Sofia's POV

"Dante, behind you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Three men crept through the smoke and broken glass, their guns pointed straight at Dante's back. He was too busy shooting at the men in front of us to see them coming.

Without thinking, I grabbed a chunk of concrete from the ground and threw it as hard as I could. It hit the first gunman in the head, and he stumbled sideways.

"What the—" the man yelled, spinning toward me.

That's when Dante moved like lightning. He spun around and shot all three men before they could even aim at me. It happened so fast I barely saw him pull the trigger.

"Stay down!" Dante shouted, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind a burned-out car.

More bullets hit the metal above our heads. I pressed my face against the ground, tasting dirt and fear.

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Too many," Dante said, checking his gun. "We need to move."

"Where? They're everywhere!"

Dante pointed across the street to a narrow alley between two buildings. "There. But we'll have to run fast."

"What if they see us?"

"They will see us. That's why you run and don't look back."

I looked at the alley. It seemed so far away. At least ten gunmen stood between us and safety.

"I can't do it," I whispered. "I'm too scared."

Dante grabbed my face with both hands, forcing me to look at him. "Sofia, listen to me. You're braver than you know. You just saved my life by throwing that rock."

"That was stupid luck."

"No. That was courage." His green eyes burned into mine. "Your mother had that same courage."

Before I could ask what he meant, Dante's phone rang. He looked at the screen and his face went pale.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Your father."

Dante answered the call. "Marco? Yeah, we're alive. Barely." He listened for a moment, then his expression changed completely.

"What?" Dante said into the phone. "Are you sure? When?" Another pause. "We'll be right there."

He hung up and looked at me with the strangest expression.

"What did my dad say?" I asked.

"Your mother just walked into his office."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"Five minutes ago. She's sitting in your father's chair, drinking coffee like nothing happened."

"But that's impossible! We saw her outside the building, but—"

"Sofia." Dante's voice was deadly serious. "Your father didn't sound happy to see her. He sounded terrified."

Another round of bullets hit our hiding spot. One of Vincent's men was getting closer.

"We have to go," Dante said. "Now."

He grabbed my hand and we ran toward the alley. Gunshots exploded behind us like fireworks. I felt one bullet zip past my ear so close it burned.

We made it to the alley entrance when I heard something that made my blood freeze.

"Sofia Moretti!" a woman's voice called out. "Stop running from your mother!"

I turned around even though Dante tried to pull me forward. Standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by Vincent's gunmen, was my mother.

She looked exactly the same as the day she died. Same dark hair, same beautiful face, same smile that used to make me feel safe.

But something was wrong with her eyes. They were cold. Empty.

"Mom?" I whispered.

She walked toward us, and amazingly, Vincent's men stepped aside to let her pass. They weren't trying to kill her. They were working with her.

"Hello, baby," my mother said, her voice sweet and loving. "I've missed you so much."

"You're supposed to be dead," I said, my voice shaking.

"I know, sweetheart. Mommy had to go away for a while. But I'm back now."

Dante stepped in front of me, his gun pointed at my mother. "Stay back."

My mother laughed, a sound that used to comfort me but now made my skin crawl.

"Oh, Dante. Still playing the hero? That's so sweet." She tilted her head like she was studying him. "Tell me, have you told Sofia the truth about that night yet?"

"What truth?" I asked, looking back and forth between them.

"About how he killed me," my mother said casually.

"What?" I stared at Dante in shock. "You said she didn't die in the car crash!"

"She didn't," Dante said quietly, never taking his eyes off my mother.

"Then how—" I started to ask.

"I shot her," Dante said. "Three bullets to the chest. I watched her die."

The world spun around me. "You killed my mother?"

"Yes."

"But she's standing right here!"

"I know."

My mother clapped her hands like she was enjoying a show. "Isn't this fun? A nice family reunion."

"You're not my mother," I said, backing away from her. "My mother would never work with Vincent Romano."

"Oh, sweetie," my mother said, still smiling that terrible smile. "Vincent works for me."

"That's impossible."

"Is it? Who do you think taught him everything he knows about hurting people?"

One of Vincent's men walked up and handed my mother a gun. She took it without looking away from me.

"I spent five years planning this moment," she said. "Five years pretending to be dead while I built an army. All so I could come back and finish what I started."

"What did you start?" I asked.

"Taking over your father's business. And getting rid of the one person who could stop me."

"Dad?"

My mother shook her head. "You, sweetheart. You're the real threat. You're smart, brave, and the men respect you. In a few years, you'd be running everything."

She raised her gun and pointed it at my heart.

"I can't let that happen."

Dante stepped between us again. "You'll have to go through me first."

"That's the plan," my mother said. Then she looked at me over Dante's shoulder. "Did he tell you why he killed me, Sofia? Did he explain that your father ordered him to do it?"

"What?" I looked at Dante in horror.

"Your precious daddy found out I was planning to take over his business. So he sent his best killer to murder his own wife." My mother's smile got wider. "How does it feel to know that everyone you love is a liar?"

I couldn't breathe. My father had my mother killed? The woman I'd cried for every night was murdered by the man who raised me?

"That's not the whole story," Dante said.

"Isn't it?" my mother asked. "Tell her, Dante. Tell her how you put those bullets in my chest. Tell her how I begged you not to do it."

Dante's hand was shaking now. "Sofia, I can explain—"

"No need for explanations," my mother interrupted. "Actions speak louder than words."

She pulled the trigger.

But instead of shooting at Dante or me, she shot Vincent Romano in the head. He dropped to the ground like a stone.

"Vincent was getting too greedy," she said, stepping over his body. "I don't like greedy partners."

The other gunmen looked confused and scared. Without Vincent giving orders, they didn't know what to do.

"Now then," my mother said, turning back to us. "Where were we? Oh yes. I was about to kill both of you."

She raised her gun again, but this time something was different. Her hand was shaking, and there was something desperate in her eyes.

"Mom, please," I said. "I don't understand what's happening, but you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do," she said, and for the first time, she sounded sad. "Because if I don't kill you both right now, they'll kill me instead."

"Who will kill you?" Dante demanded.

My mother looked over her shoulder like she was checking to see if someone was watching.

"The people who really run this city," she whispered. "The people who've been controlling all of us from the beginning."

Just then, a black car pulled up behind my mother. The door opened, and someone stepped out.

Someone I recognized.

Someone who was supposed to be on our side.

Elena, my best friend, walked toward us with a gun in her hand and the coldest smile I'd ever seen.