“It is my reality,” Dante said. “And now it is yours.”

He walked over to the desk and poured two fingers of amber liquid into a crystal glass.

He offered it to me.

I shook my head.

“I need my head clear,” I said.

He drank it himself, his throat moving as he swallowed.

“We will keep Lily safe, Sophia. You have my word.”

“Your word is what got us into this,” I said.

An hour later, the elevator doors opened in the private hallway of the penthouse.

Mrs. Patel stepped out first, clutching a diaper bag to her chest.

She was trembling, her eyes wide behind her thick glasses.

Behind her was one of Dante’s guards, carrying Lily in her blue car seat.

Lily was fast asleep, her tiny fist pressed against her cheek.

I rushed forward and took the car seat from the guard.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I looked at Mrs. Patel.

“Are you okay?” I asked, checking her hands for injuries.

“There were men outside, Sophia,” Mrs. Patel whispered, her voice cracking. “Men with guns under their coats.”