THE MAFIA BOSS SAW HIS PREGNANT MAID CARRYING A HEAVY SUITCASE—THEN HIS FIANCÉE SCREAMED, “DON'T OPEN IT!”

Julian Sterling looked pathetic beneath the harsh glow of the emergency red battery lights that flickered back to life. Blood pooled beneath his head, and his designer jacket was torn to shreds.

Vincent stood over him, the muzzle of his pistol pressed firmly against the center of Julian’s forehead.

“Wait…” Julian wheezed, clutching his broken ribs, his aristocratic arrogance completely shattered into sniveling terror. “Vincent… wait! You kill me, you’ll never know the truth!”

“I already know the truth,” Vincent said, his finger tightening on the trigger. “You’re a parasite who preyed on my family. You killed Daniel Bennett. And you tried to butcher my child.”

“Daniel Bennett wasn't killed by me!” Julian coughed out, blood spraying from his lips onto his white shirt. “Yes, I ordered the ambush… but do you really think I had the authority to touch a capo of Daniel's standing back then? Do you really think Marcus Vance and I ran this whole operation alone?”

Vincent paused, his cold eyes narrowing. “Speak. Your seconds are numbered.”

Elena stepped onto the platform, holding Grace securely behind her, listening intently.

“Your father, Vincent!” Julian laughed hysterically, his mind clearly snapping under the weight of his defeat. “Salvatore Moretti didn't die of a heart attack in Italy seven years ago! Salvatore ordered Daniel Bennett’s execution because Daniel found out that Salvatore was laundering the family fortune through international shell corporations to fake his own death!”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Vincent’s expression turned to stone. “My father is dead. I buried him with my own hands.”

“You buried an empty casket sealed with concrete!” Julian spat, grinning wildly despite the agony in his shattered body. “Look at the final encrypted partition in Daniel’s files! The key isn't a password, Vincent… it’s Salvatore Moretti’s private biometric cipher! He’s alive… and he’s coming back to take his kingdom from you!”

Vincent didn't blink. He looked at Julian for three long seconds, watching the madness dance in the man’s eyes.

“Thank you for the information, Julian,” Vincent whispered.

*BANG.*

A single gunshot silenced the chamber forever.

Julian Sterling’s head snapped back, his body going limp against the iron rail before rolling over the edge and plunging into the cold, churning waters of the dry dock, disappearing beneath the foam.

Vincent lowered the gun. He turned to Elena and Grace, his fierce expression melting into pure, protective love. He knelt down, opening his arms, and Grace threw herself into his embrace, sobbing against his neck.