The morning the man I once loved found me, I was barefoot, covered in flour, and holding the twins he'd never known existed. Three years earlier, I'd disappeared after catching my husband in bed with my own sister. Now the most feared man in Chicago was standing on my porch, staring into the amber eyes of two children who looked exactly like him. For

The lieutenant, a man named Marco, had faithfully served the Moretti family for well over a decade. I could not possibly comprehend why he was standing there with a lethal weapon leveled at my skull. Luca completely froze in place, his grip on Vanessa remaining tight as he stared at his oldest friend. Marco apologized softly, explaining that Vanessa had promised him absolute control of the entire western territory. He strictly ordered Luca to release Vanessa and drop all of his weapons onto the floor immediately. Luca's amber eyes darkened with a completely lethal fury, but he slowly let go of my treacherous sister. Vanessa dusted off her expensive white coat and smiled, patting Marco approvingly on his broad shoulder. She walked over to me and whispered that she was going to truly enjoy taking everything that was mine. She raised her own silver pistol, aiming it directly at my chest with absolutely ruthless intention. Luca knew he could not shoot Marco without risking my immediate and violent death in the crossfire. He slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, subtly shifting his weight toward the heavy kitchen island. I caught his eye for a fraction of a second and understood exactly what he needed me to do. I suddenly dropped completely to the floor, screaming as loudly and terrifyingly as I possibly could. Marco flinched slightly at the unexpected noise, his deadly aim wavering for just a single heartbeat. Luca violently kicked a heavy cast-iron skillet off the counter, sending it crashing directly into Marco's face. The lieutenant fired wildly into the ceiling as he collapsed backward in immense and blinding pain. Vanessa shrieked and pulled her trigger, but I was already rolling safely behind the thick wooden cabinets. Luca quickly drew his secondary weapon and fired a single, perfect shot that struck Marco in the shoulder. Vanessa realized her brilliant master plan had completely unraveled and scrambled toward the broken front door. She turned around with a maniacal grin and held up a small electronic detonator with a rapidly blinking red light.