On Christmas Eve, Mafia boss Dominic Moretti found his maid’s three-year-old daughter sitting alone beneath the grand staircase, clutching a photograph and whispering, “I’m waiting for my mom.” He almost walked past her, until he saw the woman in the picture. It was Sophia, the woman he had loved and searched for four years earlier, and before sunrise, Dominic would discover his own mother had known exactly why she disappeared.

I helped Marco up from the bloody floor, supporting his heavy weight as we rushed out of the subterranean cell.

Sophia grabbed a discarded pistol from the hallway, her fierce, protective instincts completely taking over.

We emerged onto the snow-covered grounds just as a sleek black helicopter began lifting off from the helipad.

Carlo Vitale was standing in the open side door of the chopper, laughing mockingly as he escaped into the blizzard.

“He is getting away!” Sophia yelled over the massive, deafening roar of the helicopter blades.

I sprinted toward a heavy, mounted machine gun left abandoned by a fallen Vitale mercenary near the perimeter wall.

I racked the massive bolt and aimed fiercely at the tail rotor of the ascending aircraft.

I unleashed a massive, relentless hail of heavy-caliber bullets, shattering the freezing night air.

The heavy rounds tore violently through the metal of the tail rotor, causing the aircraft to spin wildly out of control.

Carlo’s arrogant laughter quickly turned into screams of absolute terror as the helicopter plummeted downward.

The chopper crashed heavily into the frozen ocean just beyond the cliffs, erupting into a massive, fiery explosion.

The flaming wreckage sank rapidly into the dark, icy water, permanently erasing Carlo Vitale from the earth.

I dropped the heavy machine gun, breathing heavily as a profound wave of silence finally washed over the destroyed compound.

Enzo and my remaining soldiers secured the perimeter, confirming that the entire Vitale syndicate had been entirely dismantled.

I turned around and pulled Sophia into a fierce, passionate kiss in the middle of the snowy courtyard.

“It is completely over,” I whispered against her lips, wiping a stray tear from her beautiful face.

“We need to go get Lily right now,” Sophia urged, her maternal instincts overwhelming her exhaustion.

I pulled out my encrypted phone and dialed the secure line to the Manhattan safehouse to tell my mother the good news.

The line rang three times before someone finally picked up, but it wasn't my mother's voice.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

“Your mother is tied up at the moment, Dominic,” Isabella Vitale whispered through the phone.

Isabella hadn't bled out in the snow; she had somehow bypassed my men and infiltrated the absolute most secure location I owned.

Chapter 9 - The Final Pursuit