Chapter 1: The Girl Who Saw Everything
“Please! Somebody help him! He's dying!””
Six-year-old Lily Carter was kneeling on the cold marble floor of the most dangerous man's mansion in New York City.
Her tiny hands trembled as she pressed her turquoise inhaler against the lips of Lucas Moretti, the ruthless mafia boss who controlled half the city's underground empire.
His eyes were closed.
His face had turned frighteningly pale.
And his chest wasn't moving.
“Please, mister,” Lily sobbed.
“Breathe! Please breathe!””
She pressed the inhaler again, just as the little girl had been taught to do whenever her mother struggled to breathe.
One second passed.
Then another.
Nothing.
Lily looked toward the enormous staircase.
“HELP!””
Her scream echoed through the mansion.
And then, suddenly, Lucas's body jerked.
A violent gasp escaped his throat.
He dragged air into his lungs like a drowning man breaking through the surface of the ocean.
“Mr. Moretti!””
Dr. Harris came running into the grand entrance hall, his medical bag bouncing against his hip.
Two security guards followed him.
Behind them stood Victor Hale, Lucas's trusted lieutenant.
For one brief moment, Victor's expression changed.
It wasn't relief.
It was disappointment.
But Lily noticed something else.
While everyone rushed toward Lucas, Victor casually moved his right foot beneath the marble console table.
Something small and black slid across the floor.
Then Victor pushed it underneath the furniture with his polished leather shoe.
Lily stared.
She knew what it was.
It was another inhaler.
A black one.
The one that had been lying beside Lucas before he collapsed.
“Give me some room!”” Dr. Harris shouted.
He dropped to his knees and checked Lucas's pulse.
“Lucas? Can you hear me?””
Lucas coughed violently.
Dr. Harris examined his breathing, then glanced at the turquoise inhaler in Lily's hand.
“Who gave him this?””
“I did,” Lily whispered.
The doctor looked at her.
“You did?””
Lily nodded, tears running down her cheeks.
“He couldn't breathe. His medicine was too far away.””
Dr. Harris looked toward the black inhaler Lucas had originally been carrying.
“Where is his prescribed inhaler?””
Nobody answered.
Victor stepped forward.
“Probably rolled underneath something during the commotion.””
Lily looked directly at him.
“No, you kicked it.””
The entire hallway went silent.
Victor slowly turned his head.
“What did you say?””
Lily swallowed.
“You kicked the black medicine under that table.””
Dr. Harris looked toward the console.
Victor gave a short, humorless laugh.
“She is six years old. She's frightened and confused.””
Lily clutched her turquoise inhaler against her chest.
“I'm not confused.””
Lucas slowly opened his eyes.
His breathing was still rough, but his gaze immediately began moving around the room.
He saw Dr. Harris.
The guards.
Victor.
Then the little girl kneeling beside him.
“Who are you?”” Lucas rasped.
Lily leaned closer.
“I'm Lily.””
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“I thought you were dead.””
For the first time in years, Lucas Moretti didn't know what to say.
He looked at the little girl.
Her pink sweater was too thin for the November cold. One of her shoes had a broken strap. Her brown hair was tangled, and her cheeks were wet with tears.
She looked completely out of place in his mansion.
“Where are your parents?”” he asked.
Lily lowered her eyes.
“My mommy is sick.””
Dr. Harris gently touched Lucas's shoulder.
“Don't talk too much yet. You need to rest.””
But Lucas wasn't looking at the doctor anymore.
He was watching Victor.
The lieutenant had stepped closer to Lily.
He bent down, pretending to straighten the girl's sweater.
Then he whispered into her ear.
“You didn't see anything, little girl.””
Lily froze.
Victor smiled without warmth.
“Do you understand me?””
Lucas's hand suddenly shot out.
He caught Victor by the wrist.
“Victor.””
The lieutenant stopped moving.
Lucas's fingers tightened.
“What did you do?””
Victor looked down at his boss's hand.
Then he looked at the little girl.
“Lucas, you're confused. You just had a medical emergency.””
“I asked you a question.””
“Your inhaler fell. That's all.””
Lucas glanced toward the console table.
“Then why are you standing between me and the medicine?””
Victor's jaw tightened.
Dr. Harris slowly stood up.
“Lucas, I think we should call the police.””
Victor immediately turned.
“Absolutely not. This is a private medical matter.””
Lucas gave him a cold look.
“Then you won't mind if the cameras are reviewed.””
For the first time, Victor looked genuinely uncomfortable.
Lily raised one small hand.
“Mr. Moretti?””
Lucas turned toward her.
“Yes?””
“Can I go now?””
Something about the question bothered him.
Not because she wanted to leave.
Because she had just saved his life, and her first concern was whether she was allowed to go.
“Where were you going?”” he asked.
Lily pointed toward the enormous front doors.
“Home.””
“Where is home?””
She hesitated.
Then she whispered, “The apartment above the laundromat on West 138th Street.””
Lucas recognized the neighborhood.
It wasn't a place where a six-year-old should have been wandering alone at night.
“Why are you here?””
Lily looked down at her shoes.
“My mommy works for the cleaning company. She told me to wait outside because she had to finish cleaning the upstairs rooms.””
Lucas frowned.
“Your mother brought you here?””
“She didn't know I came inside.””
Dr. Harris exchanged a concerned glance with the head guard.
Lucas tried to sit up.
“Get me a chair.””
“Lucas, you need to stay down,” Dr. Harris protested.
“Get me a chair.””
The guard hurried away.
Lucas looked at Lily again.
“What is your mother's name?””
“Anna.””
Something flickered across Dr. Harris's face.
He knew that name.
Before he could speak, Victor interrupted.
“Lucas, the girl needs to leave. We have more important things to deal with.””
Lucas slowly turned his head.
“Do we?””
Victor straightened his jacket.
“The men are waiting downstairs. The meeting with the Brooklyn crew—”
“Can wait.””
“Lucas—”
“Get out of my sight.””
Victor stared at him.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then he stepped backward.
“Of course, boss.””
He turned toward the hallway, but before disappearing, he looked at Lily one last time.
It was a look she would remember for the rest of her life.
A look that promised trouble.
Lucas noticed.
“Marco,” he called to one of the guards.
“Yes, boss?””
“Don't let Victor leave the property.””
Victor stopped walking.
His face went pale.
“Are you serious?””
Lucas didn't blink.
“Have I ever looked like a man who repeats himself?””
The guards moved.
Victor slowly raised both hands.
“Fine.””
But as they escorted him away, he slipped one hand into his jacket pocket.
Lily watched him go.
Then she looked at Lucas.
“Are you going to be okay?””
Lucas studied the little girl who had just saved his life.
“I think so.””
She nodded, apparently satisfied.
Then her stomach growled.
Loudly.
Lucas heard it.
So did Dr. Harris.
The little girl immediately covered her stomach with both hands.
“I'm not hungry,” she said quickly.
Lucas stared at her for a moment.
Then he turned to the housekeeper standing near the staircase.
“Mrs. Bennett.””
“Yes, Mr. Moretti?””
“Get this child something warm to eat.””
Lily shook her head.
“I don't want to bother anyone.””
Lucas leaned back against the chair.
“You already saved my life. I think we're past the point of bothering anyone.””
For the first time that evening, Lily almost smiled.
But before Mrs. Bennett could take her toward the kitchen, Dr. Harris quietly approached Lucas.
“There's something you need to know.””
Lucas looked at him.
“What?””
Dr. Harris lowered his voice.
“I checked the inhaler Victor pushed under the console.””
Lucas's expression hardened.
“And?””
The doctor glanced at Lily.
May you like
Then he whispered something that made Lucas's blood run cold.
“The inhaler wasn't empty.””
