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.

I stared at the thick manila envelope in my hands.

My breath caught in my throat.

"What are you talking about, Luca?" I asked, my voice shaking. "I grew up in the state system. I never knew my parents."

"Open it," Luca said gently.

My hands trembled as I broke the seal.

I pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. An official State of Illinois birth certificate, dated twenty-eight years ago.

Mother: Maria Romano.

Father: Unknown.

Child: Graciela Romano.

I looked up at him, my mind spinning. "Romano? Who is Maria Romano?"

Luca took a deep breath.

"Maria Romano was my mother’s youngest sister," Luca said. "My aunt."

The kitchen seemed to tilt. I grabbed the edge of the granite counter to steady myself.

"Your aunt?" I whispered. "That means..."

"It means Isabella Moretti was your aunt," Luca said, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "And I am your cousin."

I dropped the paper onto the counter. "No. No, that can't be right. I was an orphan."

"Maria died in childbirth," Luca explained softly, stepping closer to support me. "My father—Antonio—was a ruthless man back then. He forbade my mother from taking you in. He said a bastard child would shame the Moretti name. He forced her to put you into the foster system."

Tears streamed down my face.

My whole life. The loneliness. The struggling. The cold foster homes.

I had family. I had a wealthy, powerful family living right across the city.

"Why didn't she come for me?" I cried, anger and grief rising in my chest.

"She tried," Luca said fiercely. "God, Grace, she tried. When my father had his first stroke ten years ago and lost control of the family, my mother spent thousands of dollars hiring private investigators to find you."

He pointed to the birth certificate.

"She found you three years ago. But by then, you were married, and you had just had Leo."

"She knew about Leo?"

"She knew everything," Luca smiled sadly. "She used to park her car across the street from your old apartment just to watch you walk him to the park. She was so proud of you."

I covered my face with my hands, sobbing.

The woman whose murder I had helped solve... was my own flesh and blood.

"She wanted to bring you into the family," Luca said. "But she knew Vanessa was stealing. She knew the syndicate was unstable. She didn't want to drag you into a war zone. So she waited."

Luca reached into the envelope again.

He pulled out a faded polaroid photograph.

"She waited," Luca said, "but she made sure you were protected."

He handed me the photograph.

I looked at it, and my heart completely stopped.

It was a picture of me, standing in my tiny kitchen, holding a newborn Leo.

But I hadn't taken that picture.

And the man standing next to me in the photo, smiling down at my son, was the husband I had buried five years ago.