Erasing Serena Rossi

Chapter 2 The Final Master Key

Champagne moved through the grand ballroom on silver trays. Our most powerful allies and their wives watched Gabriel and me accept congratulations beneath the chandeliers.

To them, the Don and his Donna still looked solid.

Their confidence rested on accounts, security, and routines I had built.

While Gabriel worked the room, I slipped into my private security station and opened the estate's real-time logistics.

Vehicle Designation: Armored Maybach 02.

Status: Reassigned.

Destination: East-side Penthouse. Mia’s gilded cage.

Half of my security detail was gone. Gabriel had sent the high-risk extraction team to protect Mia.

The same car and the same team had rushed me to the emergency room during my second miscarriage. I could still hear its siren and remember my blood on the seat.

Now Maybach 02 waited outside Mia's penthouse.

I saved the reassignment log and returned to the party.

Gabriel raised his glass as I stepped back into the ballroom. He found me across the room and gave me the look our guests expected.

"To my wife," he announced. "My Serena. The bedrock of our family. The keystone of my empire. Seven years, and every day you are the reason this family stands strong. Irreplaceable."

Applause rolled through the room. I raised my glass and held his gaze. *Keystone.* Then I touched my glass to his.

Later, I presented him with my gift. It was a custom-made tablet, its casing forged from the same titanium as his favorite pistol.

"For us, darling. A place to store our future. A new digital vault, completely off-grid. Only we will have access."

He took the tablet with both hands and admired the titanium casing while I opened the setup page for the last access point I needed.

"It requires the highest level of biometric security," I said as I opened the setup page. "For our legacy."

He pressed his thumb to the scanner, his unique print captured and logged. Then he leaned in, and the device scanned his iris, mapping the intricate patterns of his eye.

The screen accepted both scans. Gabriel had given me the final master key while believing I was locking his money away.

His suit pocket vibrated in the short pattern assigned to Mia.

He checked the screen. For a second, he looked annoyed. By the time he faced me again, concern had replaced it.

"Trouble at the docks," he murmured, leaning in to kiss my cheek. "An unscheduled shipment. I have to go, my love. I am so sorry."

"Family business always comes first." I straightened his tie. "Go. I will handle things here."

He squeezed my hand and strode out of the ballroom, letting everyone assume the Don had been called away to protect his empire.

The moment the doors swung shut behind him, I turned my back on the party.

At the secure house phone down the corridor, I pressed the only number on its speed dial. The party continued behind the closed doors.

"He's gone. Begin the final wipe."