THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO PUT HIS PREGNANT DAUGHTER IN A CAB BEFORE THEIR ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN I WALKED HER INTO THE DINING ROOM, LUCA MORETTI DROPPED HIS FORK AND WHISPERED, “YOU’RE HAVING A BABY?”

Ten minutes later, the grand engagement party was officially over. Luca’s men had cleared the dining room, escorting the wealthy guests out to their limousines with strict instructions that what they had witnessed was never to be spoken of outside those gates.

Inside Luca’s massive, oak-paneled study, the atmosphere was suffocating.

Luca sat behind his massive mahogany desk. Emily sat in a soft leather armchair beside him, sipping hot tea that I had brought her. I stood near the door, waiting to be dismissed, but Luca had gestured for me to stay.

"You stay right there, Claire," Luca had said in a quiet, firm voice. "You're the only person in this house who showed my daughter an ounce of loyalty tonight."

In the center of the room, flanked by two armed guards, stood Vanessa Bellini. Her red silk gown, once the height of luxury, now looked absurd against the cold, masculine wood of the office.

"Luca, please," Vanessa begged, her voice trembling. "You're letting a few miscommunications destroy what we've built! I love you! I've spent two years by your side!"

"You lied to my daughter," Luca said, his hands resting flat on the desk. "You intercepted her calls. You told her I was ashamed of her. You tried to force her out of her mother's home. That isn't a miscommunication, Vanessa. That is an execution of an asset."

Luca leaned forward. "Who paid you?"

"Nobody paid me!" Vanessa cried. "I was trying to secure our future! Apex Horizon offered fifty million dollars for the riverfront properties you control! But you refused to sell because you were holding onto sentimental garbage!"

"Sentimental garbage?" Emily spoke up, her voice trembling with anger. "You mean my mother's legacy?"

"Your mother is dead!" Vanessa snapped, dropping her elegant facade entirely. Her eyes flared with cold hatred as she glared at Emily. "She’s been dead for seven years! And yet her shadow hangs over every room in this house! Luca looks at you and sees her! He was going to leave half his estate to your bastard child instead of building an empire with me!"

BANG!

Luca slammed his heavy palm onto the oak desk. The sound echoed like a gunshot.

" do not speak about my family like that in my presence," Luca growled, standing up slowly. He towered over her, his presence utterly terrifying. "You think this was about real estate? You wanted what was inside Maria’s iron cabinet."

Vanessa swallowed hard, but said nothing.

Luca looked at me. "Claire."

"Yes, Mr. Moretti?"

"Go upstairs to my bedroom. Inside my walk-in closet, behind the suit racks, there is a small fireproof safe. The code is 0-4-1-2—the day Emily was born. Inside, you will find a small velvet pouch. Bring it to me."

"Right away, sir," I said.

I hurried up the grand staircase, my heart pounding against my ribs. I ran into the master bedroom, navigated the cavernous closet, and found the wall safe concealed behind a panel. I entered the digits: 0412. The heavy door clicked open.

Inside lay a black velvet bag. I picked it up; it felt light, containing only a small piece of metal.

When I brought it back down to the study and handed it to Luca, he opened the drawstring and poured the contents onto his desk.

It was a small, ornate silver key shaped like a lily.

Emily’s breath caught. "Mom’s necklace key... I thought she was buried with it."

"I took it off her neck before they closed the casket," Luca said softly, staring at the key with profound sadness. "I couldn't bear to part with it. I never opened her cabinet on Maple Street because... because I wasn't strong enough to go through her private things after she left us."

Luca picked up the silver key, his jaw set like granite. He looked at Marco, who had just re-entered the study.