I turned around, walking over to her and gently wrapping my arm around her shoulders. I looked down at the two tiny faces resting side by side—my blood, my future, and the continuation of a legacy that had survived the darkest betrayal imaginable.

"Get down!" I shouted, instinctively throwing my body over Sophia and shielding the baby against my chest as debris rained down around us.

When the rumbling stopped, thick, acrid black smoke began rolling across the forestry path outside. I looked out the broken window toward the main estate.

A massive plume of orange fire was erupting into the midnight sky from the direction of the mansion's central courtyard.

"The courtyard..." I muttered. That was where Matteo had been tied up.

"Sir!" Sophia coughed, waving away the smoke filling the small room. "What's happening?"

"Stay here with Elena," I ordered, rising quickly to my feet and checking my weapon. "Lock this door from the inside and don't open it for anyone except me. Do you understand?"

"I won't let anyone in, Mr. Lorenzo," Sophia nodded bravely, taking Elena’s shaking hand.

I didn't waste another second. I sprinted out of the lake house, leaping over the broken debris, and raced back across the iron suspension bridge. The rain was still pouring down, hissing against the burning embers scattered across the lawn.

When I reached the central courtyard, the scene was absolute chaos.

The heavy stone pillars where Matteo had been tied up were scorched and blackened. The ropes lay in smoking shreds on the ground.

Matteo was gone.

And standing in the center of the courtyard, holding a smoking grenade launcher she had stolen from the estate armory, was Valentina.

Her silk robe was ruined, stained with mud and soot. Her hair was flying wildly around her face in the wind. She looked less like a refined society matriarch and more like an unhinged demon.

"Looking for your brother, Lorenzo?" Valentina screamed over the roar of the flames, a hysterical laugh bubbling up in her throat.

I raised my pistol, locking my sights directly between her eyes. "Where is Matteo, Valentina? And what the hell did you just blow up?"

Valentina didn't flinch. She lowered the weapon slightly, smiling maniacally. "Matteo is already on his way to the private airstrip. He’s taking the offshore bearer bonds, the Swiss bank keys, and the main ledger. In less than twenty minutes, he’ll be flying out of the country, leaving you with nothing."

"You think he's going to run away alone?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet. "Matteo doesn't care about you. He never did."

"I know," Valentina sneered, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "That's why I rigged the north wing to blow up before he could reach the vault. If I can't have the Rossi empire, neither can he. And neither can you!"

She suddenly lunged to the side, throwing a second smoke grenade directly at my feet.

A thick, blinding cloud of grey smoke erupted instantly, obscuring my vision.

"Marcus!" I shouted through the haze. "Cut her off at the garage! Do not let her reach a vehicle!"