Sixty million dollars had just changed hands when a baby crawled under my desk, grabbed my trouser cuff, and looked up at me with the exact gray eyes of my dead brother. No child was supposed to be anywhere near the private office of a mafia boss, but when I saw what was hanging around her neck, I knew she hadn't gotten into my house by accident.

I stared at the television screen as the news anchor completely destroyed my public reputation.

Vincent had painted me as a greedy, psychotic traitor who killed his own loyal men for cash.

Every single member of the Caruso crime family was now actively hunting me down for absolute revenge.

I was completely isolated, but I was currently holding the exact weapon needed to destroy Vincent.

I told Hannah that I had to leave them at the motel for exactly two hours.

I needed to break into Vincent's underground money-laundering club to broadcast the flash drive's contents to the entire syndicate.

Hannah begged me not to go, terrified that I would not come back alive.

I promised her that I would return to finish what my brave brother had started.

I handed her my only loaded pistol and told her not to open the door for anyone but me.

I slipped out into the cold night rain and stole a different car from the motel parking lot.

I drove to Vincent's lavish nightclub, which was heavily guarded by his personal cartel mercenaries.

I used my intimate knowledge of the building's architecture to slip through the rooftop ventilation shafts.

I dropped silently into the main server room, bypassing three heavily armed guards outside the door.

I plugged Julian's flash drive directly into the master server terminal.

I quickly executed a program that emailed the damning cartel evidence to every single captain in the Caruso family.

The entire mafia would now know that Vincent was the true rat who murdered Julian.

I pulled the flash drive out and destroyed the master terminal with a heavy fire extinguisher.

I managed to escape the nightclub just as the alarms finally began to blare.

I drove back to the rundown motel with a fierce, triumphant smile on my face.

I had successfully cleared my name and signed Vincent's ultimate death warrant.

I ran up the concrete stairs to the second floor, eager to tell Hannah the good news.

My triumphant smile completely vanished when I saw our motel room door violently kicked off its hinges.

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

The room was completely empty, the dresser was smashed, and my gun was resting on the floor.

Sitting perfectly in the center of the bloody mattress was Vincent's signature burning cigar.

Chapter 7 - The Cartel Connection