The sudden click of the disconnected line echoed in Olivia’s ear like a gunshot. She stared at her phone screen, her heart slamming violently against her ribs.

Victoria Moretti—Luca’s aunt and the surviving matriarch of the Moretti organization—walked slowly around the perimeter of the room. Her men remained near the elevator, their hands resting ominously inside their jacket lapels.

"Five minutes after the street shooting," Victoria said, stopping beside the glass table where the cracked silver watch lay, "the Federal Bureau of Investigation served three search warrants on our shipping terminals in Red Hook."

Marco lowered his gun slightly, but his expression darkened. "On what grounds?"

"An anonymous tip regarding human trafficking and illegal munitions," Victoria replied, her icy blue eyes locking onto Olivia. "A tip submitted from an IP address registered to Vanderbilt & Cole."

Olivia felt the ground beneath her feet begin to give way. "That... that's where Daniel works."

"I know," Victoria said smoothly. She reached into her coat, pulled out a clear plastic evidence bag, and dropped it onto the table. Inside was a small black USB flash drive stamped with the exact same symbol carved into Luca’s watch—the crossed lines inside a circle. "Our security team swept your apartment ten minutes ago, Miss Carter. We found this hidden inside your air conditioning vent."

Olivia stared at the bag. "I've never seen that before in my life!"

"Of course you haven't," Victoria sneered. "That is what every informant says when the noose tightens around their neck."

"She didn't put it there, Victoria," Luca said, his voice rising in authority. He took a heavy step toward his aunt, ignoring the slight bleeding from his bandages. "If she were working with the Feds or the Vanguard, she would have let me bleed out on 5th Avenue. She covered me with her own body."

"She covered you to make sure you were taken alive!" Victoria snapped back, her composure finally breaking into sharp anger. "Look at the timing, Luca! You get shot, you bring her into our private sanctuary, and within thirty minutes, your brother leaks our shipping routes to the government while an offshore syndicate clears its hits! She is the wedge they are using to split the family!"

"Enough!" Luca roared. The sound echoed off the high brick walls, so powerful that even Victoria’s armed bodyguards flinched.

Silence descended upon the room, heavy and suffocating.

Luca turned slowly to face Olivia. He stepped closer until he was standing inches away from her. He reached out, his calloused fingers gently catching her chin, lifting her face so she had no choice but to look directly into his dark, unreadable eyes.

"I am going to ask you one question, Olivia," Luca whispered. "And your answer will decide whether you walk out of this building or spend the rest of your life buried under six feet of concrete."

Olivia’s heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy, but she forced herself not to shrink away. She met his gaze, her chin trembling slightly, but her eyes clear. "Ask."

"Did you know your brother was coming to 5th Avenue today?"

"No," Olivia said instantly. "On my father’s grave, Luca... I thought Daniel was at his desk downtown. I had no idea."

Luca searched her face for five agonizing seconds. He looked at the subtle tremor in her lips, the genuine terror in her eyes, and the dried blood staining the knees of her cream trousers—his blood.

He released her chin and turned back to Victoria.

"She stays," Luca commanded.

Victoria’s eyes narrowed into slits. "You are letting your heart rule your head, nephew. Your father would have put a bullet through her forehead the second that drive was found."

"My father is dead," Luca replied coldly. "And I run this family now. Marco, get the car ready."