Elena's POV

At ten o'clock the next morning, the hinges of my office door let out a dry, metallic screech as it was pushed open.

Serena strutted in, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor.

She was accompanied by Gabriel's chief enforcer, a man with a face full of scars.

On the lapel of her designer jacket, she wore a gold-trimmed "Capo badge."

She crossed her arms and swept her gaze across my command center, a smug expression on her face.

"Gabriel sent me to get the S-Class master drive."

I feigned indifference and pulled open my desk drawer.

I took out the silver hard drive and casually tossed it onto the glass desk. It slid across the surface, coming to a stop near her hand.

Serena snatched it up, clutching it to her chest like a trophy.

"Gabriel is going to announce my promotion to underboss tomorrow."

She leaned over the desk, a venomous smile curling on her lips.

"Once the casino alliance is signed, he'll also announce our marriage."

I leaned back in my chair, pressing my fingertips together lightly.

"Assuming you live to see that day."

Serena's smile faltered for a second, but she quickly recovered, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Gabriel has already given me this headquarters."

She pointed toward the door. "Pack your things and get out of my office."

I stood up without saying a word.

My finger grazed the edge of the keyboard, my pinky pressing a hidden macro key—a silent trigger.

I pulled a foldable cardboard box from under my desk and began packing my personal weapons.

I placed my custom Glock, my tactical knife, and several burner phones into the box.

Serena rolled her eyes, turned around, and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hurry up," she snapped, leaving her enforcer to watch me pack.

The terminal screen behind me flickered. Days ago, I had already encrypted and packaged the real master roster—the very lifeblood of the family organization.

I had transferred the authentic files onto a micro-drive smaller than a fingernail, hiding it in a secret pocket inside my boot.

The macro I had just triggered launched a delayed replacement protocol, gradually overwriting the gang's servers with dummy data. To an amateur, everything looked normal, but in reality, it was a ticking time bomb.

It wasn't until I picked up the box that Serena finally walked out of the office, taking the enforcer with her to inspect the rest of the floor.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of the command center, the heavy box in my arms.

Gabriel was walking down the hallway with Serena, his hand resting gently on her waist.

When he saw me, a look of disgust instantly crossed his face. As he stopped in front of me, he used his shoulder to block my path.

"Go to the holding cell in the basement, Elena."

He crossed his arms, trying to dominate me with his posture.

"You stay there and behave until I decide what to do with you."

I didn't stop walking. I slammed my shoulder hard into his chest, making him stumble.

Gabriel roared, "Elena, get back here!"

I didn't care in the slightest.

I just wanted to see how he would beg me when the time came!