“No!” I screamed.

Without thinking, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the only heavy object I had—the antique silver family heirloom lighter Luca had given me to hold earlier that morning.

I threw it with all my strength directly at Isabella’s face.

The heavy metal struck her square in the forehead just as she pulled the trigger.

The gunshot went wide, shattering the windshield of David’s car.

Isabella stumbled backward, clutching her bleeding head.

In a fraction of a second, Marco moved. He tackled Isabella to the concrete, pinning her arms behind her back and kicking the gun away.

“Get off me!” she shrieked, thrashing wildly.

Luca didn't look at her. He ran to David, cutting the zip ties and pulling the older man to his feet.

“Are you okay?” Luca asked frantically.

David nodded, gasping for air. “She... she confronted me last night when I found the bank statements. She forced me here.”

Luca turned to his sister, who was now handcuffed and weeping on the ground.

“You are dead to me,” Luca said softly, his voice devoid of any brotherly affection. “Marco, hand her over to the Commission. Let them deal with a traitor.”

“You can't do this to me, Luca!” Isabella screamed as she was dragged away.

But Luca had already turned his back on her.

He walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“You saved him,” Luca whispered into my hair. “You saved us.”

“I promised I’d protect this family,” I smiled through my tears.

We drove back to the estate as the sun finally broke through the grey Chicago clouds.

When we walked through the front doors, Sophie was waiting in the foyer. She ran to David, hugging her grandfather tightly.

Luca stood beside me, taking my hand.

The threats were gone. The traitors were exposed. The ghosts of the past were finally laid to rest.

I looked around the grand mansion. It no longer felt like a fortress of secrets or a battlefield for power.

It felt like a home.

And as Luca kissed me, surrounded by the family we had fought so hard to save, I knew the story of Emma the maid was over.

The story of Emma Moretti had just begun.