A Little Girl Told Me “Sad People Aren’t Evil”—Then One Hidden File Made Me Turn on the Man I Trusted Most.

Jude didn't move a muscle. He kept his eyes fixed on the cold stone wall ahead.

"Marcus," Jude said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Ten years you’ve driven my cars. Ten years I paid for your daughter's medical bills."

Marcus’s hand trembled slightly, but the barrel of the gun remained level. "Reggie offered five million cash, Jude. In this city, loyalty doesn't pay for chemotherapy."

Ellie shielded Brinley behind her back, pressing herself into the shadow of the vault pillars.

"Give me the drive, boss," Marcus demanded, stepping closer. "And the girl. Reggie’s buyer wants the bloodline secured."

"Buyer?" Jude caught the word instantly. "Reggie isn't working for himself. Who bought him?"

Marcus sneered. "You think you’re the only mafia family in the Northeast? The Moretti family wants Providence. Reggie is just opening the door."

Ellie’s heart dropped. The Moretti family—the rival mafia clan that Jude had been at war with for a decade.

Jude tilted his head slightly. "You made one mistake, Marcus."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You forgot I don't use safety catches," Jude said.

In a fraction of a second, Jude ducked left, sweeping Marcus’s arm upward. A shot fired harmlessly into the vaulted ceiling, dropping plaster onto the floor.

Jude slammed his elbow into Marcus’s jaw, sending the man crashing into a wooden pew. The gun clattered across the stone floor.

Jude picked up the weapon, ejecting the magazine and throwing the empty gun aside.

"Get up," Jude commanded coldly.

Marcus spat blood onto the floor, laughing weakly. "It doesn't matter, Jude. Reggie already knows you’re here. Look outside."

Through the high basement windows, red and blue lights began to flash against the wet glass.

Police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second.

"Reggie called the cops," Marcus gasped. "He reported a kidnapped child. They think you kidnapped Julian Carter’s daughter, Jude. You’re trapped."

Ellie looked at Jude in sheer panic. "If the police take Brinley—"

"They won't," Jude said sharply. He grabbed the USB drive, snatched Brinley’s blanket, and looked at Ellie. "There’s an old coal chute under the altar. It leads to the storm drains."

"What about you?" Ellie cried out.

Jude looked at the flashing lights outside, then at his niece in Ellie’s arms.