"A four-year-old girl used her last EpiPen to save the mafia boss everyone feared—then the hidden camera revealed who poisoned him. "

"Down!" Marcus roared.

The sound of a high-powered rifle shot echoed through the marble foyer.

A high-velocity bullet tore through the air, striking Thomas directly in the center of his chest before he could speak another word. Thomas collapsed onto the marble floor, dead before he hit the ground.

Panic erupted instantly.

Housekeepers screamed and scrambled for cover behind the heavy velvet drapes and mahogany furniture. Guards drew their sidearms, forming a defensive wall around Dante.

In the chaos, Mara dropped to her knees, freezing in absolute terror as another shot shattered a nearby vase.

Lily stood alone in the middle of the foyer, holding her stuffed rabbit, confused by the loud noises and the people shouting.

Dante didn't hesitate.

Ignoring the pain in his chest and his weakened muscles, he threw himself across the floor, sweeping Lily into his arms and pulling her beneath the heavy oak staircase just as a third bullet slammed into the marble floor where she had been standing seconds before.

He pulled the little girl tight against his chest, using his broad shoulders and bulletproof vest to shield her entirely.

"Stay down!" Dante barked to his men. "Marcus, thermal scope on the north ridge! Get the counter-sniper team outside now!"

Outside, the heavy roar of Moretti security vehicles echoed across the estate grounds, followed by the distant chatter of automatic gunfire as Dante’s perimeter guards engaged the shooter in the surrounding woods.

Under the staircase, Lily buried her face in Dante's lapel. She wasn't crying, but her small body was trembling violently.

Dante looked down at her. He had ordered the deaths of dozens of men in his lifetime. He was a man feared by federal law enforcement and international cartels alike. Yet right now, his hands were remarkably gentle as he brushed a stray lock of hair away from the little girl's eyes.

"Are you hurt, little one?" he asked softly, his voice lower than anyone in his inner circle had ever heard it.

Lily shook her head against his chest. "The big bang hurt my ears."

"I know," Dante murmured, taking off his expensive silk pocket square and folding it carefully over her ears to muffle the sound. "It's okay. You're safe with me."

Within three minutes, the gunfire outside ceased.

Marcus hurried over to the staircase, his gun held low, his face covered in sweat. "Clear, Boss. The shooter was positioned on the water tower eight hundred yards out. Our team eliminated him before he could pull back, but..."

"But what?" Dante asked, keeping his arm firmly around Lily.

"He was a professional mercenary," Marcus said grimly. "No ID. Tattoo of a striking viper on his neck. European syndicate work."

Dante's jaw locked. The Viper Syndicate was a rival organization operating out of New York, trying to push into Chicago’s shipping ports for months. But they couldn't have pulled off a precise poisoning inside his private residence without high-level inside assistance.

Thomas had been a low-level pawn. The real mastermind was still in the room.

Dante looked out from beneath the staircase at the people huddled in the foyer. His half-brother Julian was sitting against a pillar, clutching his arm where a piece of flying glass had grazed him, looking pale and shaken. Mara was weeping hysterically near the front doors.

"Marcus," Dante said, standing up while holding Lily securely in his left arm. "The shooter was a backup plan in case the poison failed. Whoever arranged this knew my exact schedule today."

"What are your orders, Boss?"

"Keep the lockdown in place," Dante commanded. "Nobody leaves this estate. Call Dr. Harrison to check on Lily and the staff. And Marcus?"

"Yes, Dante?"

"Bring the security drive from the library. We're going to review every frame of footage from the last forty-eight hours."

"Boss," Marcus hesitated. "The library cameras were disabled three weeks ago during the renovation."