“I’m fine,” I said, checking the hallway behind me to make sure we were alone.

“But we have a problem, Mr. Alvarez.”

I explained what Seraphina had said, keeping my voice down to a whisper.

His face paled, but his grip on the scrub brush tightened.

“They think they own everyone,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“We have to find the real ledger, Mr. Alvarez,” I said.

“The one from thirty years ago that clears my mother and proves their fraud.”

“If we have that, Denise can go straight to the federal prosecutors, and the Romanos won’t be able to touch you or Elise.”

He looked toward the basement door at the back of the kitchen.

“It is down there,” he said quietly.

“Behind the old wine cellar.”

“Nico has a private safe built into the brickwork of the foundation.”

“Do you know how to get to it?” I asked.

“The lock is old, but the door is heavy iron,” he whispered.

“We must go tonight, after the dinner rush.”

Before I could answer, a sharp chime echoed from the front of the house.