"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 7 / 30

Chapter 7 - THE CLINIC TRAP

Victor canceled the appointment, but Detective Quinn insisted they go to the clinic anyway.

“We need to know who Damien is meeting,” she said.

Lily volunteered to carry an empty stroller through the employee entrance. Victor refused.

“You were injured yesterday.”

“And Damien thinks I’m weak,” Lily replied. “Let him.”

The clinic looked normal from the street. Parents filled the waiting room. Cartoon fish moved across a television screen. A receptionist smiled too brightly.

Behind the building, Lily pushed the stroller into a service hallway while officers watched through hidden cameras.

A nurse stepped from a storage room.

“You’re late,” she said.

“For what?” Lily asked.

The nurse’s smile vanished. She reached for Lily’s arm.

Lily kicked the stroller forward. The empty carrier slammed into the nurse’s knees. Officers rushed in as the woman tried to run.

Inside the storage room they found fake vaccination records, blank prescription pads, and a portable scanner used to copy medical files.

The nurse was not a nurse. She was Warren Price’s daughter, Celia.

Under questioning, Celia admitted the clinic had created false reports showing Ethan suffered from a rare blood disorder. The forged diagnosis would explain bruising and weakness. It would also make Victor look negligent for missing treatment.

“Where is Damien?” Quinn asked.

Celia stared at the table. “He’s getting the original trust.”

Victor’s family trust was not kept at the mansion. It was stored in a private vault beneath Blackwood National Bank.

Only three people had access: Victor, Warren Price, and the bank chairman.

The chairman was Serena’s father.

By the time Victor and Quinn reached the bank, the underground vault door was open.

Warren Price lay unconscious beside the security desk.

The original trust was gone.

So was the bank chairman.

On the vault wall, someone had taped a wedding invitation.