"My three-year-old maid’s daughter secretly led me upstairs and showed me the woman I planned to marry threatening her mother and implying she could make the little girl disappear. Vivien thought no one important was listening, but she had made one mistake: the child knew exactly which man in that house everyone feared.

The following morning, I called Nico, the captain of my personal guard, into the study before the sun had even fully risen over the Chicago skyline.

"I need a shadow detail established immediately," I instructed, pouring a black coffee and handing it across the desk. "I want two of our best, most invisible men tracking Elena and her daughter, Mia. Twenty-four hours a day."

Nico took the coffee, his thick brow furrowing. "Is there a threat from a rival family, Boss? Should we move them to a safe house?"

"No. Moving them will alert the person targeting them," I said, leaning against the edge of the mahogany desk. "The threat is already inside the gates. If Elena goes to the market, a man follows. If Mia goes to the playroom, a man watches the corridor. If anyone—and I mean anyone—approaches that child with malicious intent, your men have authorization for lethal force."

Nico’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn't question the order. In my world, an authorization for lethal force inside the main estate meant a betrayal of the highest order.

"Consider it done, Lorenzo. They won't even know we're there."

Later that afternoon, I walked through the kitchen on the pretense of checking the dinner menu. Elena was standing at the stainless-steel sink, scrubbing a pan with frantic, exhausting energy. She looked pale, the dark circles under her eyes betraying a profound lack of sleep.

"Elena," I said quietly.

She jumped, dropping the sponge, her eyes darting around the kitchen as if expecting Vivien to emerge from the shadows. "Yes, Mr. Duca? I apologize, I didn't hear you."

"The pan is clean," I noted softly, stepping a fraction closer. "You do excellent work for this family. I want you to know that your position here is permanent. No one has the authority to dismiss you except me. Are we clear?"

She stared at me, her chest heaving as the implication of my words washed over her. Tears instantly pooled in her dark eyes, and she nodded frantically.