“Finish that sentence.”

Lorenzo Romano didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t need to.

Cᴀssandra’s lips froze halfway through her smile.

The mafia boss slowly turned his head toward her. His dark eyes were almost expressionless, but something in them made the two guards instinctively step backward.

“I beg your pardon?” Cᴀssandra whispered.

“You heard me.”

Lorenzo removed his hand from his jacket and looked at the two guards.

“Who gave you permission to touch this woman?”

One guard swallowed.

“Miss Vane requested that we remove her, sir.”

Lorenzo looked at Cᴀssandra.

“Did she?”

Cᴀssandra forced a nervous laugh.

“Darling, I was only trying to protect the atmosphere of your event. You know how important appearances are.”

Lorenzo glanced at Alex’s faded navy dress.

Then he did something nobody expected.

He removed his expensive black tuxedo jacket and carefully draped it over her shoulders.

The jacket nearly swallowed her small shoulders, but it was warm.

Alex stared at him.

“Mr. Romano…”

“You’re cold.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking.”

He gently adjusted the lapels around her.

Then he extended his hand.

“May I have this dance?”

Alex blinked.

She genuinely thought she had misunderstood him.

“Sir?”

“A dance. With me.”

Behind them, Cᴀssandra’s champagne glᴀss slipped slightly in her hand.

“But Lorenzo, the orchestra—”

“Play.”

The musicians immediately began a slow waltz.

Lorenzo took Alex’s hand and guided her toward the center of the ballroom.

Three hundred wealthy guests watched as Manhattan’s most feared mafia boss placed his hand respectfully around the waist of a woman they had just mocked.

Alex’s eyes filled with tears.

“Please don’t do this because you feel sorry for me.”

Lorenzo looked down.

“I don’t pity you.”

“Then why?”

He leaned slightly closer.

“Because you walked into a room full of people who wanted you to feel worthless, and you still refused to leave.”

Alex looked away.

“I don’t have the luxury of leaving.”

“Why?”

She hesitated.

Then she whispered:

“My brother owes your family two million dollars.”

Lorenzo’s steps stopped.

For the first time that evening, his expression changed.

“Your name?”

“Alex Hayes.”

He looked at her more carefully.

“Leo Hayes is your brother?”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

Lorenzo’s jaw тιԍнтened.

“Interesting.”

Alex immediately panicked.

“Please, don’t hurt him. I know he made a terrible mistake, but he’s young. He thought he could build a legitimate business. Everything collapsed, and he borrowed money from the wrong people.”

“How much did he borrow?”

“Two million.”

“And how much does he owe now?”

Alex lowered her eyes.

“Three million four hundred thousand, including interest.”

Lorenzo stared at her.

Then he asked a question she hadn’t expected.

“How much have you paid?”

Alex looked embarrᴀssed.

“Almost forty thousand dollars. I’ve sold my car, emptied my savings, and taken extra shifts.”

“On your salary?”

She nodded.

“He’s my brother. He’s all I have.”

Lorenzo said nothing.

But his hand тιԍнтened slightly around hers.

When the dance ended, Lorenzo didn’t return Alex to the corner.

Instead, he escorted her to the head table.

He pulled out the chair beside his own.

“Sit.”

Alex looked at the empty chair.

“But that’s your table.”

“I know.”

“People will talk.”

Lorenzo glanced across the ballroom.

“Let them.”

She slowly sat down.

A waiter approached with a bottle of champagne.

Lorenzo stopped him.

“Bring her something to eat.”

Alex immediately shook her head.

“Please, I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“You’re not causing trouble.”

He looked at the waiter.

“Bring the kitchen’s best dinner. And make sure she gets dessert.”

For the first time that evening, Alex almost smiled.

“You’re treating me like a princess.”

Lorenzo studied her.

“How often does someone treat you like that?”

Her smile disappeared.

She looked down at the tablecloth.

“Not very often.”

He didn’t ask another question.

Instead, he picked up his phone and sent a message.

Across the ballroom, Cᴀssandra was practically trembling with anger.

She approached Oliver Vane, her older cousin and one of the family’s financial advisers.

“What is he doing?”

Oliver adjusted his cufflinks.

“Apparently, he’s entertaining a charity case.”

“He’s sitting her beside him!”

“Then perhaps you should find out why.”

Cᴀssandra narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve spent two years trying to get Lorenzo to notice me. That woman walks in wearing a fourteen-dollar dress, and suddenly he’s playing gentleman?”

Oliver looked toward the head table.

“There’s something strange about this.”

“What?”

“Lorenzo doesn’t do spontaneous.”

Cᴀssandra stared at him.

Then she looked at Alex.

“Find out who she is.”

Twenty minutes later, Lorenzo’s personal security chief approached the table.

He leaned down and whispered something into his employer’s ear.

Lorenzo’s expression immediately darkened.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Bring the file.”

The security chief placed a thick folder beside his plate.

Alex noticed the change.

“Is something wrong?”

Lorenzo looked at her.

“Your brother.”

Her heart dropped.

“What happened to Leo?”

“He’s alive.”

Alex released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“Thank God.”

“But there’s a problem.”

Lorenzo opened the folder.

Inside were bank transfers, company registrations, and copies of several signed contracts.

Alex recognized the documents immediately.

She leaned forward.

“Where did you get these?”

“My people recovered them from one of your brother’s business partners.”

She examined the first page.

Then the second.

Her expression changed.

“This can’t be right.”

“What?”

“These transactions…”

She picked up the folder and began turning pages.

“Someone moved the money through at least six shell companies. But Leo’s company never received the funds.”

Lorenzo watched her closely.

“Explain.”

Alex pointed to a transfer.

“This account supposedly received eight hundred thousand dollars from my brother’s mining company. But the account number belongs to a company registered in Delaware three years before Leo even started his business.”

She turned another page.

“And this signature isn’t his.”

Lorenzo leaned closer.

“You’re certain?”

“I’m a forensic accountant. I’ve examined thousands of financial records.”

She looked up.

“Someone forged his signature.”

The atmosphere around the table changed.

Lorenzo’s security chief exchanged a glance with him.

“Boss, that means…”

“Someone stole the money,” Lorenzo finished.

Alex nodded.

“And then made my brother responsible for the debt.”

Lorenzo closed the folder.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he looked at Alex with a new kind of interest.

“You came here to beg for more time.”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

“But you may have just shown me that someone stole three million dollars from my organization.”

Alex’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t know.”

“I believe you.”

He picked up his phone.

“Find Leo. I want him brought here alive. Nobody touches him.”

The security chief immediately left.

Alex covered her face with both hands.

“Oh, my God.”

Lorenzo gently moved the folder away.

“Alex.”

She looked up.

“Your brother may have made mistakes. But if someone used him to steal from me, I’ll find out who.”

At that exact moment, Cᴀssandra approached the head table.

Her smile had returned, but her eyes were full of hatred.

“Lorenzo, darling, may I speak with you?”

“Not now.”

“It’s important.”

He didn’t look up.

“Then speak.”

Cᴀssandra glanced at Alex.

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I was unaware that your guest was someone important.”

Alex quietly replied.

“I’m not important.”

Cᴀssandra smiled.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Lorenzo slowly put down his fork.

“Don’t call her that.”

Cᴀssandra’s smile faltered.

“I was being friendly.”

“Then learn to be friendly without insulting people.”

Oliver appeared behind her.

“Lorenzo, perhaps we should discuss this privately.”

“Why?”

Oliver glanced at the folder.

“Business matters shouldn’t be discussed at a social event.”

Lorenzo closed the folder.

“You’re right.”

He looked at his security chief’s empty chair.

“Which is why I have a question for you, Oliver.”

Oliver stiffened.

“Of course.”

“Why is your name on six of these transfers?”

The color drained from Oliver’s face.

Cᴀssandra turned toward him.

“What?”

Oliver laughed nervously.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lorenzo pushed the folder across the table.

“Then explain your signature.”

Oliver glanced down.

For one brief second, his expression betrayed him.

Alex saw it.

So did Lorenzo.

Oliver immediately stepped backward.

“This is a misunderstanding.”

Lorenzo stood.

“Sit down.”

“I think I should leave.”

Two security men appeared behind him.

Lorenzo’s voice became dangerously quiet.

“Nobody leaves until I understand why your company has been receiving money stolen from my organization.”

Cᴀssandra looked between them.

“Oliver, tell him he’s wrong.”

Oliver didn’t answer.

Instead, he looked directly at Alex.

And something in his expression made her stomach turn.

Because he wasn’t looking at her like a stranger.

He was looking at her like someone who knew exactly who she was.

A few minutes later, Alex received a message.

Her phone vibrated beneath the table.

She looked down.

It was from an unknown number.

STOP LOOKING AT THE FINANCIAL RECORDS.

A second message appeared.

YOUR BROTHER IS NOT THE ONLY PERSON WE CAN DISAPPEAR.

Alex’s fingers went cold.

She quickly turned the screen toward Lorenzo.

He read the messages.

His face became completely still.

“Who has this number?”

“Only my brother, my employer, and a few people from work.”

Lorenzo handed the phone to his security chief.

“Trace it.”

Then he looked at Alex.

“From this moment forward, you don’t go anywhere without my protection.”

She swallowed.

“Mr. Romano, I don’t want to become another problem for you.”

He leaned closer.

“Alex, someone just threatened you inside my ballroom.”

His eyes moved toward Oliver.

“And I have a feeling the person responsible is sitting less than twenty feet away.”

Before Alex could respond, the ballroom doors suddenly opened.

A young man stumbled inside.

His shirt was torn, his face bruised, and one arm was wrapped around his stomach.

“Alex!”

She sH๏τ to her feet.

“Leo!”

Her younger brother staggered toward her.

She rushed around the table and caught him before he collapsed.

“Leo! What happened?”

He clutched her arm.

His eyes were wide with terror.

“Alex, you have to leave.”

“What?”

He looked past her.

Straight at Oliver.

Then he whispered something that made Lorenzo reach for his phone.

“He’s not the one running everything.”

Leo swallowed painfully.

“The person who forged my signature…”

He looked toward the grand staircase.

“…is someone inside the Romano family.”

The ballroom went silent.

Lorenzo slowly turned his head.

“Who?”

Leo’s trembling finger rose.

And pointed directly toward the man standing behind Lorenzo’s chair.

His own uncle, Anthony Romano.

Lorenzo didn’t move.

Anthony smiled faintly.

Then he raised his champagne glᴀss.

“Well, nephew,” he said calmly. “It seems the evening has become rather interesting.”

END OF PART 2 — TO BE CONTINUED.