A senator’s wife humiliated a terrified elderly woman in front of three hundred wealthy guests, then tried to slap me when I defended her. But before her hand could touch my face, Chicago’s most feared mafia boss stepped from the shadows—and revealed that the woman everyone had mocked was his mother.

Three days passed in a tense, fragile calm.

While Lorenzo spent eighteen hours a day away from the estate managing his empire, I settled into my new life as Rose’s companion. I learned her routines, her favorite meals, and the precise tone of voice that comforted her when the shadows of dementia clouded her mind.

Leo was thriving. The top-tier medications and clean air of Oak Park worked wonders on his lungs; he hadn't used his rescue inhaler once since arriving.

On Thursday morning, Lorenzo’s private driver took me into downtown Chicago. Rose had requested a specific type of Italian lace yarn from a specialty shop in the Loop to finish a blanket she was knitting for Leo.

I was accompanied by Marco and two armed guards who stayed ten paces behind me as I walked down the bustling pavement of Michigan Avenue.

As I stepped out of the yarn shop holding a small paper bag, a dark blue sedan pulled up sharply against the curb.

The rear door clicked open, and a man stepped out into my path, blocking the walkway.

It was Senator Robert Vane.

He looked terrible. His expensive suit was rumpled, his hair was messy, and dark bags hung under his bloodshot eyes. The slick, confident politician from the Palmer House ballroom had vanished, replaced by a desperate, twitchy man on the edge of ruin.

"Sophie Clark," Senator Vane said, his voice raw and tight.

Marco instantly stepped forward, placing his heavy frame between me and the senator, his right hand sliding inside his leather jacket. "Back off, Senator."

"I just want to talk to the girl!" Vane shouted, raising his hands in frantic surrender. "Five minutes! That’s all I’m asking!"

I looked around Marco’s broad shoulder. "I have nothing to say to you, Senator."

"You need to listen to me!" Vane hissed, stepping closer to the curb, his eyes darting nervously toward the passing traffic.

"You think Lorenzo Moretti is your savior? You think he brought you into his house out of the goodness of his heart?! You're a pawn, Sophie! Lorenzo is using you and his senile mother to present a clean, charitable image to the public while he liquidates two hundred million dollars in contested real estate!"

My temper flared instantly.

"Don't you dare call his mother senile," I said, stepping past Marco, my eyes burning with absolute anger. "Rose Moretti has more dignity in her pinky finger than you and your cruel wife have in your entire bodies!"

Vane let out a cold, desperate laugh. "You poor, foolish girl. You think you’re safe in Oak Park? Lorenzo Moretti is a monster! The FBI has a six-hundred-page indictment sitting on the desk of the United States Attorney right now! Half his own family—including his brother Dante—is feeding information to the grand jury!"

I went dead still.

Dante?

My mind flashed back to the heated conversation I had overheard outside Lorenzo’s study three nights ago. Dante’s bitter face, his resentment over being threatened with a transfer to Gary, Indiana, his anger over Rose staying at the estate...

Vane saw the change in my expression and leaned in closer, his voice dropping into a desperate whisper.

"The federal raid is coming, Sophie," Vane warned, his breath smelling of stale coffee and fear. "When the hammer falls, everyone inside that mansion is going to prison or worse. Walk away now. Come to my office. Sign a statement about what Lorenzo did at the Palmer House, and I will personally guarantee you and your brother federal witness protection."

I looked at Senator Vane—a man who had stood by while his wife humiliated an helpless old woman, a man who was now willing to sell out his city to save his own career.

I pulled my paper bag closer to my chest and looked him straight in the eye.

"I’d rather trust a monster with honor," I said coldly, "than a coward with a badge."