MY HUSBAND ABANDONED ME AND OUR NEWBORN AT THE HOSPITAL—THEN A TATTOOED STRANGER SIGNED THE “FATHER” LINE… AND REVEALED THE SECRET THAT BROUGHT MY EX-HUSBAND TO HIS KNEES

Derek hung up the phone before we could trace the signal.

The threat against my mother’s house—the small, modest home where she had hidden for years—was a direct strike at our emotional vulnerability.

“We cannot give them three billion dollars to fund a cartel and a domestic terrorist,” I said, pacing the length of the library. “But we can't let Derek blow up another building.”

“We aren't going to do either,” Luca stated, pulling up a digital map of the city on the large monitor. “Derek is arrogant, but he’s stupid. Vivian is using him as a disposable pawn because she knows we are actively hunting her.”

“So, what’s the plan?” my mother asked, her voice surprisingly steady for a woman whose home had just been threatened.

“We set a trap,” Luca explained, tracing a route on the map. “Derek wants the signed documents. We agree to a drop-off. But we do it on our terms, in an environment we completely control.”

“Where?” I asked.

“The old Moretti shipping warehouse in Brooklyn,” Luca decided. “It’s been abandoned for years. I still own the deed through a shell company. It’s isolated, defensible, and I know every single blind spot in that building.”

“It’s too dangerous, Luca,” I argued. “Derek is unhinged. If he suspects a trap, he’ll trigger whatever explosives he’s planted.”

“He won't suspect a trap if you are the one delivering the documents,” Luca said, turning to look at me, pain evident in his eyes.

“You want Emma to play bait?” my mother gasped, horrified. “Absolutely not!”

“It’s the only way he’ll show up in person,” I realized, the logic cold but undeniable. “He hates me. His ego won't allow him to miss the opportunity to see me surrender to him.”

Luca stepped closer, taking my face in his hands.

“I will have thirty heavily armed men surrounding that warehouse,” Luca promised fiercely. “I will be in the rafters with a sniper rifle. He will not get within ten feet of you, Emma. I swear on my life.”