THE ENGAGEMENT CAKE

Luca pulled the black rosary from the splintered wood.

The beads were made of heavy, polished obsidian. But it was the crucifix that made my blood run cold. It wasn’t silver or gold. It was carved from bone.

"What is that?" I asked, pulling Leo tighter against my chest while Chloe leaned heavily on my shoulder.

Luca stared at the cross, his expression hardening into something ruthless and ancient. The polished businessman who hosted charity dinners was gone; the Chicago mafia boss had fully surfaced.

"It’s a calling card," Luca said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It belongs to the Vitiello family. The Sicilians."

Chloe gasped, pressing her hand against her bruised ribs. "The mob?"

"The people Vanessa’s father owes money to," Luca corrected. He closed his fist around the rosary. "Vanessa's family, the Bellinis, have been bankrupt for three years. They kept up appearances, but they were bleeding out. She wasn't marrying me for power, Lily. She was marrying me to merge our accounts and pay off a debt that would have gotten her entire family slaughtered."

I felt dizzy. "And Anna? The baby?"

"Collateral," Luca said. "If Vanessa couldn't get a child of her own to secure her place as the Moretti matriarch, she was going to steal Michael's heir. The Vitiellos helped her kidnap them. They’ve been holding them hostage."

"Mommy, I'm scared," Leo whispered, burying his face in my neck.

"I know, baby," I soothed, kissing his forehead.

Luca looked at the destroyed apartment, then at Chloe’s bleeding lip.

"You can't stay here," Luca said. "If Vanessa knows the driver failed, she'll send a cleanup crew. Real professionals this time."

"Where do we go?" I asked. "I don't have any money. I can't even afford a hotel."

"You're coming with me," Luca commanded. He didn't ask.

Ten minutes later, we were in the back of the armored SUV. Chloe was holding a makeshift ice pack to her face, and Leo was asleep against my side, exhausted by the terror.

My right hand was throbbing violently. The burn Vanessa had inflicted on me felt like it was on fire. I tried to hide my wincing, but Luca noticed everything.

He reached into the center console, pulled out a pristine white silk handkerchief, and gently took my hand.

"Let me," he said softly.

As he carefully wrapped the cool silk around my blistered palm, his large, calloused fingers brushed against my skin. For a second, the mafia boss disappeared, leaving only a man who was desperately trying to hold his world together.

"I'm sorry she hurt you, Lily," he said quietly.

"I'm just a maid, Mr. Moretti," I whispered. "I'm used to being invisible."

"You're not invisible to me," he replied, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "Not anymore."

We pulled into the underground garage of a sleek, glass-fronted skyscraper downtown. It wasn't the Moretti estate. It was Luca's private, off-the-books penthouse.

Headed by his loyal security chief, Daniel, the place was locked down within minutes. Chloe was taken to a guest room by a private doctor, and I laid Leo down in a massive, plush king-sized bed.

When I walked out into the living room, Luca was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the Chicago skyline.

"They're safe," I told him.

He nodded, not turning around. "The Polaris shipping yard is massive. Fifty acres of refrigerated containers. If they put Anna and the baby in one of them, they'll freeze to death before morning."

Suddenly, Luca's cell phone vibrated on the glass coffee table.

Unknown Caller.

Luca stared at it. He hit the speaker button.

"Hello, darling," Vanessa’s sweet, melodic voice filled the room.

I shuddered, stepping closer to Luca.

"Vanessa," Luca said, his voice dangerously calm. "Where are you?"

"Oh, I'm at the estate, Luca. Fixing the disaster of an engagement party you abandoned. Where are you? The guests were quite confused."

"You know exactly where I've been," Luca said. "Call your dogs off, Vanessa. The game is over."

She laughed, a chilling, hollow sound. "Is it? I hear a little bird from the bakery came to visit today. And a little maid got burned. Tragic, really."

"Where is Michael?" Luca demanded, his voice finally cracking like a whip.

There was a long silence on the line.

"Michael was careless," Vanessa said coldly. "He asked too many questions. But don't worry, Luca. You'll see him soon. In fact, if you want to see your precious niece breathing, you'll put on your tuxedo tomorrow."

"What?"

"Tomorrow is our wedding day," Vanessa said, dropping the sweet facade entirely. "You are going to stand at the altar. You are going to say 'I do.' And you are going to sign the merger documents transferring the Moretti accounts. If you don't..."

She paused.

"I'll make sure the temperature in container 4B drops to negative twenty."

The line went dead.

I looked at Luca in horror. "She expects you to marry her?"

Luca didn't answer. He walked over to a beautiful oil painting hanging on the wall. He reached behind the frame and pulled something out.

It was a torn, faded photograph.

He handed it to me.

It was a picture of a younger Vanessa. But she wasn't smiling. She was standing in a hospital gown, looking devastated.

"Vanessa can't have children," Luca explained quietly. "She had a hysterectomy ten years ago. She hid it from everyone. But she needed an heir to solidify her power in the mafia."