“Mr. Moretti says Orion will not eat unless you come.”

My manager’s voice trembled as he delivered the message.

I stared at the two enormous men waiting beside the black SUV.

“He’s a dog,” I whispered. “He’ll eat eventually.”

“Miss Marshall,” one of the men said, stepping forward, “Orion has already destroyed three doors, injured a handler, and refused every command since last night.”

“Then call a veterinarian.”

“We’ve called four.”

I folded my arms.

“And what exactly does your boss expect me to do?”

The man hesitated.

“Touch him.”

I should have walked away.

Instead, twenty minutes later, I was sitting inside a bulletproof SUV, heading toward the most heavily guarded mansion I had ever seen.

The Moretti estate stood behind enormous iron gates overlooking the Hudson River. Security cameras covered every entrance, and armed guards patrolled the grounds.

But what frightened me most wasn’t the security.

It was the sound coming from inside.

A long, miserable howl.

“Orion,” one of the guards muttered.

The moment the front doors opened, something enormous came charging down the marble staircase.

“GET BACK!” someone shouted.

A massive black blur raced toward me.

Before I could scream, Orion slammed his body against my legs and nearly knocked me over.

Then he began licking my hands.

“Oh, sweetheart!” I gasped, laughing nervously. “Did you miss me that much?”

The guards stood frozen.

And from the top of the staircase, Dante Moretti watched without saying a word.

He looked even more intimidating in daylight.

Black shirt. Rolled sleeves. Tattoos climbing his muscular forearms.

His gray eyes followed every movement I made.

“Leave us,” he ordered.

The guards immediately disappeared.

I swallowed.

“Look, Mr. Moretti, I’m happy your dog likes me, but I really need my job.”

“How much do you earn?”

I blinked.

“What?”

“At the restaurant.”

“That’s none of your business.”

Something shifted in his expression.

Apparently, nobody had ever told Dante Moretti that before.

“Three thousand dollars a week,” he said.

My mouth fell open.

“Excuse me?”

“Come here every afternoon. Spend two hours with Orion. Three thousand dollars a week.”

I stared at him.

“For petting your dog?”

“For keeping him calm.”

I looked down.

Orion had placed one enormous paw on my shoe.

“Why me?”

Dante’s expression hardened.

“That’s what I intend to find out.”

Before I could respond, an older man entered the room.

He wore a white medical coat and carried a leather briefcase.

“Mr. Moretti,” he said urgently, “we have a problem.”

Dante glanced toward him.

“Speak.”

“The examination results came back.”

The doctor’s eyes moved toward Orion.

Then toward me.

“The dog isn’t simply attached to her.”

Dante went completely still.

“What are you saying?”

The doctor lowered his voice.

“Orion recognizes something.”

My stomach tightened.

“Recognizes what?”

The doctor opened his briefcase and removed an old photograph.

It showed a smiling young woman standing beside a black puppy.

The puppy looked exactly like Orion.

But the woman…

My breath caught.

She had my mother’s eyes.

My mother’s smile.

And around her neck was the same silver necklace I had inherited when my mother disappeared eighteen years earlier.

“Where did you get that?” I whispered.

Dante’s gaze snapped toward me.

“You know this woman?”

My hands began shaking.

“That’s my mother.”

The room fell silent.

Dante slowly reached for the photograph.

Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

“Olivia, that woman wasn’t your mother.”

I stepped backward.

“What?”

His voice dropped.

“She was my sister.”

And before I could understand what he meant, Orion suddenly began growling at the mansion’s front doors.

A security alarm sounded.

One of Dante’s guards rushed inside.

“Boss! Someone just delivered a package.”

Dante frowned.

“From whom?”

The guard’s face had gone pale.

“There’s no sender.”

He hesitated.

“But there’s a message written on the box.”

“What message?”

The guard looked directly at me.

“THE GIRL HAS FINALLY COME HOME.”

Then, from inside the sealed package, something began ticking.