A mafia boss’s baby reached for a waitress he had never met, but the moment she saw his dragon tattoo, she turned pale and whispered, “You’re alive.”

Michele had escaped into the vault.

Victor had taken Clara hostage and disappeared through the eastern passage. The police were now inside the station, but they had no idea which side had summoned them. News crews had begun gathering outside. Helicopters circled overhead.

Dante looked at Alina.

“Stay with Enzo.”

“Where are you going?”

“After Michele.”

“You’re injured.”

“So is he.”

“That is not a plan.”

“It is the only one I have.”

Alina placed Leo into Enzo’s arms. The baby immediately reached back toward her.

“I’m coming.”

“No.”

“The vault opened for both of us.”

“Michele wants you inside.”

“Then he will not expect me to bring the person who can expose him.”

“You are not a weapon.”

“Neither are you.”

Dante looked at her for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

They moved through the eastern passage. The tunnel was filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. Behind them, police shouted orders. Ahead, a metal door stood open.

The vault lights had turned red.

Michele stood beside the central console with Clara kneeling at his feet. Victor was gone.

“You sent the files,” Michele said.

“Yes,” Dante replied.

“You destroyed the family.”

“You destroyed it years ago.”

Michele laughed softly. “You think the world wants truth? The world wants comfort. Those files will cause panic. Governments will deny them. The powerful men will survive.”

“Maybe,” Alina said. “But the families of the missing will finally know where to look.”

Michele’s gaze turned toward her.

“You have your mother’s arrogance.”

“And you have the same ring.”

He lifted his hand.

“This ring belonged to Adriana Vale.”

“You stole it.”

“I inherited it.”

“You inherited fear and called it power.”

Michele’s face twisted.

He reached for the console. The floor beneath Clara opened, revealing a shaft of darkness.

“One command,” he said, “and the entire vault collapses.”

Dante moved closer. “You would bury yourself?”

“I would bury the evidence.”

“The files are already out.”

“Not the original records.”

He held up a small silver drive.

Alina recognized it from the black case.

“That contains the names of the children who survived,” Clara said. “Without it, hundreds of families cannot be found.”

Michele smiled. “Now you understand the choice.”

He tossed the drive toward the open shaft.

Dante lunged.

Michele fired.

Alina grabbed the drive before it fell. The bullet struck the metal beside her hand. Dante fired back, and Michele dropped behind the console.

Clara crawled away from the shaft.

The vault began to shake.

“He activated the collapse,” she shouted.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Dante reached Alina. “Give me the drive.”

“No.”

“If the room collapses, you need both hands.”

“Then stay close.”

They ran toward the exit. A steel beam dropped between them and the door.

Michele laughed from behind the console.

“The dragon always eats its children.”

Dante looked at the beam, then at the old symbols engraved around the vault. His eyes narrowed.

“The door isn’t the exit.”

“What?” Alina asked.

He pointed to the floor beneath the dragon symbol.

“The original tunnel.”

Together, they pressed their hands against the symbol. Nothing happened.

Alina remembered Leo’s birthmark.

“We need the third signature.”

“Leo is outside.”

“The pattern is already in the system.”

She held up the silver drive. Its surface reflected three red points.

“The drive carries the final code.”

Dante pressed the drive into a slot beneath the symbol.

The floor opened.

At the same instant, Michele fired again.

Dante twisted, taking the bullet in his side.

Alina shouted his name.

He fell to one knee.

Michele came around the console, holding his gun with both hands.

“You always let sentiment make you weak.”

Alina picked up Dante’s fallen weapon.

Michele aimed at her.

“You won’t shoot me.”

“You killed my family.”

“I gave you a reason to survive.”

“No. My father did.”

She fired.

The bullet struck Michele’s gun, knocking it from his hand.

Dante surged forward and tackled him. The two men crashed against the console. Michele fought with surprising strength, but Dante’s injury slowed him.

Alina reached for the emergency release.

“Dante!”

Michele grabbed the wound in Dante’s side and twisted.

Dante grunted.

Alina seized the serpent ring from Michele’s finger and slammed it against the console.

The scanner sparked.

The vault doors opened.

Police flooded the room.

Michele froze beneath Dante.

For one second, no one moved.

Then the officers dragged Michele away.

He stared at Alina as he passed.