Disclaimer: I do not own As The World Turns

Notes: I calculated Zoe's due date to be January 11th based on an April 20th conception date (I played with the dates of the kidnapping since the soap opera doesn't exist in real time, and for reasons that I know and you'll find out, I needed to set the date of conception as far back as possible).

Meg was married to Craig back in 200…7? 8? I forget. And she was pregnant, but with Paul's baby. Craig tried to force her to miscarry; when she found out, she dumped him. Later, she got into the middle of Paul and Craig fighting; Paul accidentally knocked her down and caused a miscarriage. Regarding faked pregnancies…Holden's ex Molly faked a pregnancy with him (1997), Meg faked a pregnancy with Dusty (1980something), and Jade faked a pregnancy with Will (2006).

Part I – Chapter VI

"You have reached Damian Grimaldi. I am unable answer the telephone right now. Please leave a message." BEEP

"Hi, Damian, it's Meg. Um…listen, there's been a…a problem, with Luke. He's okay, it's not an emergency, but something's happened that he and Lily think you should know about. If you could call us back—this is my cell, you can call the farm or Lily's phone—as soon as possible, that would be…" Meg floundered to find an appropriate word, "…good, I guess. See you soon. 'Bye."

Meg re-entered the kitchen, closing her cell phone as she did. "I couldn't reach him," she reported, retrieving Eliza from Emma. "I left a message."

"Thanks, Meg," Lily said, bringing her hand down from where she had been wiping away one of the stray tears that seemed to be spontaneously forming and falling from her eyes. Luke sat next to her, his hands folded tightly on the table, across from Holden, who sat, holding Ethan, between Emma and Lucinda. Jack and Riley stood by the staircase doors; Janet and Amira had taken Nazli and Lujayn into the parlor. Outside, Ruth stood with Noah, quiet.

"What's the procedure with this, Jack?" Holden asked, nerves translating into energy as he bounced a mercifully distracted Ethan. "What exactly should we be expecting?"

"Pinarosa's not going to be able to spend much time with the kid," Jack replied. "After she gives birth, she'll have maybe a day before the child's released to relatives."

"So the baby doesn't necessarily have to go to Luke."

Jack caught the sudden, sharp movement from Luke from the corner of his eye. "If she has other family, then no. The impression she gave me, though, was that her only blood relatives left alive that she knows of are her maternal grandparents. One of whom is under investigation, both of whom we have no idea where they are."

"They should be easy enough to track down though, right?"

"The grandmother, maybe, if she's still in America. Salvatore…well, we'll see what Margo has to say. If either of them are viable options, then Luke can sign away his legal rights to the child. He could do that anyway, actually, and have the child placed in someone else's custody until Pinarosa is released."

"Then, that sounds like a plan," Lucinda said. "I've lawyers enough to handle that sort of thing."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that idea."

All eyes turned incredulously to Luke.

"Luke, you're saying you want custody of this child?" Lucinda demanded.

"I'm saying that I don't think right this moment is a good time to decide that I want no part of my child's life."

Lucinda scoffed at "my" but Emma spoke before Lucinda could. "I think that's a wise idea, dear. It's not like you don't have time. January is a long way off."

"Have you and Noah already discussed this?" Lily asked. Luke shook his head. "Luke…"

"It's not exactly easy to talk about," Luke almost snapped at her. "Like I said, I didn't want to talk more than I had to until I actually had to."

Holden painfully recognized that as Luke's strategy for revealing his homosexuality. Before he could articulate just how poorly thought-out a policy that was, he was cut off by the ringing telephone. Jack and Lily both jumped to answer, with Jack reaching it first.

"Snyder Farm." Jack paused. "Hey, Margo. What'd Savio say? …Oh, you're shitting me. Is he sure? Because that's sure not the impression I got from Pinarosa… What do you want to do?" Jack was silent for a long minute. "Fine. Riley and I'll meet you there."

"What was that about?" Lily asked as Jack hung up the phone.

"The case." Jack glanced at Riley, and then gave a heavy sigh. "Margo just got through with Savio. He says that Salvatore Pinarosa has been missing and presumed dead since May."

"You're not serious," Meg, Lily, and Luke chorused.

"Interpol is." He scanned their faces. "You'll be happy to know that we're not convinced. Pinarosa spoke of him as if he were still alive."

"I think it's been proven that the girl cannot be trusted," Lucinda said coolly.

"She doesn't benefit from saying he's alive if he isn't, though. If anything it'll only extend her sentence, for obstruction of justice. In any case we need more information before we can make any informed arrest. Margo's going to be waiting for us at the Lakeview."

"You're going to question Damian again?"

"Not just him. Lisa too. Riley, I'll explain about her on the way over. We'd better get going…"

"Oh!" Lily stopped in the middle of sitting down and bounced up, as if propelled by memory. "It's only a half-day for the girls. I said I'd pick them up. They've probably already missed the bus…"

"I'll go with you, darling," Lucinda said, her keen eyes observing the shake in Lily's hands. "I want to discuss," she assessed her grandson with a frown he stubbornly refused to acknowledge, "some things with you."

"Be back soon, ok, baby?" Lily bent down to gently kiss the crown of Luke's head. "We'll figure something out then…"

Luke silently waved the permission to leave that Lily was looking for. Jack held open the door to allow Lily and Lucinda to leave ahead of himself and Riley, and also to let Noah and Ruth inside.

"Are you going somewhere?" Ruth asked, catching Riley by the arm as he passed her.

"Official investigation. Don't worry," he added, seeing Ruth's suddenly anxious face. "Just questioning." He bent down to kiss her cheek, which she had presented to him out of habit. "And…Noah?"

Noah's throat was almost too dry to push out, "Yeah?"

"I'm…" Riley glanced back at Luke, who had turned his head to look when Noah walked in the door; he dropped his voice. "I'm sorry…about what happened to your boyfriend."

Riley delicately clapped his hand on Noah's shoulder and let it linger there for a handful of seconds, hoping that whatever he transferred through his fingers would bolster his cousin, before disappearing through the door with Jack.

"Where did everyone go?" Ruth asked, looking over the now considerably emptier kitchen as she sat down at the head of the table.

"Lily and Lucinda went to pick up the girls," Holden said, adjusting a tired Ethan who was falling into a nap. "And Jack and Riley are headed to Lakeview—it's a hotel—to question Damian about the case. Everyone else is either here or in the parlor."

Noah took the seat Lily had left, beside Luke who had let his head drop to the table, and placed his arm around Luke's back. Luke looked up and, upon seeing his boyfriend, opted to rest his head on Noah's shoulder instead. Noah laid a kiss on Luke's head and muttered, "I'm sorry" into his hair. Luke slid his hand into Noah's and laced their fingers as an acceptance of the apology. Noah let himself breathe for a moment before speaking.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

"Finding a bigger apartment."

"Luke, don't…don't joke, please."

"I'm not." Luke lifted his head for Noah to see his eyes, a humorous shine noticeably absent.

Noah's stomach clenched. "Luke, no…you can't just—"

"You heard what Jack said," Holden intervened quickly. "You can sign away your legal rights."

"I know," Luke said, trying to hold onto Noah's slackening hand. "I just don't think that I—it's my child."

"You don't know that," Noah said, his face beginning to heat up.

"A DNA test would prove it one way or the other," Meg said, catching onto Holden's observation and rushing into the budding argument. "I had one when I was married to Craig." She paused for a moment, trying to collect herself from the memory of her sabotaged pregnancy.

"How soon?" Holden asked gently.

"At ten weeks she can get what's called a CVS," Meg said, hoping facts would keep her emotions in check. "And at fourteen weeks she can have an amniocentesis done. Either of them will tell you paternity. She has to consent to the procedure, though."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Noah said. "If she resists, it'll mean that she knows Luke's not the father."

"And if she doesn't?" Luke's voice was low, almost strangled.

"We'll just have to see. There would still be a chance."

"And then what, Noah? If the kid is mine?" Luke's eyes were narrowing.

"Then…then…" The color of Noah's face was beginning to match the rising temperature underneath it. "We've got options; we'll explore them."

"I don't feel like there are options for me with this."

"Don't let Zoe take your choices away from you."

"She's not."

"Boys!" Emma yelped forcefully, swooping in like a mother bird bringing sustenance and protection to her suddenly obediently quiet chicks. "We're all…this is too much for any of us to handle right now. We're getting too emotional to talk about raising a child that might not be Luke's and moreover might not really exist…I can't count how many times someone has faked a pregnancy."

Luke thought he could see the memories churning behind his father and aunt's eyes. "She has nothing to gain from lying about this, either."

"That's…that's so, but women like that will find ways…" Ways like raping her grandson. Emma's hands were shaking. "Can we…can we please just give ourselves a moment to process this before we jump into making plans? We didn't even know that this could have happened until now. And God, just you two and Jack dealing with this, for over a month…"

"Grandma…" Luke's free hand slid across the table at the sight of tears rolling down Emma's cheeks.

"No," Emma said, flapping her hands before pressing them to her face to wipe away the lines of saltwater. "I know, I know this isn't about us, it's about you, but…you can't do this, Luke. You can't keep things like this from us. It's not healthy. You have to talk."

"Yeah…" He turned his head, catching Noah's eye and holding it. "We do."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your day," Margo said, crossing her legs.

"It's not a problem, dear," Lisa said from behind the bar, filling a wine glass. "Lakeview won't suddenly explode if I'm not in the office for ten minutes. What can I help you with?"

"I need to know some things about the Grimaldi family."

"Always the Grimaldi family," Lisa said, rubbing her temple. "If I'd have known…I would've married Eduardo anyway. What exactly do you need to know?"

"There's some sort of domestic political system with this family, that much we know, but the actual scheme of things is lost to us."

"Ah. Well, first thing that you should know is that the Maltese Grimaldi are dying out quicker than payphones. That branch started with a Grimaldi lady having an affair with a Spanish soldier, and they've tried to overcome that shame by denying any illegitimate children they have. The problem is that this policy causes a lot of infighting. Sometimes murderous infighting, as I'm sure you've found out." Lisa frowned. "As a result, Maltese Grimaldi proper comprises of four people left alive. There's Luke and Damian, of course. Then there's Damian's grandmother Antonia, and Antonia's son Clemente…Eduardo's father and Damian's uncle. Clemente's no spring chicken and can't stand the sight of human existence besides, so Damian is the de facto head of the family, meaning he's in charge of the business. Clemente can act as his proxy if he has to, though. Antonia prefers not to get involved, from what Eduardo told me."

"And what about the illegitimate family?"

"The only ones I know of are Dante and the Pinarosa family."

"And what about the Pinarosa?"

"Antonia's husband—the former head of the family—was Giuliano Grimaldi. He had an affair with…I believe her name was Lora Pinarosa. She had a son, Salvatore, whom of course Giuliano denied."

"I assume that makes him half-brother to Clemente and Damian's father?"

"Clemente and Lorenzo, yes. Salvatore went on to have his own family, who I'm assuming included that Gia girl's mother. Anna, her name was?" Margo nodded. "If Anna made a stink about her inheritance, then it's no surprise that she was murdered."

"And who among the Grimaldi was responsible for that?"

Lisa shrugged. "The case was never resolved. It could be any of them besides Luke. I don't like to think Damian did it, but after the mess with Dante…if he was threatened, he might have done it in self-defense, or as a pre-emptive strike. That of course doesn't mean he's actually responsible for her death."

"But it wouldn't be impossible to believe."

"No, I guess not," Lisa said, her frown deepening. Margo chewed her lip as she penned down Lisa's information and circled the suspicions over Anna's murderer. She looked up in time to see Jack and Riley enter the bar. She flagged them with a wave of her hand.

"Riley, this is Lisa Grimaldi," Jack said as they approached the two women. "Lisa, this is Riley Morgan. He's a special agent helping us with the case."

"Case?" Lisa glanced at Margo as she reached out her hand to shake Riley's.

"Damian is under investigation on a human trafficking charge," Margo explained. "The chain of command in the Grimaldi business might play a part in exonerating him."

"Then you're not gonna like this," Lisa said, biting her lip. "Damian checked out late last night."

"He what?" Margo shot up off her chair.

"He said he had to go where he belonged. I thought he meant the farm, because of Luke and Meg…"

"He probably used his private jet," Jack said, his face cemented into a glare. "Damn him, of course he'd make this difficult for us. We should've told him he wasn't allowed to leave…"

"He would have ignored that, anyway," Margo said, sighing. "Great. I guess we have to turn this over to the Maltese police."

"Not entirely," Riley said quickly. "I might be able to get special permission to pursue this case in Malta."

"Good. I need you to get right on that." Margo turned back to Lisa. "Did he happen to leave anything? A note?"

"Not that I know of," Lisa said, looking worried. "His room hasn't been taken yet; he might have left one behind. I'll go get the key."

"Riley, go with Lisa," Margo said. "Jack, I want to go over this with you." She held up her notepad as Riley and Lisa disappeared into the hallway. "I've got some names for you. Damian only has two relatives left in Malta, his grandmother and uncle," she tapped their names with her pen. "Uncle Clemente's the one with some say in the business. He could be the one authorizing use of Grimaldi ships in human trafficking. Lisa said he's something of a misanthrope, so it'd fit the character profile."

"And this lady?" Jack pointed to Antonia's name.

"According to Lisa, she stays out of the whole thing. Incidentally, it was her husband who spawned Salvatore with this other woman, Lora."

"What are your ideas about Salvatore?"

"There is always the possibility that he's dead and Gia doesn't know about it. You said that the grandmother hasn't even told her where she's living nowadays."

"There's a difference between a change of address and a death in the family. And he's been presumed dead since May, right? It's June fifth. More than enough time for her to find out."

"We don't have the exact chronology of events, so we can't say for sure if this is a case-breaker or not. This even being suspicious is pretty dubious, but I'll mention it to Savio when we get back to him."

"What are you thinking?"

"A lot of things." Margo re-took her seat, propped her elbow on the bar, and rested her forehead in her hand. "It wouldn't surprise me if Clemente murdered Salvatore and started up this trafficking business as a way to get Damian in trouble."

"Why would Lujayn know about Salvatore, then?"

"She very well could have just overheard the name and thought it was important." Margo rubbed both her temples and then her eyes.

Jack assessed her with a stern, sympathetic eye. "Margo, you should go home."

"Excuse me?"

"You buried your son the other day, and now you're working on a human trafficking investigation that already has two people on it, one of whom is a specialist. You don't need to be here."

"Excuse me? Who is whose boss here?"

"Who is whose friend here?" Jack continued carefully after Margo found nothing to say. "Riley's the one who'll need this information most, and I'm perfectly capable of giving it to him. He Iis/I staying with my family, after all." Jack felt a twinge in his chest as he thought of the Snyders, clustered around Luke at the kitchen table. More than once he'd stopped the clandestine therapy sessions because Luke's features suddenly seemed to lose all life and color, as if every last drop of blood in his body evaporated. He'd never seen Luke cry, but he Ihad/I seen Noah do so, and the thought of how Noah…hell, Iboth/I of them would take Luke being involved in the child's life…Jack refocused his gaze on Margo, trying to put those thoughts on a shelf until the moment was right to take them down and deal with them. "None of us are going to think less of you if you go home."

Margo's gaze was something like annoyance and relief baked together, and before that could translate to voice, Riley and Lisa descended the stairs, Riley holding a piece of paper.

"He left a letter," Riley said, holding up what under further inspection turned out to be an envelope. "For, ah…"Luciano Grimaldi"."

"That's Luke," Jack said, taking the envelope from a bemused Riley's hands. "It's sealed…he'll have to open it. Great, something else to put on his plate…" He tried to ignore the curious look on Margo's face, and instead plastered a gently victorious one on his own. "Riley and I'll take it back to the farm, then. Margo? I really think you should—"

"I'll consider it," Margo interrupted, too tired-sounding to be effectively snappish. "Thank you for your help; we'll be in touch if we need anything else," she said, turning again to Lisa.

"Be in touch whenever you hear anything," Lisa responded.

The squeak of the mattress springs was oddly comforting in its familiarity, but even that minimal consolation was taken away when Luke remembered the exact same sound from the previous night, when Noah sat next to him on the bed and told him it was okay to find out what Zoe had to say. Regret that he had consented to that seemed to be emanating off Noah's body, and that more than the entire family's numb shock had chased Luke to his bedroom.

It was not enough, however, to keep Noah at the kitchen table, as the creaking of the door told Luke. For a long moment they were still, Noah staring at Luke, Luke staring at the floor, until Luke finally worked up the resolve to look up.

"It looks like we're at an impasse about the baby."

"Can we just concentrate on you, please?" Noah shut the door, crossed the room, and took his seat next to Luke. "This bombshell was dropped on us, and you're already trying to make a decision…"

"It's not like we were totally clueless that this was a possibility."

"That doesn't make it any easier to take—" Noah stopped himself before his voice could rise. "We didn't talk about this at all. And you barely spoke to Jack about being…before we can decide anything we need to be able to think clearly."

"You don't want me involved in the kid's life."

"What I don't want is for you to suffer anymore than you already have." Noah's arms met around Luke's shoulders and he rested his temple against Luke's head. "And this is too big a decision for us to settle on right now. Not when we're both so…"

"Fucked up?"

"I was going to say upset, but that works too." Noah moved his arms, allowing them to reconnect around Luke's torso. Noah felt a rush of pain in his gut as Luke hooked his hands around Noah's arms and settled into the embrace, trusting and secure and as if he were so God damn safe there. An illusion, just like the dream of strangling Zoe for daring to place her hands on Luke.

"Stop it," Luke ordered, quietly but sternly. Noah's breathing pattern changed whenever he was reliving the moment Luke stammered out what Zoe had done to him. "That won't help anyone with anything." He shifted, turning his upper body so he could easily look Noah in the eye, and his hand went up to grasp Noah's cheek. "This isn't your fault."

Noah swallowed his refutation of the claim; it scraped the back of his throat as it settled back into his heart. "It isn't yours, either."

"What do you—"

The doorknob gently clicked its way open and light spilled onto the floor as Janet cautiously returned the outside world to them. "Hey, guys," she said softly, smiling weakly.

"Oh, Janet…" Luke felt himself deflate a little. "What's up?"

"Jack and Riley are home; they need to see you, Luke." She sighed, fidgeting. "Damian checked out of the Lakeview last night."

"He what?" Noah released Luke to allow him to stand.

"They can't find him; they think he's gone back to Malta. He left a letter for you at the hotel; you have to open it so there are no legal problems if it turns out to be evidence…"

The bed creaked; Noah stood and looped his arms protectively through Luke's. For a brief moment Luke leaned into his boyfriend, drawing from him whatever strength he thought Noah could afford to lose, and then stood on his own weight. Noah's hand slid down Luke's arm until their fingers locked their hands together, and Luke gently pulled him along as they followed Janet downstairs.

"Hey," Jack said lightly, watching as the three entered the kitchen from the stairway. Lily and Lucinda had returned as well as Jack and Riley, leading Luke to believe that his sisters, and Ethan, had been banished either to the parlor or the barn. He wondered what story they'd been told, if any; he wondered what story they'd eventually hear…

"Janet filled you in, right?" Jack continued, snapping Luke out of his reverie. He nodded, and Jack stretched out his hand, the letter trapped between his thumb and forefinger. Luke took it and forced the flap open with his finger before discarding the envelope and unfolding the piece of paper that had been inside.

""Dear Luciano"," he read aloud. ""First of all let me apologize to you, your mother, and your aunt for disappearing without warning. I suppose apologies are due for Jack, as well; he has them. I could not run the risk of being delayed from or talked out of returning to Malta. I have worked too hard and sacrificed too much in ridding Kingsley-Grimaldi of filth to have my efforts wasted, and not through my own mistakes but by being framed for something as reprehensible as slave trading. I realize I may have no right to give you an order, and it may be presumptuous to think you would even try to, but I have to insist that you obey me by not trying to follow me to Malta. We know from experience how dangerous this could turn out to be, and something similar to the incidents involving my half-brother or"…" Luke trailed for a second but forced himself to press on, "…"or Gia Pinarosa must not be allowed to happen again. I also do not exaggerate when I say there is nowhere in Malta that is safe for you. Though I go now specifically to Cominotto, the Grimaldi reach is vast and I can only assume our enemies' matches it. It is best not to involve yourself or anyone else in this matter. I hope to see you again soon; if not, then I remain, eternally, your father. Damian Grimaldi"."

Luke looked up, feeling as if his head was trying to sink into his neck. Lily gently pulled the letter from his hand and surveyed it.

"It's definitely his handwriting," she said after a moment of assessment. "It doesn't look rushed, either…I think this is genuine, in both form and content." She looked over at Jack as she handed the letter to him.

"Great, he's gotta put this on our heads, too…" Jack grumbled, roughly taking the letter.

"He doesn't…he doesn't know about Luke," Meg said, the message she left for him fresh in her mind. "I don't think he would have left if he'd known."

"He might have; he's one of the few people left to run his empire." Jack refolded the letter. "Better clue the Maltese police on what's going on…"

Lily's voice stayed Jack. "That won't help."

"Pardon? Damian's probably got the cops in his back pocket; I'm surprised he's risking not having their help."

"Interpol might keep tabs on them but the local police never involve themselves with the Grimaldi," Lily elaborated. "Grimaldi shipping has the monopoly on Maltese trade. A publicized scandal could put thousands out of work and ultimately hurt the entire economy. Damian never called the cops on Dante because they would hear the name "Grimaldi" and…well, probably just flat-out say that there's nothing they can do. It doesn't matter who's running the empire as long as there's a king."

"Then what are we supposed to do, call in UN troops?" Lucinda snarled.

"The police won't get involved until they know for certain that it's an attack on the Grimaldi by someone outside the family," Lily said. "So until then, the only official investigating that can be done would be by Riley."

"If I get permission to go to Malta," Riley amended.

"Can you get anyone else to help you?" Jack asked, turning to Riley.

Riley exhaled slowly. "I'm thinking no. Not with issues of sovereignty involved. Honestly, we'll be lucky if I get to go."

"So we're just going to cut him loose?" Meg demanded. "Let him handle it on his own?"

"Damian made that decision for us," Holden said, voice low and attempting kindliness as he wrapped his arms around Lily's waist and rested his chin on her tensed shoulder.

"I think you should inform the Maltese police anyway," Meg said, turning on her heel to face Jack. "It's insane that they won't get involved just because it's the Grimaldis."

"It couldn't hurt to let them know," Luke said. Numbness was creeping into his body like some sort of tumor; whether it was benign or malignant was difficult to parse.

"All right," Jack said, taking in the looks on Meg, Lily, and Luke's faces. "I have to go back down to the station to finish out my shift anyway; I'll make sure Interpol gets the message. If anything new comes up I'll give you guys a call."

"Thank you, Jack," Meg said, settling back from not realizing she had been leaning forward. Eliza was beginning to fuss at being clasped so tightly to her mother's chest.

Jack disappeared out the front door, Janet catching up with him to accompany her husband to the car. As soon as the door shut behind them Lily groaned and settled the entirety of her weight against Holden. "I can't believe this."

"I can," Holden said, lightly kissing her neck and then turning his head to face his son. "Luke? Dumb question, but are you okay?"

Luke exhaled, sinking down into a chair as strength left his body with air. Noah quickly moved to sit beside him. "Been though worse, I guess."

"So has Damian," Meg said, as if she were reassuring someone in addition to Luke. "He'll be fine." Eliza finally rebelled against Meg's clutch and began wailing; Meg turned away and gently bounced her to soothe her. "He'll be fine."

The house on Cominotto was a six hundred foot square cottage complete with basement and attic that Damian could remember playing in as a little boy and learning about the business in as a young man. The official Kingsley-Grimaldi offices were on Manoel Island, but here was the hidden heart of the empire.

"Uncle Clemente?"

The lights were low, the house was silent. All normal. Since the deaths of his wife and son, noise and the memories it brought were anathema to Clemente. Damian felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he sifted through what felt like a thick fog of quiet. Living in hiding for eight years had given him an almost paranoia about silence.

"Clemente? Are you here?"

No answer. Damian passed by an open door to a darkened room, feeling what he thought was a stab of fear in his side, near his intestines. It took several seconds of staring down at himself to realize that the sensation wasn't emotional, and that there was a slow yet steady stream of blood running down from where a knife was being pulled out.

The arm wrapping around his neck and dragging him was the only thing preventing him from crumpling to the floor. The door swung shut behind him, plunging him into almost complete darkness but for the half-curtained window shedding the barest of light on a human figure.

"Thanks for coming, Damian. You took the bait quite nicely."

"Who the hell…?" The point of the knife pressed against his temple.

"Is that any way to address your dear Uncle Sal?" The figure turned, allowing his old, weatherbeaten face to be seen.

"Clemente…what did you do to Clemente?"

"Quick shot to the head, a burial at sea so the cops stay none the wiser…just what you did to my Anna."

Whatever strength Damian had left in his legs abandoned him. The arm around Damian's neck tightened its hold, just barely keeping him upright as he tried to sink to his knees.

"I didn't kill your daughter, Salvatore," Damian rasped, air leaving him as grief and fear took its place.

"That's right, you didn't," Salvatore spat. "You couldn't have your godlike hands stained with a mere mortal's blood, so you hired someone to shoot her in the heart and throw her to the sharks."

"I did n—" The arm slackened and then yanked back suddenly, cutting off Damian's words.

"Did you ever wonder what it'd be like, as a father, to read that headline?" Salvatore continued. "To see pictures of your baby ripped into unrecognizable shreds? And then be told that the evidence is digesting inside some fish so there's nothing that can be done?"

Damian choked; his hands came up to claw helplessly at his captor's hold.

"Well, you won't have to listen to the police's crap because you'll be long gone by then. To Malaysia, maybe. Someplace where the Grimaldi name is for shit, where you'll be just like the rest of the sorry bastards down in the basement. But I'll be sure to send you the pictures of dear little Luciano. If they find the pieces, that is."

"You won't touch my son!" Damian lunged, but again was held fast. The tip of the knife scratched against his skin; blood trickled down the side of his face and into his ear.

"Of course I won't. Personally I've got nothing against the kid, but I do have something against you. And then I was introduced to this man who's got quite a beef with your son, and I figured, hey. If he's willing to ice the Grimaldi prince, that only helps me bring down the king."

Damian struggled, wriggling his neck and head so he could turn his face up and see them man keeping him in a chokehold. His eyes met a grin that he'd seen on Dante's face, now plastered on the visage of a stranger.

"Damian Grimaldi, I'd like you to meet Winston Mayer."