She looked toward the faint outline of the small metal hatch, then back at me.

“What about you, Nina?” she asked.

“I have to go upstairs,” I said.

I touched the hard bulk of the ledger hidden under my apron.

“I have to save Alexander,” I said. “And Marcus.”

Mrs. Conti grabbed my forearm, her fingers digging into my skin.

“Luca is crazy, Nina,” she whispered. “He has men watching the gates. He has men in the halls.”

“Go,” I told her softly. “Get your grandchildren and run.”

She nodded, her wet face catching the faint light from the coal chute.

I helped her climb onto an old wooden crate beneath the metal hatch.

She pushed the iron door upward, and the cool, rainy night air rushed into the damp cellar.

She squeezed her small frame through the narrow opening, her shoes scraping against the metal.

With a soft, wet thud, she disappeared into the rainy darkness of the alley.

I was completely alone in the dark.

I walked over to the wooden stairs and climbed them slowly, avoiding the middle of the steps where I knew the wood would creak.