She looked at her cousin on the floor, then at her brother who was still standing, leaning heavily on my shoulder.

“Alexander,” Sofia whispered, rushing into the room and throwing her arms around his waist.

Alexander gasped at the sudden pressure on his weakened body, but he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

“I am here, Sofia,” he said into her hair. “The house is secure.”

“He did it,” Sofia sobbed, pointing at Luca. “The guards at the gate said he gave them the order to shut down the cameras for a maintenance check.”

Luca looked up from the floor, his face twisted in a mixture of anger and pain.

“You are all fools,” Luca spat, a string of saliva hanging from his lip. “The Commission will never let a sick man run Boston. They will tear this empire to pieces.”

“The Commission will hear the truth,” Alexander said, his voice low and dangerous. “They will hear how you tried to murder your own blood with a maid’s poison.”

He looked down at Vincent.