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I open my mouth to scream for help, but Lukas rushes forward and clamps his hand around my mouth. He might not be the most macho of men, but compared to me, he might as well be superhuman. I can barely breathe, let alone speak.

“Don’t scream, Mary,” he says softly. “Please.”

“She knows. Damn it, Lukas, she knows .”

“Quiet,” Lukas hisses. “What did you hear, Mary?”

He pulls his hand away, and I swallow nervously. My first instinct is to say that I heard nothing, but that’s not believable. I don’t have to tell them everything, though.

“I heard the clocks go off, and I got up to make myself some coffee. I was awake after that, so I thought I would come downstairs to walk around for a bit. I used the stairs because I didn’t want to wake Sophie and Elena.”

“Bullshit,” Margot snaps. “Those clocks are louder than the elevator.”

“And you’re louder than a rock concert!” Lukas scolds. To me, he asks, “What did you hear when you came down here?”

“Nothing. I mean. I heard you two talking, but I didn’t hear what you were saying. I don’t know anything.”

“Bullshit again,” Margot replies in a marginally quieter voice than before. “She must know something, or she wouldn’t be so afraid right now.”

“Well, you pulled me through the door, and now you’re acting violent,” I explain. “Of course I’m afraid.”

“You know that we’re the thieves, at least,” Margot challenges.

Lukas rolls his eyes and looks incredulously at her. “Well, she knows now .”

“Oh, don’t be a fool. We’re dressed like ninjas. She’s not that stupid.”

Why, thank you, Margot. “I didn’t see you take anything. I’m not going to tell a soul.”

Margot laughs. “You can’t possibly think we’re that stupid.”

“Who were you calling?” Lukas asks.

“I wasn’t calling anyone.”

Margot’s eyes widen. “No, you weren’t. You were spying on us! You bitch, that’s what you were doing. You were videotaping us, and you were going to send that to the police. Weren’t you!”

“No! I swear I wasn’t!”

“I don’t believe you!”

“We can’t stay here,” Lukas says. “Just in case, we need to leave.”

“We can’t leave her here.”

“I’m not going to kill her, Margot.”

“Then I will!” she cries. “Lukas, think about this! Think about your son!”

“I am thinking about him! This is Sophie’s governess. I can’t kill her.”

“He’ll never know! And you’ll stay out of jail.”

“Enough! We’re not murderers!” He runs his hands through his hair. “I can get her visa revoked. I have contacts who can do that.”

“Oh, so now you’re a criminal overlord?” Margot scoffs.

“I’m a man who most people still believe is wealthy. That counts for something.”

“Well, whoop de do. I say we take her somewhere and make sure she can never talk again.”

“For the last time, no.”

“She can still talk if she’s in another country.”

Lukas’s shoulders slump. He brings his hands to the top of his head. “Damn it. God damn it.”

My knees begin to tremble. “I won’t tell a soul,” I promise. “I won’t tell anyone. You don’t need to do this.”

“Shut up! You meddling whore!”

Lukas shakes his head. He won’t look at me. Ice runs down my spine. I need to keep them talking. I can’t call for help, or they might try to kill me now, and anyway, I don’t want Elena and Sophie in danger. But if I can distract them long enough, maybe I can get past them to the door and call for help when I’m outside.

I lift my hands and back away a little. As I expect, Margot immediately moves to cut me off. This means the gap between her and Lukas widens.

“Why are you doing this, Margot? You could just come clean. Your family’s sins aren’t your own.”

“So you did hear!” she crows.

“I heard something about German gold. I assume that your ancestors obtained ill-gotten gains due to connections with Nazis.”

“My great-grandfather stole gold from the Third Reich’s treasury when the war ended. He used it to establish our business empire.”

I restrain myself from acting horrified at the admission. I need to be careful to save my own life. “Well, no one would blame you for stealing from that regime! They were evil!”

“They would blame us for not immediately giving it to the Jewish people. You know how sensitive people are about those things.”

You mean the attempted genocide of their entire race? Yes, that tends to upset people.

“They’ll ruin me,” Margot said. “And I can’t afford that right now. I’m purchasing the assets of an Israeli company that needs our manufacturing capacity. They don’t have warehouses, but they have liquid assets, which will do very nicely to cover up our family’s debts. I fear my father’s ambitions outstripped his business sense. I need this money.”

I frown. “What about the gold?”

"The gold is eighty years old, idiot! It's gone! My grandfather was a fool, and my father was a drunk, and they left me with barely enough to keep the company afloat. Which I did very well up until the pandemic ruined the economy. Now, I'm nearly bankrupt, and this is my last chance! And I’m taking it . No matter what.”

She moves toward me. Lukas remains where he is, head hanging low, shoulders slumped. I wait until Margot is close, then lunge forward. I catch her by surprise and shove her backwards into a clock. Both her and the clock fall to the floor, and I rush past her for the front door.

Lukas swipes at me, but I avoid him. I rush for the door and try to push it open, but it’s locked. I curse and look for the lock, but it’s a key-operated lock even from the inside.

My heart sinks. I’m trapped here.

Maybe I can escape to the elevator and press the emergency stop button. I can wait there until the fire department arrives. Margot and Lukas will probably get away, but I can survive and report them after.

I turn around, and Lukas drives his fist into my gut. I gasp and drop to the ground, retching. Pain rolls through me in deep, throbbing waves, consuming all of my senses and nearly causing me to lose consciousness.

“What are you waiting for?” Margot calls. “Finish it!”

Lukas looks at me with grief and guilt in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mary.”

He lifts his boot up high. I bring my hands up in front of my face and open my mouth to scream.

Then the door shatters. Glass peppers me, and I bring my hands down and turn over to keep it from getting into my eyes.

“On the ground!” Claudia calls. “Now!”

Margot shrieks, and I hear footfalls as she tries to run. Boots thud around me, and a few seconds later, Margot shrieks again. “No! All right! All right, I surrender ! Please don’t hurt me!”

Lukas speaks then. “I’m sorry, Mary. I’m truly sorry. I was just trying to do what’s best for my son.”

I lift my eyes and see him on the ground with his limbs spread. A moment later, Claudia kneels on him, causing him to wince. She handcuffs him and looks at me with concern. “Are you all right, Mary?”

I can’t help it. I laugh at that. I know I look crazy, but for Heave’s sake, what a foolish question!

A smile plays across her lips, but she manages to keep her voice professional and clarifies, “Are you injured?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t believe I’m injured.”

“You’re bleeding a little,” she informs me. “Hold on. I’ll take a look at you.”

She stands and says to Lukas. “If you’re not in this exact position when I turn around, things will go much harder for you. Do you understand?”

He nods. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.”

Claudia bends down and helps me to my feet. She leans me against the front desk and says, “Sit here. Catch your breath. Let me see your hands.”

She takes my hands, and I realize that I am bleeding. A few shards of glass have sliced the back of my hands open. There isn’t a lot of blood, but it’s still shocking to see.

“Superficial cuts,” Claudia informs me. “You’re all right. Just rest for a moment.”

Two police officers come into the foyer, dragging Margot with them. The socialite is muttering darkly and casts a glare at Lukas. “You weak bastard. You should have killed her the moment you saw her.”

“Making criminal threats,” one of the police officers notes drily. “That’s another charge for you, Miss Keller. Would you like to keep going?”

I recognize the voice as Inspector Moreau. I catch his eye and smile gratefully. He gives me his trademark nod, then puts Margot on the ground next to Lukas.

The elevator door opens. The police officers and Claudia spin around and draw their weapons. Elena comes walking out and cries out when she sees the mess. “What on Earth… Mary, are you all right?”

“I’m all right,” I call back. “I found your thieves.”

Elena’s eyes fall to Lukas and Margot. Her eyes widen. “Lukas? My God. What about your son?”

Lukas lowers her eyes and says nothing. Margot turns into a witch. She snarls, “Her family is Nazi too! Adrien Rousseau was a spy! He sold intelligence to the Nazis and tried to betray Switzerland!”

Elena looks at Margot. She pales, and her mouth drops open. But then she closes it, and her eyes harden. She squares her shoulders and says, "Yes. What you say is true. But I will no longer hide from my past." She meets my eyes. "Thank you, Mary, for your advice, but you were wrong. The past is not to be forgotten, no matter how painful. It is to be remembered, darkness and all."

She looks back at Lukas and shakes her head. “I will do what I can for Luc.”

Lukas slumps with relief. "Thank you, Elena. I don't deserve it, but thank you."

“No, you don’t,” she replied. “And Luc doesn’t deserve to be in this position. But I’ll do what I can.”

The other elevator opens, and Sophie steps out. “Grandma? Is everything all right?” She sees the scene, and her eyes widen.

Elena pulls her into her arms and kisses her forehead. “It is now, Sophie.”

The police haul Margot and Lukas to their feet and drag them outside. Margot continues to spit oaths while Lukas only hangs his head.

Claudia helps me to my feet, and a moment later, Sophie barrels into me, holding me tightly. “Are you all right, Mary?”

“Yes,” I tell her. I smile wryly. “I am now.”

She giggles and squeezes even tighter. I pick her up and return the favor. “It’s all right now.”