Armed guards drew their weapons on a feral Cane Corso, completely unaware that a little girl in a pink dress was about to step into the killing zone.

The next morning, at 6:00 AM, the mansion was shrouded in a thick gray Boston fog.

Sophia was sitting on the floor of the safe room, using her crayons to draw a picture of Titan wearing a golden crown. The giant dog lay beside her, his long tail sweeping slowly across the carpet whenever she patted his flank.

Elena was organizing the small pantry kitchenette inside the suite when a soft scratch sounded at the balcony window.

She walked over and pulled back the sheer curtain.

Standing on the private terrace outside was Mrs. Bellini, the head housekeeper. The older woman wore a dark coat, her face pale and wrinkled with anxiety.

Elena unlocked the sliding glass door. "Mrs. Bellini? What are you doing out there?"

Mrs. Bellini slipped inside quickly, closing the glass door behind her. "The guards on the main hallway wouldn't let me bring up fresh milk for the little girl. I had to use the service stairs from the green tower."

She grabbed Elena's wrists, her hands cold and trembling.

"Elena, you need to listen to me," Mrs. Bellini whispered frantically. "Vincent's men are searching the lower archives in the library."

"The archives?" Elena asked, confused. "Why?"

"Because that's where the estate's internal security server is hidden!" Mrs. Bellini whispered. "Dante thinks the primary security loop was wiped from the main office, but there is a backup recording deck built into the antique grandfather clock in the private library. Adrian installed it himself three years ago."

Elena's breath hitched. "A camera in the library?"

"It covers the hallway outside the study!" Mrs. Bellini urged. "If Vincent gets his hands on that flash drive before Dante comes back from the hospital, he'll destroy the only proof that he walked into Adrian's room with that pitcher!"

"Where is Dante now?"

"He had to go to the hospital—there was a security breach on Adrian's floor," Mrs. Bellini explained. "He took six guards with him. The house is half-empty right now!"

Elena looked back at Sophia, who was happily coloring her picture, oblivious to the conversation.

If Vincent destroyed that drive, he would take over the Moretti empire. And once he had full power, he would eliminate the only witness who had seen his shoes outside the study door: five-year-old Sophia.

Elena looked down at Titan.

The giant dog stood up, his dark eyes locked on Elena, his body turning toward the sliding terrace door as if he understood every word.

"Mrs. Bellini," Elena said, her voice turning into iron. "Stay here with Sophia. Lock the door from the inside."

"Mommy?" Sophia looked up from her crayons. "Where are you going?"

Elena knelt beside her daughter, pressing a warm kiss against her forehead. "Mommy is going to get something for the puppy. Stay with Mrs. Bellini, okay?"