Two months after the New York Bar Association honored Sadi, the autumn chill turned into a biting winter wind that swept off the East River. The Starlight Diner remained a beacon of warmth, but downtown, inside the federal courthouse, a new storm was brewing.

Sadi sat in her pristine corner office at the Vance Foundation’s legal defense wing, reviewing a thick case file bound in red ribbon. Across the mahogany desk sat Roman, looking every bit the formidable CEO in a charcoal Brioni suit, though his dark eyes held a tender worry every time he looked at his heavily pregnant wife.

"Sadi," Roman spoke, his voice low and rumblesome. "You're seven months pregnant. You shouldn't be taking on the District Attorney’s organized crime division."

Sadi looked up, her dark eyes flashing with the sharp, brilliant fire that had made Roman fall in love with her. She adjusted the golden bar pin on her lapel. "Roman, the DA isn't just targeting random suspects. They're using forged financial ledgers from your late uncle’s old syndicate to freeze the Foundation's medical relief accounts. Over four hundred families in Brooklyn will lose their hospital coverage by Friday if I don't file an emergency injunction."

Roman’s jaw tightened. The Moretti family name had been cleansed, but ghosts of the old mob empire still lingered in the dark corridors of the city's political machine.

"Who signed off on the frozen accounts?" Roman asked, leaning forward, his heavy hands resting on the desk.

"Assistant District Attorney Julian Vance," Sadi said, sliding a document across the desk. "No relation to your foundation's name—he's the estranged nephew of the old prosecutor you exposed three years ago. He wants revenge, Roman. And he’s using my clients as collateral."

Roman’s eyes narrowed into slits of dark, lethal focus. He stood up, walked around the desk, and gently cupped Sadi’s face in his large, warm hands.

"Then we fight him together, my Queen," Roman whispered, leaning down to press his lips against her temple. "You bring the law. I'll bring the leverage."