I had only $43 left when a champagne glass came flying toward a terrified little boy.

The pieces of the terrifying puzzle began falling into place with sickening speed.

In the study, Luca, Dante, and Evelyn reviewed the encrypted financial files retrieved from North Star Shipping’s private server.

Julian Moretti had not just been embezzling millions from the family empire; he was preparing a complete hostile takeover of the Moretti syndicate. To do it, he needed to eliminate Luca—but killing Luca directly would trigger an immediate retaliatory war from loyal family captains.

"Julian needed Luca broken first," Dante realized, his scarred face darkening with rage. "He kidnapped Leo, fed the boy horrifying lies about his mother's death, and planned to use the child as leverage to force Don Luca to sign over the family's trust assets."

"And when Julian realized federal agents were tracking his safehouse in the city yesterday," Evelyn added, "he panicked. He tried to drop Leo into the ballroom crowd to create chaos, frame a catering worker or a stranger, and make Luca look like an unfit father who couldn't protect his heir."

Luca stood by his mahogany desk, his large hands gripping the wooden edge so tightly the leather inlay groaned.

"My wife... Leo’s mother... died in a car crash four years ago," Luca spoke, his voice dropping into an ominous, quiet register. "I thought it was a tragic brake failure on a rain-slicked highway. But Julian was the one who serviced her vehicle that morning."

Evelyn stepped closer to Luca, placing her uninjured hand softly on his forearm.

"He took your wife, Luca," she whispered. "And he tried to take your son's love away from you."

Luca looked down at her small hand on his arm. For years, people had looked at him with fear, hatred, or greedy deference. Nobody had ever looked at him with genuine empathy.

He reached up, wrapping his long fingers gently over hers.

"Julian is hosting an emergency meeting of the syndicate board tonight at the Harbor Club," Luca declared, his eyes flashing with lethal intent. "He thinks Leo is still missing and that I am crippled by grief. He intends to call a vote of no confidence to seize the throne."