ella

ack of lightning illuminating the cold, cavernous expanse of my safe hou

Elena. Her tiny lungs would tighten; th

ntly overrode my logic. I snatched the black r

fore a trembling voic

ckground, I could hear the muffled, breathless sobs of my five-year-old dau

h raw terror. "The *Underboss*... he's furious. He said you're a traitor

listen

e's muffled, drunken roar. Sarah let out a whimper. "I'

mma

tore through the speaker a split

phone, my blood turning to absolute ice. I closed my eyes, the agonizing r

no room for a child's tears. I could picture him shoving open the nursery door, reeking of amber whiskey and a bruis

*Crying is for the weak. It's Falcone behavior. Your mother betrayed

our *Vendetta* agai

er would never be safe. He wasn't just a failed husband; he was a monster who viewed his own fle

watching the bruised purple light wash over the New York skyline. The

nnual shipping contract auction, held tonight at the Waldorf Astoria. Dante's Moretti

fingers fly over the keys, sending a direct line

g to the ball. Pre

, the machine clicked to

od do you wan

from a rusted pipe. I unzipped it, pulling out a razor-sharp, tailored black suit-a far cry f

n my silk gloves to conceal the old scars, pausing for a moment to look at my inner wrist. T

had twenty-five million, four hundred thousand dollars sitting in a ghost account, and to