“Exactly,” Leo said, stepping between Silvio and the chair. “And with the twins missing, we need clear leadership to find them.”

I felt a cold knot tighten in my stomach.

Leo was lying to his own people.

He knew exactly where the twins were, or at least he was the one who had tried to have them taken.

“Where are the babies, Leo?” Silvio asked, his eyes turning hard.

“We are tracking them now,” Leo said. “The nurse’s diner was a front for the people who took them.”

My hand began to shake, and I gripped the pen tighter to hide it.

“That’s not true,” I said, my voice cutting through the quiet room.

Leo turned on me, his jaw clenching.

“Keep your mouth shut,” he muttered.

“No,” Silvio said, raising a gloved hand. “Let the girl speak.”

Enzo and Gianni moved closer to the desk, their hands resting near their coat pockets.

The room felt smaller now, crowded with heavy coats and the scent of rain.

“She’s just a girl from the South End,” Leo said, dismissing me with a wave of his hand. “She doesn’t know how things work here.”