Headline: HE WOKE UP IN A POOL OF BLOOD AND POISON—BUT HIS SAVIOR WAS ONLY FOUR YEARS OLD!

Headline: HE THOUGHT HE HAD CORNERED THE DON—BUT HE FORGOT WHO BUILT THE HOUSE!

"Do it," Alejandro said quietly.

Julian froze, his finger on the trigger. "What did you say?"

"I said do it," Alejandro repeated, stepping closer, completely ignoring the three mercenaries who had their submachine guns pointed at his chest. "Shoot her, Julian. And then realize that you’ve already lost."

Julian’s eyes flickered with a flash of hesitation. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Alejandro sneered, a dark, sinister chuckle escaping his lips. "You think you know every secret in this house because you helped me manage it? You forgot one very important detail, Julian."

Alejandro raised his left hand and pressed a small, concealed button hidden beneath his heavy gold ring.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

Instantly, the floor beneath the three mercenaries collapsed! Steel trapdoors snapped open, plunging all three gunmen twenty feet down into an underground containment cell. The heavy doors slammed shut above them, sealing them away in seconds.

Julian gasped in shock, spinning around, his pistol wavering wildly between Alejandro and the vault.

Before Julian could pull the trigger, a small shadow burst out from behind the panic room’s desk.

It was Bruno!

The head of security had crawled through the master suite’s air filtration ductwork while Alejandro kept Julian distracted. Bruno tackled Julian from behind with the force of a freight train!

CRASH!

The two men hit the hardwood floor hard. Julian’s gun skittered across the floor, spinning right to Alejandro’s feet.

Julian scrambled backward, coughing blood, his face pale as he looked up at Alejandro, who slowly knelt down and picked up the dropped weapon.

"You always were lousy at tactics, Julian," Alejandro said coldly, racking the slide of the pistol. "You relied too much on spreadsheets and poisons."

"Alejandro... wait!" Julian shrieked, backing against the vault wall, holding up his hands. "Please! We were brothers! The Valentis forced me into this! They threatened my family!"

"You don't have a family, Julian," Alejandro said, his voice flat and unfeeling. "You traded them for ambition long ago."

Alejandro pressed the barrel of the gun against Julian’s forehead.

"Don Alejandro!" a tiny voice called out.

Alejandro paused. He looked over his shoulder.

Maria had managed to work the tape off her mouth and was untying her hands, but little Emma was looking right at Alejandro with her soft, wide brown eyes. She was holding her floppy-eared stuffed rabbit against her chest.

"Please don't do bad things," Emma whispered softly. "Mommy says bad things make your heart dark."

Alejandro stared at the four-year-old child. The lethal rage in his chest flared, then slowly simmered down. He looked back at Julian, who was shaking uncontrollably, weeping for his life.

Alejandro slowly lowered the gun.

"You aren't worth dying for, Julian," Alejandro said quietly. "And you aren't worth corrupting this child’s eyes."