"Mister… may I eat with you?” the maid’s three-year-old daughter asked Julian Hale, the wealthy mafia boss whose name could silence an entire room. No one in his mansion dared sit beside him at dinner, but the little girl simply saw a lonely man eating by himself. What Julian did next stunned his guards, but what the child whispered after taking that empty chair made the feared crime boss slowly put down his fork.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of the dining room into the grand foyer.

Lily was still in my arms, clutching my neck, while Grace walked half a step behind me, her eyes darting nervously toward the high balconies.

Viktor and three other guards rushed forward, their eyes widening when they saw the maid’s child wrapped around my chest like a precious jewel.

"Boss?" Viktor asked, his brow furrowing. "Is everything alright? We heard shouting."

"Everything is fine, Viktor," I said, my voice smooth as ice. "Effective immediately, Grace and her daughter are moving into the Master Suite on the top floor."

Viktor blinked, visibly stunned. "The... the Master Suite, sir? But that's your private wing. Security protocol dictates—"

"Security protocol is changing," I cut him off. "Call an emergency assembly of the Inner Circle. I want Dante, Marcus, and Dominic in my study in thirty minutes."

"Sir, Dante is at the docks inspecting the shipments," Viktor noted.

"Tell him to drop whatever he’s holding and get his ass here," I growled. "Tell him it's about the Moretti expansion."

Viktor bowed his head. "Right away, Boss."

I turned and walked toward the grand staircase. As we climbed the steps toward the third floor, Grace leaned closer to me.

"Dante..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "That was the name of the officer who spoke to the men in the black masks outside the nursery."

My jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched violently under my scar.

Dante Alighieri. My second-in-command. My right-hand man for eight years. A man who had sat at my table, drunk my wine, and stood beside me at my daughter’s empty grave.

"Are you sure?" I asked softly, keeping my face turned away from the security cameras in the hallway.

"I’d know his voice anywhere," Grace whispered. "He told them to 'make sure nothing recognizable is left in the ashes.' I have nightmares about his voice every night."