“You mean that,” he said.

“Every word,” I replied.

“If we run, we lose.”

“If we fight, we might lose everything anyway,” he said.

“But at least we fight,” I said.

Dominic looked down at the laptop screen and opened the lid again.

The blue light reflected on his face, sharpening his features.

“We need Dr. Miriam Hale,” Dominic said.

“The physician,” I said.

“Yes,” Dominic said.

“She has the medical records from five years ago.”

“The records that prove my mother used forged documents to declare you unfit.”

“The documents she showed me to make me believe you had abandoned our baby.”

I felt a familiar spark of anger, but I pushed it down.

“Where is Dr. Hale?” I asked.

“She left the city three years ago,” Dominic said.

“But Marco found her.”

“She’s living under an assumed name in upstate New York.”

“She is terrified of my mother.”

“We have to convince her to testify,” I said.

“She won’t do it willingly,” Marco said, turning from the window.

“She knows what happens to people who cross Caterina Valenti.”