Chapter 10 Juan

Rafe stood stiffly in front of my desk, waiting for my reaction. The picture on his phone burned into my vision.

Sara. My stepsister. The girl I warned. The girl I protected. The girl I thought I’d never see again. And now she was here. In Kansas City. In Ricci territory.

I forced my voice steady. “Where was this taken?”

“Red Velvet,” Rafe said. “The guys said she was behind the bar. Someone called her Sara. They sent the picture right before they were grabbed.”

I studied the image again. She looked older. Tired. But still her. Still the girl my father wanted, the girl I helped escape.

“Get everything on her,” I said. “I want her entire life on my desk, by yesterday."

Rafe nodded and left. He returned three hours later with a thick folder and a look that told me he’d found something big.

“Boss,” he said, placing the file down, “you’re gonna want to sit for this.”

I didn’t. I opened the folder. Sara Vega. Not Delgado. Not Marquez. Smart. Very smart.

“She changed her name legally,” Rafe said. “Moved in with her grandmother. Old lady’s sick, like real sick. Looks like Sara’s working two jobs to keep the lights on.”

I flipped the page. A school photo. A boy. Seven years old. My chest tightened.

“Her son,” Rafe said quietly. “Gabe.”

I stared at the picture. Dark hair. Strong jaw. Eyes that didn’t belong to the Delgado line. No. Those eyes were Ricci. My stomach dropped.

“Holy shit,” Rafe whispered. “He looks just like...”

“I know.” My voice was low, dangerous. “He’s a Ricci.”

Rafe swore under his breath. “That’s leverage. Big leverage.”

I didn’t answer. I kept staring at the boy’s face. A Ricci heir. A child that Salvatore and the rest of the Riccis didn’t know existed. A child who could shift power if placed in the right hands. But I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t my father.

“We can’t just take him,” I said. “That would start a war we’re not ready for.”

Rafe nodded. “So what’s the play?”

I closed the folder slowly, thinking. Sara had run from my father. I helped her. I protected her. I kept her secret. But now? Now she had something the Riccis would kill for. And something my grandfather would use to burn the world down.

“We use the system,” I said.

Rafe raised a brow. “CPS?”

“She’s working two jobs. Sick grandmother. No father listed.” I tapped the file. “It won’t be hard to make her look unstable.”

“And since you’re family…” Rafe said.

“I can petition for custody,” I finished. “Legally. Quietly. No bullets. No bodies.”

Rafe smirked. “We make a fake CPS call. Anonymous. Say the kid’s in danger. They investigate. You step in as the responsible relative.”

“And once I have custody,” I said, “the Riccis will have to come to me if they want their heir back.”

Rafe nodded. “I’ll start the paperwork.”

He turned to leave, but I stopped him.

“Rafe.”

He looked back.

“No one touches Sara,” I said. “Not yet. Not unless I say so.”

He nodded once and left. I stared at Gabe’s picture again. A Ricci. A Marquez by marriage. A weapon. A child.

“Looks like you’re worth more than you know, little man,” I murmured.

And for the first time in years, I felt the shift of power. The game had changed. And I was holding the piece everyone wanted.

“Welcome to the game, little Ricci.”