The gold chain was snapped in half.

The small diamond pendant lay dull against the dark wood of the table.

“I ripped it off her neck myself,” Carlo said smoothly.

He looked at Luca, who was surrounded by six Bellini gunmen.

“She was a smart woman, Sarah. She figured out I was skimming from the union accounts. She was going to tell you.”

Luca’s eyes were completely black.

“So you killed my wife. And you used your niece to manipulate her way into my house to ensure I never looked into it.”

“Business is business, Luca,” Carlo said, standing up. “Vanessa was supposed to keep the kid quiet and keep you distracted. She failed.”

He gestured to the gunmen.

“Kill the maid. Take the kid. Luca comes with us.”

I grabbed Sophie’s hand.

My heart hammered wildly, but I didn’t scream.

I looked at the heavy silver serving tray resting on the side table next to me.

Before anyone could pull a trigger, a voice shattered the tension.

“No.”

It was Vanessa.

She stepped directly into the line of fire, standing between the gunmen and Luca.

Carlo frowned. “Move, Vanessa.”

“You promised me nobody else would get hurt!” she screamed.

She looked back at Sophie, her face twisted in a bizarre mix of guilt and terror.

“I just wanted to be a mother. I just wanted a family. You told me Sarah was running away with a lover!”

“I lied,” Carlo said bluntly. “Move.”

“No!” Vanessa shouted.

She reached into her purse.

Carlo didn’t hesitate.

He raised his own weapon and fired.

The gunshot was deafening in the enclosed dining room.

Vanessa gasped.

She stumbled backward, clutching her stomach, and collapsed onto the Persian rug.

Chaos erupted.

Luca didn’t freeze.

In the split second the gunmen were distracted by Vanessa falling, Luca flipped the massive mahogany table.

Wood cracked. China shattered.

He grabbed me and Sophie, pulling us behind the heavy oak pillars of the dining room archway.

Gunfire tore through the room, shredding the chandelier.

Glass rained down on us.

Sophie screamed, burying her face in my apron.

I wrapped my arms around her, pressing her tightly against my chest.

Through the smoke and shouting, I saw Vanessa lying on the floor.

Her hand opened weakly.

A small object rolled out of her palm and stopped near my shoe.

It was a faded photograph.