The most feared mafia boss in New York pretended to sleep because he suspected his new maid was hiding something from him. But instead of catching her stealing or betraying him, I felt her little daughter cover me with a blanket and whisper six words that shattered the one belief keeping me alive.

The silence in the cabin was suffocating and absolute. I stared at the silver FBI badge gleaming in her hand. Every single thing I thought I knew about this woman was a carefully constructed lie. "You infiltrated my home to build a case against me," I said, my voice hollow and cold. Maria shook her head violently, tears spilling down her bruised face. "I was sent to find the ledger and destroy the Moretti family," she pleaded. "I was supposed to arrest you, but I fell in love with the man you truly are." She stepped toward me, her eyes begging for forgiveness. "I realized you were a victim of your own empire, Daniel." I took a step back, unable to process the overwhelming betrayal. My entire life had been a series of people lying to my face for their own gain. "You used your own daughter as a prop to manipulate me," I accused her bitterly. "Sofia is innocent," Maria cried out. "She does not know anything about the agency." Before I could decide whether to banish her into the woods or protect her, the sound of helicopter rotors shook the cabin. Blinding spotlights pierced through the broken wooden windows. "They found us," Elias yelled, grabbing his medical bag. Gunfire ripped through the thin walls of the cabin, tearing the wood to splinters. I tackled Maria and Sofia to the ground as bullets destroyed the furniture around us. Elias was not fast enough. A heavy round struck the old doctor in the chest, killing him instantly. I felt a surge of violent rage replace my heartbreak. I kicked out the back window and helped Maria lift Sofia through the broken frame. We tumbled out into the muddy backyard just as the front door was kicked open. Moretti's tactical team swarmed the small cabin. I threw a smoke grenade into the house and fired wildly to cover our escape. We sprinted blindly into the dense, dark forest as the helicopter hovered above us. We had to get to the cemetery before Moretti realized where the ledger was hidden. But as we ran, Maria's phone buzzed loudly in her pocket. She answered it, and her face drained of all remaining color. "Moretti just took my federal handler hostage," she whispered in terror.