I swept the plastic pregnancy test off the tile floor, jamming it deep into the bottom of my apron pocket just as Liam knocked on the bathroom door.

"Put the papers down, Elizabeth," Matteo said, stepping into the library and closing the double doors behind him. He looked at me with cold, ruthless eyes that held none of Alessandro's warmth.

"You killed my father," I whispered, clutching the folded letter against my chest, my body shaking with rage and fear. "You burned down our house!"

"Marcus Vance was an arrogant prosecutor who didn't know when to close his eyes," Matteo sneered, raising his gun until it was pointed directly at my chest. "He discovered that I was using the family's shipping routes for my own private arms trade. If my late brother had found out, he would have fed me to the dogs. So, I handled your father."

"And you set Alessandro up!" I yelled, stepping back against the heavy mahogany desk. "You leaked those corporate documents to the federal prosecutors to make it look like Alessandro was incompetent, so the board would replace him with you!"

"Alessandro is soft!" Matteo spat, his face twisting in disgust. "He spends millions on charities! He hesitates when blood needs to be spilled! And now he's turned you into his queen—a prosecutor's bastard daughter carrying his heir!"

Matteo took three steps forward, adjusting his grip on the weapon. "Once I eliminate you and that unborn mistake in your belly, Alessandro will lose his mind with grief. He will step down, and the family will finally have a true leader."

"He will hunt you to the ends of the earth, Matteo," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the terror gripping my soul. I placed a protective hand over my stomach. "He will rip you apart."

"He won't know it was me," Matteo smiled darkly. "He will think the federal informants did it."

Matteo raised the gun, his finger tightening on the trigger.

CRASH!

The heavy stained-glass windows of the library shattered inward in a shower of colorful glass fragments.

A high-powered rifle bullet slammed through Matteo's shoulder, throwing him violently onto the marble floor. He screamed in pain, dropping his gun.

The library doors were kicked off their hinges with a deafening boom.

Alessandro burst into the room like an enraged demon, flanked by Noah, Caleb, and six heavily armed tactical guards. Alessandro didn't even look at the guards; his eyes locked onto Matteo, who was crawling toward his dropped weapon.

Alessandro kicked the gun across the floor, then reached down, grabbing Matteo by the collar of his suit and lifting the older man completely off the ground with one hand.

"ALESSANDRO!" Matteo gasped, choking as the grip on his neck tightened. "He's... she's lying to you! She's a prosecutor's daughter!"

Alessandro didn't speak. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his own sidearm, and pressed the burning-hot barrel directly beneath Matteo's chin.

"I heard everything through the room's security comms, Uncle," Alessandro said, his voice so terrifyingly cold that the ambient temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "You murdered her father. You betrayed my father. And you pointed a gun at my wife and child."

"Alessandro... we are blood!" Matteo whimpered, tears of terror running down his wrinkled face. "Family!"