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“Why now?” I ask.

Enzo looks down at the table. “Clara’s death changed Isabella.”

“My wife died four years ago.”

“Yes,” he says carefully. “And Isabella spent those years collecting information. Watching. Waiting. At first, she wanted legal avenues. Custody pressure. Investigators. Quiet influence. But you had too much security, too much money, and too many people loyal to you. Then Ivy began appearing at the shelter.”

Maggie.

I already know where this goes before he says it.

Enzo continues, his voice lower now. “Isabella believed Ivy was isolated enough to be reclaimed. Then Maggie Hayes became important.”

The table seems to disappear beneath my hands.

“She’s not part of this.”

Enzo looks at me with the expression of a man who knows the truth won’t save him, but he’ll say it anyway. “She is now.”

Roman’s focus moves to me. He says nothing, but I feel the warning in the silence.

Enzo presses on. “Ivy loves her. You love her. Maggie is pregnant with your child. Isabella sees that as a replacement. Clara replaced by Maggie. Ivy attached to Maggie. Your new baby becoming another claim that pulls Ivy deeper into your life.”

My control holds because it has to, but inside, something vicious rises. “How does Isabella know about the pregnancy?” I ask.

Enzo hesitates too long.

Roman steps closer. “Answer.”

“The planner,” Enzo says. “The apartment search. They found enough to suspect. A doctor appointment. A pregnancy test receipt. Notes. Isabella doesn’t need certainty before she acts. Suspicion is enough for her.”

Maggie’s stolen planner. The fear on her face in the apartment. Her hand going to her stomach before she looked away from me. All of it comes back with brutal clarity.

I should have pushed harder. I should have known. I should have erased every path leading to Maggie before anyone ever reached that apartment. I rise from my chair slowly, my gaze never leaving Enzo.

He flinches.

Roman’s voice cuts through the room before I can move closer. “Sit, Alexei.”

I don’t look at him. “Don’t give me orders.”

“I’m keeping him alive until he finishes talking.”

Enzo’s face drains of color.

I hold his stare before lowering myself back into the chair. “Continue.”

Enzo’s voice shakes now. “Isabella wants Ivy. She wants Maggie gone or broken enough to stop being an obstacle. And the baby...” He stops.

My hand closes around the edge of the table.

Roman’s face becomes even more still. “The baby what?”

Enzo swallows. “She blames you for Clara's death. In her mind, you took her daughter. Her heir.” He hesitates, visibly uneasy. “She intends to take yours.”

Rage burns through me, fierce enough to demand blood. Only years of discipline keep me in my chair.

Ivy. Maggie. The child Maggie carries. Isabella doesn’t see them as people. She sees ownership. Bloodlines. Legacy. Pieces on a board she believes still belong to her.