“Serve the Maro table, or you’re fired before the lunch rush!” My manager, Frank, shoved a sweating metal tray of ice water into my hands. His breath smelled like cheap cigarillos and panic.

For three agonizing seconds, time in the nursery completely froze.

Arthur Miller stared at the blinking red light on the baby monitor, his smug composure shattering into pure, raw panic. His silver-framed glasses slipped slightly down his sweat-slicked nose.

“You... you bitch,” Arthur whispered, his hand shaking violently as he raised the silenced pistol directly at my chest. “You destroyed everything!”

Antoine didn't give him the chance to pull the trigger.

With a roar that sounded like a wounded lion, Antoine closed the distance between them in a split second. He grabbed Arthur’s wrist, twisting it upward with bone-crushing force.

CRACK!

Arthur screamed in agony as the gun clattered to the floorboards. Antoine hit him with a devastating left hook that sent the CFO crashing through the white wooden cribs, collapsing into a bloody, sobbing heap amidst the splintered wood.

The second tactical contractor tried to raise his rifle, but Donovan—recovering from the taser shock—swept the man’s legs out from behind, slamming his head against the doorframe until he went completely limp.

Outside, the spotlight from the state police helicopter washed the room in brilliant, stark white light. Heavy footsteps slammed up the grand staircase.

“State Police! Tactical Team! Down on the floor!”

A dozen armed troopers in dark blue gear flooded the nursery, weapons raised.

Antoine immediately put his hands up, stepping back toward me. I stood my ground, my hands raised, keeping my body between the officers and the corner where Donovan was resting.

“In the corner!” Antoine shouted calmly over the noise of the helicopter. “Arthur Miller and his contractor! They are armed and confessed to murder on a live broadcast network!”

A senior officer stepped forward, pulling his helmet visor up. It was Captain Ramsey—a veteran state investigator with a reputation for absolute integrity. He looked at Arthur Miller, who was blubbering on the floor holding his broken wrist, then looked up at the modified baby camera blinking on the wall.

“Mr. Maro,” Captain Ramsey said, his voice grim. “Our dispatch center just received the raw broadcast feed. The Governor personally ordered us to secure this estate and take Arthur Miller into federal custody.”

Antoine lowered his hands slowly. “And my children?”

“Safe at your associate’s house in Gretna,” Ramsey confirmed, looking at me with a mixture of shock and profound respect. “We sent a protective detail to Miss Marsh’s residence twenty minutes ago. The babies are under guard by female state troopers.”

I let out a long, shuddering breath, my knees finally trembling as the massive surge of adrenaline began to recede.

Ramsey walked over to Arthur, kicking the silenced pistol away from his reaching fingers, and snapped heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.

“Arthur Miller,” Ramsey read, dragging the screaming CFO to his feet. “You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit capital murder, chemical poisoning of minors, grand larceny, and corporate fraud.”

“You can’t do this!” Arthur shrieked, blood leaking from his split lip onto his pinstripe collar. “My father-in-law is Julian Vance! He’ll have your badge by noon!”

“Julian Vance Sr. was taken into custody five minutes ago at his penthouse in Metairie,” Ramsey replied dryly, shoving Arthur toward two waiting troopers. “Turns out, when a murder confession broadcasts live during the Today Show, even high-society lawyers can’t stop the arrest warrants.”

As the troopers dragged Arthur out of the room, Captain Ramsey turned back to Antoine and me.

“Miss Marsh,” Ramsey said, taking off his gloves and extending a broad hand. “I’ve been a cop in this parish for thirty years. I’ve never seen a civilian execute a counter-intelligence sting like the one you just pulled off from a burner phone.”

I took his hand, giving it a tired, firm shake. “I’m not an intelligence agent, Captain. I’m just a woman who knows what happens when bad men think nobody is paying attention.”