636 Victor Moretti was seconds away from ordering his men to throw my sick baby and me out into the freezing snow when he noticed the silver locket around her neck—but when he saw the symbol engraved on its back and heard my mother’s name, the most feared man in New York suddenly looked terrified.

The main library of the Upstate compound was lined with tall oak bookshelves and a roaring stone fireplace.

Sofia Valenti sat on a leather sofa, holding a cup of steaming tea. She was twenty-four, impeccably dressed in a white cashmere sweater and designer trousers, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders in perfect waves. Despite her flawless appearance, her dark eyes flickered with calculated desperation.

Victor stood by the fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest, while I sat near the door with Lily wrapped securely in my arms.

"You have five minutes, Sofia," Victor said, his tone devoid of warmth. "Your father tried to kill my team on the bridge two hours ago. Giving you audience is a courtesy you barely deserve."

Sofia set her teacup down with a soft clink.

"My father is a fool, Victor," Sofia said smoothly, her voice rich and persuasive. "He acted out of desperation because his syndicate is broke. He thought the Rossi ledger would solve all his financial problems."

"And why are you here?" Victor asked coldly.

"To offer a truce," Sofia replied, standing up and walking slowly toward Victor. "My father is going to spend the rest of his life in a federal prison. I am taking control of the Valenti family. I don't want a war with the Morettis."

She turned her eyes toward me, her gaze sweeping over my simple clothes and my sick baby with an unmistakable flicker of subtle condescension.

"I know who she is," Sofia continued, pointing a manicured nail at me. "The long-lost Rossi daughter. My father’s men tracked her for months. Victor, keeping her here is suicide. The other Families are already convening a war council in Brooklyn. They think you are trying to claim the two hundred million dollars for yourself to dominate the Five Families."

"Let them think what they want," Victor said flatly.

"Be reasonable, Victor!" Sofia stepped closer to him, laying a hand gently on his forearm—a gesture that made my stomach turn for reasons I couldn't quite explain. "We can settle this peacefully. Hand the locket over to the Commission. Let the ledger be destroyed. In return, I will guarantee Hannah and her baby safe passage out of the country with a ten-million-dollar settlement."

I looked at Victor, holding my breath. Ten million dollars and safe passage was more than I could ever dream of. It meant a quiet life in Europe, away from guns, blood, and scary men in suits.

Victor slowly looked down at Sofia’s hand on his arm, then looked across the room directly into my eyes.

"And what happens to the Rossi bloodline once they leave, Sofia?" Victor asked quietly. "How long before one of your lieutenants decides ten million dollars was too much to leave in the hands of a witness?"

Sofia’s smile stiffened slightly. "I give my word—"

"Your father’s word wasn't worth the snow it was printed on, and neither is yours," Victor interrupted, shaking her hand off his sleeve with absolute coldness. "Hannah and her child stay with me. The Rossi ledger stays locked. Tell the Commission that if anyone sets foot near this compound, I will release the ledger’s contents to the FBI and burn every family in New York to the ground."

Sofia’s polished facade cracked. Her eyes flashed with pure, venomous rage.

"You’re choosing a dirty little maid and a bastard baby over the peace of the syndicate?" Sofia hissed, her voice dripping with hatred. "You've gone soft, Victor! Lorenzo was right—you're letting nostalgia destroy your empire!"

"Get out," Victor commanded, his voice dropping an octave, carrying a lethal weight that made the air in the room feel heavy. "Before I decide your father’s debt extends to his daughter."

Sofia glared at him, then turned her cold, spiteful gaze onto me.

"Enjoy your luxury cage while it lasts, Hannah," Sofia spat, pulling her mink coat over her shoulders. "In our world, men like Victor don't protect women out of love. They protect assets. The moment you become a liability, he will dispose of you just like my father would."

With that, Sofia turned on her heel and swept out of the library, her high heels clicking loudly against the hardwood floor.

Silence settled over the room, save for the crackling of the fire.

I stood there, holding Lily tightly, Sofia's poisonous words echoing in my head. In our world, men like Victor don't protect women out of love. They protect assets.

Victor turned back to the fire, taking a deep, exhausted breath.

"She's lying to manipulate you, Hannah," Victor said quietly, without looking back.

"Is she?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly as I took a step forward. "Victor... be honest with me. Am I a human being to you, or am I just a living key to a two-hundred-million-dollar ledger?"

Victor turned around slowly. The cold, ruthless Don vanished, replaced by a man whose eyes were filled with an agonizing, raw vulnerability.

"If I wanted the ledger, Hannah, I could have taken that locket from your neck the moment you fainted in my foyer this morning," Victor said softly, walking over to stand right in front of me. "I don't care about Carmelo Rossi's money. I have more wealth than I can spend in three lifetimes."

He reached out, his thick, scarred fingers gently brushing against Lily's soft cheek.

"For twenty years, my life has been empty," Victor whispered, his blue eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my heart leap. "I built an empire out of concrete and blood, but I lived in a tomb. Today, when you walked into my home carrying this tiny, fragile life... you brought light back into my world. You are not an asset to me, Hannah. You and Lily are my second chance."

I looked into his eyes, searching for any sign of deception, any trace of the monster the world feared. I found none. All I saw was a man carrying a heavy burden of past mistakes, desperately trying to protect the only good thing left in his life.

Before I could speak, a sudden, piercing alarm blared through the compound speakers.