Erasing Serena Rossi

Chapter 4 Erasing the Donna

The helicopter blades lashed my hair across my face. I stood on the rooftop helipad with the city below me and a hardened terminal in my hand.

One command waited on the screen.

`EXECUTE: GHOST_PROTOCOL`

The 48-hour countdown had reached zero. Gabriel's empire ran on my code, my access, and seven years of work he claimed as his own. I placed my finger on the enter key.

I pressed the key.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Across the city, the lights in Rossi Tower flickered twice and went dark.

Green status lines filled my terminal.

`> ROSSI_OFFSHORE_ASSETS: FROZEN`

`> ENCRYPTED_LEDGERS: CORRUPTED`

`> SECURITY_FIREWALLS: DECOMMISSIONED`

`> ANONYMIZED_EVIDENCE_PACKAGE: DELIVERED (CONFIRMED)`

The Rossi network had stopped. The accounts were frozen, the ledgers unusable, the firewalls down, and the evidence was already in federal hands.

I climbed into the waiting helicopter. Once we cleared the roof, I snapped the burner phone's SIM card in half and dropped both pieces into the dark below. I kept my eyes ahead as the city fell away.

I set the terminal, its Rossi status lines dead, on the seat beside me.

(Gabriel's POV)

I sat beside the fire in Mia's penthouse, turning a glass of amber liquor in my hand. She curled against me on the sofa with one hand over her stomach.

"When we have the boy," she murmured, "we’ll have to build a new wing on the estate. For the nursery."

"We'll build him a castle if he wants one." Serena would remain the respected Donna who managed the family image. Mia would give me heat, passion, and a son.

Someone hammered on the door.

Before I could demand an explanation, my butler, Francesco, burst in. Sweat shone on his pale face. I had seen him face assassins with steadier hands.

"Don Rossi! Forgive me." He stopped to catch his breath.

"What is it?" I snapped, sitting up straight. "Has the house been compromised?"

"Worse. It's the Donna. She's gone."

I stared at him, uncomprehending. "Gone where? To her family's?"

"No, Don. Gone. Her rooms are empty, and her belongings are burned in the fireplace." He swallowed.

"The entire network is down. The accounts are frozen. We're blind, locked out of everything. We also received a priority one flag from our contact inside the Bureau. The FBI is mobilizing for a raid."

The glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the marble.

Serena had left. The accounts were frozen. The FBI was coming.

The entire empire ran on the systems she maintained, and I had no way into them without her.

I shoved Mia aside, ignored her startled cry, and sprinted for the door.

The armored Maybach ran red lights all the way to the estate. I could hear my pulse over the engine.

I burst into our suite. No gardenia or sandalwood remained in the air. Even her scent had been scrubbed from the rooms.

I ripped open her closets. Empty. The vanity had been wiped clean, and her side of the bed was cold.

I lunged for the safe and missed one digit of the code before getting it open. The shelves inside were bare.

Except for one thing.

The black velvet ring box sat in the center.

My hand shook as I opened it. The Donna's black diamond lay beside a white card.

Serena's handwriting covered one line.

*Privileges revoked. Good luck with the heir.*

My phone rang again and again. My consigliere, my capos, and our bankers in Zurich filled the screen.

I ignored every call and opened Serena's contact. Her wedding-day photograph filled the screen. I pressed dial and held the phone to my ear.

An automated voice answered.

"The number you have dialed is no longer in service."

She had left after taking every key with her. Around me, the phones kept ringing and the safe stayed empty.