The drive to the Estate took forty minutes.
Forty minutes of suffocating silence.
Forty minutes of rehearsing the precise sequence of words that would either save our lives or get us executed before sunset.
The Estate wasn't just a home; it was a fortress. High stone walls loomed over the road, fortified by iron gates and men with assault rifles who blended into the shadows like predators.
I eased my battered sedan up to the main checkpoint.
A guard stepped out, his face a mask of granite behind dark sunglasses.
He rapped his knuckles against my window.
I rolled it down, the glass sliding into the door with a grind.
"Turn around," he commanded, his tone flat. "Private property."
"My name is Sarah Miller," I stated, forcing my hands to remain visible and steady on the steering wheel. "I am here to see Consigliere Ramirez."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I have a crime to report," I said, my voice cutting through the humid air. "A violation of the Code."
The guard paused.
He looked past me to Danny in the back seat, then returned his gaze to mine, searching for a crack in my resolve.
"Wait here."
He retreated to the guard booth and snatched up a phone.
Minutes ticked by, agonizingly slow.
My palms grew slick against the worn leather of the wheel.
If Tom had gotten to them first—if he had already spun a narrative about his unstable, hysterical wife—they wouldn't open the gate. They would drag me out of the car and deliver me back to him like a runaway pet.
Then, the gears ground to life. The gate began to open.
The guard stepped aside and waved me through.
I drove up the long, winding driveway, flanked by manicured hedges that likely cost more to maintain than my entire life was worth.
I brought the car to a halt in front of the main house.
Two men in dark suits were waiting at the entrance.
One of them I recognized immediately.
Ramirez.
He was older than Tom, distinguished by silver hair and eyes that looked like they had witnessed the apocalypse and found it tedious.
He made no move to open my door.
I stepped out, smoothing my clothes, then opened the back door for Danny.
I gripped Danny’s hand tightly, anchoring us both.
"Mrs. Barnes," Ramirez greeted. His voice was dry, like rustling parchment.
"Miller," I corrected sharply. "I am reclaiming my name."
Ramirez raised a single, skeptical eyebrow. "You said on the phone you had evidence of treason."
"I do."
"This is a serious accusation. If you are wasting my time..."
"Tom is skimming from the construction unions," I interrupted, refusing to let him intimidate me. "He is using the money to support a woman named Crystal Spencer, who has been claiming benefits from the Widow’s Fund for six years. Her husband didn't die in service. He died of an overdose in a motel in Jersey."
Ramirez went unnaturally still.
The soldiers behind him shifted their weight.
Stealing from the Boss was a crime.
But stealing from the Widow’s Fund? That was a sin. It was a violation of the sacred trust that kept the soldiers loyal to the hierarchy.
"And," I continued, pulling my phone from my pocket. "He allowed his illegitimate son to torture an animal and assault my son—the legitimate heir—inside my own home."
I pressed play and turned the screen toward him.
The sound of Danny crying echoed against the stone facade of the grand driveway.
Ramirez watched the screen, unblinking.
He saw the cat.
He saw the shove.
He shifted his gaze to Danny, who was cowering behind my leg, a fresh, dark bruise blooming on his shoulder.
Ramirez looked up at me.
The indifference was gone.
In its place was a cold, terrifying clarity.
"Come inside," Ramirez said.
He gestured to the soldiers with a sharp flick of his hand.
"Get Alex Harrison," he ordered, his voice dropping an octave. "Tell him we have a situation that requires... cleaning."
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
Alex Harrison.
The Enforcer. The Underboss. The Monster.
I walked up the stone steps, the click of my heels echoing like gunshots.
I wasn't walking into a trap.
I was walking into a war room.
And for the first time in two lifetimes, I was the one holding the detonator.
