TAKE THAT UGLY THING OUT OF YOUR EAR! YOU'RE RUINING MY ENGAGEMENT DINNER!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE RIPPED THE HEARING AID FROM HIS 24-YEAR-OLD MAID'S EAR AND DROPPED IT INTO A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE—THEN LAUGHED WHEN THE FRIGHTENED GIRL COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HER NEXT ORDER. BUT WHEN HIS EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DA

The silence in the living room shattered like glass.

Nathan stepped in front of Lily and Olivia, instinctively shielding them. His face drained of all color as he stared at the woman he had buried three years ago.

Evelyn Blackwood. Alive.

“Mommy?” Olivia whispered, her little voice trembling with confusion and fear. She remembered her mother’s face, but she didn't run toward her. She clutched the fabric of Lily’s blue dress instead.

Evelyn’s smile faltered slightly as she saw her daughter hiding behind the former maid.

“Hello, Olivia,” Evelyn said coldly. She looked back at Nathan. “I hear you gave up the shipping routes. What a disappointment. I thought you had more ambition.”

“You died in that car crash,” Nathan breathed, his voice thick with disbelief and rising anger.

“I paid a desperate woman who looked like me to drive my car that night,” Evelyn corrected, walking slowly into the room. “Julian cut the brakes. I let him think he succeeded. I let you think you were a grieving widower. It was the perfect exit.”

“Why are you here, Evelyn?” Nathan demanded, his fists clenched. “You wanted out. You left your daughter to be raised by a cartel. You tried to frame me for Julian’s crimes. You got what you wanted!”

Evelyn stopped by the fireplace, running a manicured finger over the mantle.

“I did get what I wanted,” she admitted. “I took five million from the offshore accounts and lived very comfortably in Europe. But unfortunately, the FBI seized Julian’s assets last month. They froze the accounts. I’m completely broke, Nathan.”

She turned to face them, her eyes locking onto Lily’s new engagement ring.

“I want half the estate,” Evelyn demanded. “Or I go to the FBI and tell them exactly where you buried the bodies of the Thorne men who tried to take our territory five years ago.”

Lily felt sick. Evelyn hadn't come back for her daughter. She had come back for blackmail.

“You have no proof of anything,” Nathan growled.

“Don't I?” Evelyn smiled. She reached into her cashmere coat and pulled out a small, tarnished silver key.

“This is the key to a safety deposit box in Zurich,” Evelyn said. “Inside is the murder weapon used to kill Carlo, your old mentor. The weapon has your fingerprints on it, Nathan. Julian kept it as an insurance policy. I stole it from his safe before I left.”

Nathan froze. Carlo had been murdered by a rival crew, but Nathan had found the body and pulled the knife out of his mentor’s chest in a panic. His prints were on it. If Evelyn gave that to the FBI, they would pin the murder on him.

“Give me ten million dollars and full ownership of the downtown properties, and I hand over the key,” Evelyn demanded. “You have twenty-four hours.”

She turned toward the door, not even looking at Olivia.

But Lily stepped forward.

“Wait,” Lily said, her voice clear and steady.

Evelyn paused, looking at Lily with disdain. “Excuse me? The help is speaking to me?”

Lily walked right up to the woman who had caused so much pain. She didn't flinch. She didn't lower her eyes.

“Olivia,” Lily called back gently without taking her eyes off Evelyn. “Go upstairs to your room. Put on your headphones. Don't come down until Daddy comes to get you.”

Olivia nodded quickly and ran up the stairs.

Once the child was gone, Lily looked at Evelyn’s wrists. She noticed a faint, jagged scar peeking out from beneath the cashmere sleeve. A scar that looked exactly like the one Elias Thorne had on his neck.

Lily’s new hearing implant picked up the slight irregularity in Evelyn’s breathing. She was bluffing.

“You don't have the weapon,” Lily said quietly.

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“I’m calling you a coward,” Lily said, stepping closer. “Julian was meticulous. He never kept physical evidence of a crime that could implicate the family. If he had that knife, he would have destroyed it. That key doesn't go to a safety deposit box.”

Lily reached out with lightning speed and snatched the key from Evelyn’s hand.

Evelyn gasped, trying to grab it back, but Nathan caught her wrist.

Lily turned the key over in her hand. Imprinted on the back were three small letters: T.H.E.

“Thorne Hotel Enterprises,” Lily read aloud.

She looked up at Evelyn, absolute disgust in her eyes. “This is a hotel room key. You didn't steal anything from Julian. You’ve been hiding out in a cheap hotel, hoping to extort Nathan before he realized you have nothing.”