Liam's POVOn my way out I met Claire who stopped me and said something about the malware being restored, but I couldn't focus on what she was saying because Michael's words kept echoing in my head. You're surrounded by enemies, Liam. Every person around me could be working against me and I wouldn't even know it until it was too late.I got into my car and drove toward the mansion as fast as the engine would go, weaving through traffic and running yellow lights because every second I wasted could mean the difference between securing the parcel and losing it to whoever was trying to take it from me.When I arrived at the mansion, I rushed inside and took the elevator to the top floor where I had left the parcel in a secure room. The elevator doors opened and I stepped out to find Michael standing there waiting for me, his clothes completely soaked in blood that clearly wasn't his own.My eyes immediately went down to the floor and I saw Ashley lying there motionless with blood pooling

Elijah's POVI sat there listening to Liam talk about the Ndrangheta like they were just another problem he needed to solve and I felt my chest getting tighter with each word he spoke. He had no idea what he was dealing with and I couldn't make him understand because he hadn't lived through what I had lived through.The Ndrangheta had killed my parents when I was twelve years old. I remembered coming home from school and finding police cars outside our house and neighbors standing around whispering to each other.I remembered the detective kneeling down to my level and telling me that my mom and dad weren't coming back. I remembered the funeral where no one would tell me exactly what had happened because they thought I was too young to handle the truth.But I found out eventually. My parents had witnessed something they shouldn't have witnessed and they paid for it with their lives. The organization that killed them was so powerful that no one was ever arrested and no investigation eve

Liam's POVThe stranger stood there looking down at me in my hospital bed and his expression was completely emotionless as he delivered his next words."I ought to kill you right now," he said calmly, as if discussing the weather rather than my murder. "But I won't do that today."He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small envelope which he placed on the table beside my bed."I'm giving you a lifeline," he continued. "When you leave this hospital, you need to make sure you kill off the Harringtons. All of them."Without my consent, my heart beats faster than usual as I tried to understand what he was asking me to do and why he would want an entire family dead."And you also need to kill Elijah," he added."Why?" I demanded, though my voice came out weaker than I wanted because of the pain medication still affecting me.The stranger didn't answer my question. He simply turned and walked out of my hospital room as silently as he had entered, leaving me alone with the envel

Liam's POVI didn't answer either. I just stared at him. Then he asked another less disturbing question."Where did you hear that name?" he asked carefully. "How did you come across it?"I didn't want to tell him about Ashley or the Rossi family or how I had been threatened multiple times or how I had almost been killed in that car crash that Michael said my father was behind. There were too many things I needed to keep hidden from him until I understood what side he was really on.I didn't know what to do other than lie to him and hope that he would believe whatever story I came up with."I overheard some business associates talking about historical families in the city," I said, making my voice sound casual and curious. "They mentioned the Ackerman name and it sounded familiar to me, like maybe you had mentioned it when I was younger but I couldn't remember the context."My father stared at me for several long seconds and I could see him evaluating whether my explanation made sense

Liam's POVMichael stood there waiting for my response to his accusation about Ashley and I felt my head spinning with confusion about who was telling the truth and who was lying to manipulate me into trusting them."We both know Ashley is the traitor." I said, trying to keep my voice steady even though nothing made sense anymore. "But, she just told me the exact same thing about you."Michael's expression didn't change when I said this and he nodded slowly as if he had been expecting me to say exactly that."Of course she did," he replied. "That's how she's been operating this whole time. She feeds you information that makes me look guilty so you'll turn against me and leave yourself vulnerable to her real plans.""She showed me evidence," I said, watching his face carefully for any reaction. "Your location data putting you near every attack that's happened.""Did she show you the full data or just selected pieces that fit her narrative?" Michael asked, pulling out his own phone and