I was homeless, starving, and holding the only meal I had when I noticed a frightened little boy sitting alone outside a grocery store.

By morning, the storm had cleared, leaving the Moretti estate quiet, damaged, but secure.

The Valenti mercenaries had been wiped out or captured by Vincent’s security forces. Damon Valenti had fled the state, now a hunted man with a federal warrant on his head.

However, the real nightmare was just beginning.

At 10:00 AM, I sat in the grand library, drinking warm tea, holding a blanket over my shoulders. Noah was sleeping peacefully upstairs in my bedroom.

The heavy double doors of the library slammed open.

Gabriel walked in, followed by two armed Moretti guards. His face was colder than ice, his eyes fixed on me with intense suspicion.

"Maya," Gabriel grunted. "Stand up."

I frowned, setting my cup down. "Gabriel? What's wrong?"

Vincent walked into the room right behind them. He looked exhausted, his jaw tight, holding a dark tablet in his hand.

"Vincent, what's going on?" I asked, standing up.

"Gabriel ran a forensic sweep on the estate's security servers," Vincent said slowly, his voice deep, gravelly, and unreadable. "The mercenaries didn't blow their way through the perimeter fence. Someone used an internal master keycard to disable the grid from inside the house at 11:14 PM."

"What?" I gasped. "Who did it?"

Gabriel stepped forward, tossing a clear plastic evidence bag onto the glass coffee table.

Inside the bag was my navy-blue silk clutch purse—the one I had carried at the gala. Tucked inside was a high-level black security keycard and a encrypted thumb drive labeled MORETTI_GRID_OVERRIDE.

My blood ran completely cold. "That... that's not mine! I didn't put that in my purse!"

"It was found in your room during the sweep, Maya," Gabriel said coldly. "And five minutes ago, our financial team tracked a wire transfer of two hundred thousand dollars sent from a Swiss account linked to Damon Valenti... directly into a bank account registered under your old legal name."

I stared at Vincent in sheer, suffocating horror. "Vincent... you don't believe this, do you? You know I would never hurt Noah! I risked my life to protect him last night!"

Gabriel sneered. "Or you set up a fake distraction to make yourself look like a hero after the plan went wrong."

"Shut up, Gabriel," Vincent commanded softly.

The room fell into an agonizing, suffocating silence.

Vincent walked over to me. He stood just inches away, looking down into my eyes. His grey eyes were searching my face, digging into my soul, hunting for the truth.

"Vincent... please," I wept, tears streaming down my face. "I was starving on the streets. I had nothing. But I gave your son my food. I love Noah. I love you. I would rather die than betray either of you."

Vincent didn't say a word for three excruciating seconds.

Then, he turned to Gabriel.

"Lock the security team in their barracks," Vincent ordered flatly.

Gabriel blinked, stunned. "What? Boss, the evidence points directly to her—"

"The evidence is too perfect, Gabriel," Vincent snapped, his voice dropping into a lethal, terrifying growl. "Maya didn't know how to use a basic security grid, let alone an encrypted override drive. Someone planted this in her room during the party chaos to destroy her and tear this family apart."

A tiny, clear voice spoke from the library doorway.

"Maya is good."

We all turned.

Noah stood in the doorway, wearing his pajamas, holding his stuffed bear. He walked directly past Gabriel, past the guards, and stood right beside me, wrapping his small arms tightly around my leg.

He looked up at his father, his brown eyes clear and resolute.

"Marcus put something in Maya’s bag," Noah said loudly. "I saw him in the hallway before the lights went out."