The Master Key to Skylight

Chapter 2 The Necklace She Wanted

The next night, I stood in a corner of the Russo dining hall in a black pantsuit.

Alessandro introduced me to the elders as Serena Bell, the family’s “Chief Technical Officer.” The title existed only for that dinner.

Several of them recognized me from funerals, negotiations, and emergency meetings. For seven years, they had managed not to ask why I was always behind Alessandro.

Isabella wore white and kept both hands around Alessandro’s arm. Whenever an elder looked her way, she smiled and lowered her eyes.

Alessandro smiled back every time.

One of the older capos, Uncle Antonio, caught my eye. “Alessandro.” He waited until the nearest conversations stopped.

“Serena has been your shadow for so long. We thought she might join us at this table one day.”

“Uncle.” Alessandro didn’t raise his voice, but Antonio stopped. “She is my most valuable *asset*. Don’t confuse her function with her station.”

Antonio looked into his wine. A fork scraped a plate farther down the table, then stopped. Everyone else found something on the table worth studying.

Later, Isabella came over with a champagne flute in one hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you properly, Serena. Alessandro says the family’s digital security is your life’s work. That must take up all your time.”

She noticed the silver feather at my throat and reached for it. I caught her wrist before her nails touched the metal.

“That’s beautiful,” she said. “So unusual.”

The feather was hardened alloy wrapped around a custom microdrive. It carried the keys to Alessandro’s offshore accounts, encrypted ledgers, and political files.

He had given it to me years ago and called it trust.

“Darling.” She turned toward Alessandro. “Could I have Serena’s necklace? It could be a symbol of her loyalty to our new family.”

Alessandro held out his hand to me.

“Serena. Take it off. Give it to Isabella. Show your new lady your respect.”

I opened the clasp and laid the feather across his palm. He passed it to Isabella without looking at it.

She fastened it around her neck and turned to the gilded mirror. “It looks better on me, don’t you think?”

The night before, I had changed the microdrive’s protocols. It still opened every ledger Alessandro owned and authenticated the self-destruct sequence inside Skylight.

The program needed both pieces: the feather in Isabella’s possession and the command from my watch.

Isabella adjusted the feather against her white dress. Beneath my cuff, the watch rested against my pulse, waiting for my command.