They don't just stop."

I held up the rosary. As the flashlight beam swept across it, I noticed something strange about the crucifix attached to the end. The cross wasn't just carved wood; there was a tiny, intricate groove running down its center.

A reversal struck me.

"Mr. Moretti," I said, stepping forward. I looked at the solid brick wall. In the center of one of the bricks at eye level, there was a small, cross-shaped indentation. It looked like a mason's mark.

"Father Michael didn't just give me this to pray with," I realized.

I took the crucifix and pressed it perfectly into the indentation.

There was a deep, grinding clack from deep within the stone.

Luca immediately put his shoulder against the wall and pushed. A heavy section of the brickwork swung outward, revealing a narrow, damp tunnel that smelled strongly of river water.

"Good girl, Emily," Luca breathed, looking at me with profound respect.

We hurried into the tunnel, pulling the heavy stone door shut behind us just as we heard the crypt door upstairs get kicked open.

We ran in the dark for what felt like miles. My legs burned, and my split lip throbbed with every heartbeat. Finally, the tunnel began to slope upward. We pushed through a rusted iron grate and stumbled out into the freezing night air.

We were standing on the muddy banks of the Chicago River, tucked under the massive steel supports of a bridge.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Not just one or two, but dozens. The FBI had responded to my call.

"We need to get to the Federal Building," Vanessa shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around Leo. "If we give them the photograph in the pocket watch, they can arrest Silvio and Higgins."

Luca stared at the dark water of the river.

"A photograph of a handshake isn't enough to put an underboss away for murder," Luca said grimly. "Higgins will claim it was a political meeting. Silvio has a team of lawyers who will bury that picture in an hour."

"But it's all we have!" I argued.

"No, it isn't," Luca said, turning to look at us. His eyes were burning with a dangerous resolve. "Silvio wanted the ledger. The one Michael was going to give the FBI nine years ago. The one that proves Silvio ordered all the hits, including Michael's."

"But I never found it," Vanessa cried. "My sister hid it before she died, and she never told me where!"

Luca looked at Leo.

"Leo," Luca asked gently, crouching down in the mud so he was eye-level with the boy. "Your mom loved you very much, didn't she?"

Leo nodded, sniffing. "Yeah. She gave me a present before she went to sleep."

Vanessa froze. "A present? Leo, honey, she never gave you a present."

"Yes she did," Leo insisted, pulling slightly away from Vanessa. "She gave me a toy. She told me to keep it safe and never tell Auntie V, because it was a secret."

My heart pounded against my ribs.

"What kind of toy, Leo?" Luca asked softly.

Leo reached his little hand down the front of his pajama shirt. He pulled out a heavy, tarnished chain that hung around his neck.

Dangling from the chain wasn't a toy.