Blood was drying on my cuff when I returned home at 1:43 a.m., but the worst violence waiting for me wasn’t at the docks. Before I could turn on the lights, my housekeeper stepped from the darkness and whispered, “Don’t make a sound,” then showed me why my fiancée had been terrorizing my children for eleven weeks, and why losing my temper was exactly what she needed.

I walked up to the main podium at the front of the ballroom, grabbing the microphone. The chatter in the room instantly died down as two hundred powerful eyes turned toward me.

"Good evening, everyone," I spoke into the microphone, my voice echoing clearly through the speaker system. "Thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the union of the Moretti and Sloane families."

Polite applause rippled through the room.

Camille stood at the foot of the stage, glowing with pride, holding her silk dress slightly raised. Arthur stood right beside her, holding the thick blue folder and the Montblanc pen.

"Many of you know that my life has been built on two things: loyalty and family," I continued, looking directly at Patrick Sloane. "When my late wife Isabella passed, I swore I would protect my children at all costs."

"Hear, hear," Patrick called out, raising his glass.

"Tonight, my attorney, Arthur Velez, has prepared a set of documents," I said, pointing toward Arthur. "Documents that transfer full control of my children's lives and my estate to my beautiful fiancée, Camille."

Arthur stepped up onto the stage, placing the documents on the wooden lectern, handing me the pen.

"Sign right here, Roman," Arthur whispered under his breath, his eyes wide with greed. "Just sign, and it's all over."

I took the pen. I looked down at the paper.

"Before I sign," I announced loudly into the microphone, "I think we should play a short audio presentation prepared by my new head of estate security."

I gestured toward the side entrance of the ballroom.