SERENA POV
"She's gone," Gatti said in the hallway, his voice booming with a triumphant edge that cut through the heavy silence of the east wing.
I kept walking, my footsteps hollow and mechanical against the marble.
"Week three," Ferraro added, his tone dripping with mocking satisfaction. "I gave her a month. I was being generous. Turns out, she didn't even have the spine to last thirty days before selling us out."
I turned the corner, their laughter fading into a dull, ugly hum. I reached the wall and slammed my hand against the cold stone, leaning my forehead against it. I stood there for exactly five seconds, forcing the air into my lungs.
"Five seconds," I whispered to the stone. "That's all you get to be weak."
I forced my breathing to slow. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five."
Then
