Panic surged through my chest like a tidal wave of ice water.

“My mother,” I gasped, showing Luca the glowing screen of my phone. “Someone is at her house.”

Luca didn’t ask questions. The sorrow in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by the lethal, calculating instinct of the man who ran Chicago’s underworld. He grabbed his keys, pulled a sleek black handgun from his desk drawer, and shoved it into his waistband.

“Get in the car,” he ordered.

We drove across the city in agonizing silence. Luca’s jaw was locked, his knuckles stark white against the leather steering wheel. The speedometer needle hovered dangerously high, but I didn't care.

My mind was spinning out of control. How did Sarah Moretti know my name five years ago? And why was someone at my mother’s quiet suburban house asking about a blue coat?

When we screeched onto my mother’s street, I saw the front door wide open, blowing in the freezing night wind.

I sprinted up the walkway before Luca even put the SUV in park.

“Mom!” I screamed, bursting into the living room.

The house was completely trashed. Cushions were ripped open. Bookshelves were cleared.

My mother was sitting on the sofa, clutching her chest, weeping silently. She was terrified, but physically unhurt.

Standing over her was a tall, broad-shouldered man in a tailored dark suit.

Luca walked in right behind me, his hand resting casually on his waist, inches from his weapon.

“Step away from her, Marco,” Luca commanded. His voice filled the small room, leaving zero room for debate.

The man turned. I recognized him from the engagement dinner. He was one of Carlo Bellini’s top lieutenants.

“Boss,” Marco said, nodding respectfully, though his eyes were cold. “I was just leaving. Mr. Bellini sent me to retrieve something that belongs to his family. A misunderstanding.”

“Nothing in this house belongs to the Bellinis,” Luca said coldly, stepping between Marco and my mother.

Marco smiled thinly. “Vanessa seems to think otherwise. She said the maid’s family stole a blue velvet coat ten years ago.”

He walked past us, his shoulder brushing Luca’s, and disappeared into the night.

I rushed to my mother, dropping to my knees and pulling her into a desperate hug. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No,” she sobbed, burying her face in my shoulder. “He just kept yelling about the blue coat. The one we found on the porch the night your father died.”

I froze.

“The coat?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.

My mother nodded, tears spilling over her cheeks. “The one I hid in the cedar chest in the basement.”

Luca stepped closer, his imposing frame casting a long shadow over the carpet.

“Claire,” he said, his voice tight. “What coat?”

I looked up at him, my heart hammering.

“Ten years ago, my father was killed in a hit-and-run,” I explained, my voice shaking. “The police never found the driver. But the next morning, I found a heavy blue velvet coat folded neatly on our front porch. We didn't know whose it was, so my mom kept it.”

“Get it,” Luca said softly.

I ran to the basement. I dug through the old cedar chest until my hands found the heavy, luxurious fabric. I carried it upstairs and placed it on the coffee table.

Luca stared at it. His face went completely pale, as if he had just seen a ghost.

He reached out and touched the velvet lining.

“This was Sarah’s,” he whispered. “She wore it the night she died.”

He flipped the collar over. Embroidered in gold thread were the initials S.B.—Sarah Bellini.

“Your wife… her maiden name was Bellini?” I asked, stunned.

“No,” Luca said, his eyes locking onto mine with a terrifying realization. “Sarah’s maiden name was Romano. Vanessa’s middle name is Sarah.”

He looked at the coat, then at me.

“Vanessa was driving the car that killed your father.”

TITLE: The Scent of Lavender and Ash