Six days after giving birth to our daughter, my husband walked out of our house to celebrate his mistress's birthday. He promised he'd be home before nine, but hours later, I was still alone with our newborn when a voicemail from an unknown number appeared on my phone. By the time Roman Moretti finally came home, the nursery was empty—and the most feared mafia boss in Milwaukee was about to discover what it felt like to lose everything.

I wanted to throw the phone against the wall.

Instead, I watched Isabella's message again, searching for something that might make it less terrifying.

The woman who had helped deliver Sophie had introduced herself as a senior maternity nurse at the private hospital. She had been calm, efficient, and kind. She'd even stayed late when I developed complications.

Now I learned that her identity might have been false.

Roman called the hospital's director, demanding the employee's real name and credentials. Within minutes, the director confirmed that no nurse matching her description had ever worked there.

The woman had used forged documents.

Her name was Agent Rebecca Sloan.

She had been investigating the Moretti organization for four years, focusing on the hidden succession network and the illegal transfer of children connected to criminal families.

But why had she targeted me?

Daniel found the answer in the original DNA report.

The test hadn't been designed to prove Sophie wasn't Roman's daughter.

It had been designed to determine whether Roman was biologically related to Antonio's chosen heir.

Someone had altered the labels on the samples, creating a false result that implicated Sophie and concealed the identity of Nicholas's biological father.

Roman stared at the document.

"Who is Nicholas's father?"

Daniel looked at me.

"The original report says the father is not Roman."

"Then who?"

A knock sounded at the hospital room door.

We all turned.

A woman in a dark coat stood in the doorway, holding a badge.

"Agent Rebecca Sloan. I need to speak with Aaron Moretti."

Roman stepped in front of me.

"You're not taking my wife anywhere."

"I'm not here to arrest her."

"Then explain why you used a fake identity to enter my daughter's delivery room."

Rebecca looked at me.

"Because I was trying to stop your father-in-law from taking Sophie."

I almost laughed.

"Everyone claims they're protecting my daughter."

"I know. And I'm sorry."

She placed a small recorder on the table.

"Antonio's organization has been using forged birth records and manipulated custody agreements to control the succession of its criminal network. The children were never the real target. The legal rights attached to their identities were."

She played the original DNA report.

The result was clear.

Sophie was Roman's biological daughter.

Nicholas was not.

But the report contained another finding.

Roman's father had secretly adopted Nicholas years earlier, creating a legal claim that could be used to challenge Roman's succession.

"Who is Nicholas's biological father?" I asked.

Rebecca hesitated.

Then she turned the page.

The name was unfamiliar to me.

Roman, however, looked as though the floor had vanished beneath him.

It belonged to his younger brother, Michael, who had supposedly died in a car accident eight years earlier.