Chapter 1

"Matteo, you've lost your mind! Noah is your own son!"

I screamed at him, fighting to break free of his grip, my eyes locked on the numbers counting down on Noah's body.

Nine minutes and fifty-three seconds.

Matteo didn't let go. He pressed the barrel deeper.

"I said, save Lilia first."

"Her brother took three bullets for me. I swore on the Family crest to keep her safe!"

Every drop of blood in my body froze. I stared at Matteo in disbelief.

"Mommy, save me!"

Noah reached out his chubby little hand toward me, crying in terror.

My eyes were bloodshot. My voice came out raw and shredded. "Matteo, that is our child! Don't push me!"

Matteo glanced at Noah with cold indifference, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Noah is my son. As the Family heir, he must be willing to sacrifice for the Family."

"DeLuca men are not cowards. Save Lilia first!"

There was no time to think. I leapt to my feet and lunged toward Noah. "I can do this. I can save them both!"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out behind me. The bullet grazed Noah's cheek.

I froze in place, turning back in horror.

Matteo had his gun aimed at Noah's head, his expression glacial. "Sera, I will not risk Lilia's life!"

A surge of horror tore through me. "Then you'll risk Noah's life?"

"Lilia matters more than me and Noah combined?"

Matteo clenched his jaw. "My oath comes first! Save Lilia, or I'll kill Noah myself! I keep my word!"

Nine minutes and thirty-one seconds.

No more time.

I gritted my teeth and rushed toward Lilia. Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge.

I cut the detonation wire on Lilia's body as fast as I could.

Her timer stopped.

I spun around and threw myself toward my son like a woman possessed.

"Noah, don't be scared. Mommy's here!"

The timer on Noah's body was still ticking.

Five minutes and thirty-two seconds.

There was still time. I could make it!

But just as my fingers reached for the wires, a piercing alarm shrieked.

The screen on Noah's timer flickered wildly, and the numbers raced to zero at an impossible speed!

My world stopped.

"Mommy!"

Noah looked at me one last time, screaming in terror.

The next second, a deafening explosion swallowed everything.

The blast wave hurled me backward. My back slammed against the cold wall.

I ignored the agony tearing through my body and struggled to lift my head.

Where Noah had been, there was nothing left but a blood-soaked ruin.

"Noah!!"

Hot blood surged up my throat and sprayed from my lips.

Matteo rushed to my side, shock and grief across his face.

"...Sera! The enemy must have tampered with the bomb! This... this was an accident..."

I stared at him blankly.

Whatever he said after that, I couldn't hear a single word.

The air reeked of gunpowder and blood. It was Noah's blood.

I couldn't remember how I got back to the DeLuca estate.

I wailed alone in Noah's room until my throat was raw.

And Matteo was in another room, gently comforting a frightened Lilia.

The second hand hit midnight.

I traced my fingers over the little toy car Noah used to love, listening to Lilia's broken sobs from the next room, and dialed a number I hadn't used in years.

On the other end was Matteo's most feared enemy, the Don of one of the Five Families: Victor Moretti.

I told him everything.

"Will you help me?" My voice betrayed no emotion. "I know every one of Matteo's weaknesses."

After hanging up, I called my private attorney.

"Draft a document for me. Package all of the DeLuca Family's core assets into an independent offshore trust. The beneficiary..."

I paused, then enunciated each word. "Me."