"She thought she could easily silence a helpless nanny, until the terrifying footsteps of the mafia boss echoed from the shadows behind her." THE MAFIA BOSS WALKED IN EARLY AND FOUND HIS FIANCÉE HURTING HIS BABY—THEN THE NANNY’S TESTIMONY EXPOSED EVERYTHING “Stop it, please. You’re breaking his arm.” Lily’s scream tore through the marble foyer of the Blackwood mansion. Baby Ethan was on the floor, crying so hard his little body could barely breathe, while Serena Montigue dragged him by the arm like he was nothing more than a rag doll. His face had gone from red to a frightening purple. His cries were getting weaker. And Lily knew, with a terror that swallowed every thought in her head, that the 14-month-old boy she had loved like her own for six months was slipping into shock. She threw herself forward. Bare feet sliding on the cold marble. Hands reaching for Serena. Heart pounding one single prayer. Save him. But Serena was faster. Her heel drove into Lily’s stomach with brutal force, knocking the air from her lungs and sending her crashing backward onto the stone floor. Pain exploded through her body. But Lily did not care about the pain. She only cared about Ethan. The baby’s arm hung at an unnatural angle. His little face was crumpled in agony. His sobs were fading into small, broken sounds no child should ever make. Serena stood over Lily with cold, perfect eyes. The same woman who smiled at charity galas. The same woman who played the elegant fiancée. The same woman who was about to marry Victor Blackwood, the most feared mafia boss in Chicago. “Touch him again,” Serena said calmly, pressing her heel into Lily’s abdomen, “and I’ll make you disappear. Nobody cares about a nobody like you. You think anyone will believe some cheap nanny?” Lily could barely breathe. But she crawled. One inch. Then another. Her hands shook. Her stomach burned. Her knees scraped against the marble / Chapter 2 / 30

Chapter 2 - THE FIRST LIE

Serena lunged for the device.

Marco caught her wrist before she reached Lily.

“Let go of me,” Serena snapped.

Victor turned slowly. “You were crying a second ago.”

The anger vanished from Serena’s face again. “I’m scared. That woman has been watching me for months.”

Lily pushed herself against the base of a marble column. “It’s a nanny camera. I bought it after Ethan started waking up with bruises no one could explain.”

Victor’s jaw tightened.

“Bruises?”

Lily nodded. “Small ones. Upper arms. Back of his legs. Serena said he fell against the crib. Then his medicine started disappearing.”

“You never told me.”

“I tried.” Lily looked toward the security office. “Every message I sent was answered by your assistant. He said you were traveling and I should follow Serena’s instructions.”

Victor looked at Marco. “Which assistant?”

“Mr. Cole,” Marco answered.

Victor’s expression hardened. Julian Cole had managed his private schedule for five years. He also happened to be Serena’s cousin.

The ambulance arrived first. Paramedics examined Ethan on the foyer rug while another checked Lily’s ribs. Victor stayed beside his son, answering questions with clipped, controlled words.

Serena paced near the staircase.

“This is ridiculous,” she said. “Ethan is clumsy. Babies fall.”

The paramedic looked up. “This injury doesn’t look like a simple fall.”

Serena went silent.

Two Chicago detectives entered next. Detective Mara Quinn, a compact woman with silver at her temples, took one look at the room and separated everyone.

Victor handed her the recording device.

“Play it,” Serena said suddenly. “Then everyone will see what that nanny did.”

Lily’s face drained of color.

“The memory card,” she whispered. “It should be inside.”

Marco opened the camera.

The slot was empty.

Serena gave a small, relieved laugh. “Convenient.”

Detective Quinn watched her. “Very.”

Then a young housemaid named Tessa appeared at the doorway, trembling so badly that a tray rattled in her hands.