THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS FIANCÉE ORDER ME TO KNEEL AND PICK UP HER DIAMOND EARRING—THEN SHE SAID, “SHE FELL BY THE SERVICE ELEVATOR,” BEFORE HE EVEN ASKED WHY I COULDN’T GET BACK UP. I could get down on my knees.

The heavy gold bracelet caught the dim light.

It was thick, intricately carved, and undeniable.

Vincent Falcone stopped dead in his tracks.

Vanessa's arrogant smile vanished instantly.

"Where did you get that?" Vanessa demanded, her voice suddenly shrill with panic.

Antonio didn't speak. He couldn't. But his eyes were clear, and they burned with a father's protective fury.

He dropped the heavy gold bracelet onto the dirt floor at Luca's feet.

Luca looked down at it.

He recognized it instantly.

"This is Isabella's," Luca said, his voice shaking. "My mother never took this off."

"She took it off the night she died," Vanessa snapped, raising her gun. "Now sign the paper!"

"No," Luca said, picking up the bracelet. "She didn't take it off. It was ripped off."

He ran his thumb over the intricate gold carving.

"The clasp is broken," Luca realized aloud. "And there are deep scratches on the inside."

He looked up at Vincent Falcone, who was sweating heavily, clutching his bleeding arm.

"You were there," Luca said softly to Vincent. "You weren't just Vanessa's silent partner. You were the one who held my mother down while Vanessa forced the poison down her throat."

Vincent took a step back. "It was business, Luca."

"And she fought you," Luca continued, the pieces falling into place. "She scratched you. And you ripped this bracelet off her wrist to stop her."

I gasped.

Antonio hadn't just witnessed the murder. He had crawled into Isabella's room after they left and found the bracelet. He had hidden it for two years, unable to speak, waiting for the exact right moment to give Luca the proof he needed.

"Shoot them!" Vanessa screamed at Vincent.

But Vincent hesitated.

That hesitation was all Luca needed.

In a fraction of a second, Luca kicked dirt directly into Vincent's eyes.

Vincent roared in pain, dropping the transfer documents.

Luca lunged forward, grabbing Vincent's injured arm and twisting it violently. Vincent collapsed to his knees with a sickening crunch.

Vanessa shrieked and aimed her gun at Luca.

"Mr. Moretti!" I screamed.

I didn't think. I just reacted.

I threw myself forward, ignoring the agonizing pain in my swollen knee, and tackled Vanessa around the waist.

We hit the dirt floor hard.

The gun fired, the suppressed pfft echoing in the glass greenhouse, the bullet shattering a pane of glass above our heads.

Vanessa clawed at my face, her perfect nails digging into my cheek.

"You stupid bitch!" she hissed, trying to bring the gun around to my stomach.

I reached blindly into the dirt.

My fingers wrapped around a heavy, smooth object.

A large river stone used for the garden beds.

I smashed it directly into Vanessa's wrist.

She screamed, dropping the gun.

Before she could recover, a massive shadow fell over us.

Luca grabbed Vanessa by the back of her designer gown and hauled her to her feet like a ragdoll.

He pinned her against the rusty iron frame of the greenhouse.

He didn't hold a gun to her head.

He held the heavy gold bracelet.

"You thought you could destroy my family?" Luca whispered, pressing the broken gold against her throat. "You are nothing."

Vanessa choked, her eyes wide with genuine terror.

Suddenly, sirens wailed in the distance.

Red and blue lights flashed through the muddy glass of the greenhouse.

"The police," Vanessa gasped, a twisted smile returning to her bloody lips. "You're going to prison with me, Luca. The transfer receipts have your family's name on them."