The gathered group huddled close together against an unseasonably cold August wind. The air was heavy with moisture and sea spray as the mourners bowed their heads in silent prayer. The canopy giving the group meager shelter, snapped audibly in the breeze. The group seemed gathered around and behind a lone female figure, standing resolutely against the wind, her demure black dress seemingly at odds with her lithe figure.

Gabriella Rossiello stood mute in the wet august wind, oblivious to her surroundings. The priest’s prayers and the murmured responses required of the service blended with the whistle of the wind and became a mind-numbing drone. The shock of her father’s death still had not faded from the young woman’s mind.

After her mother’s death, close to 10 years ago, Gabriella and her father, Giordanno, had become inseparable. With no one else to turn, father and daughter had turned to each other for solace. Annalise Rossiello had burned a bright path through their lives with her vivacity and beauty and their lives were poorer for her loss. Seeking to keep her alive in their shared love, they wove the bonds of family tightly between themselves.

Gabriella felt alone for the first time in her life. She had walked through the last three days as if in a dream. Even now, after watching her father closed into the beautifully wrought titanium coffin and lowered into the ground, she could not come to terms with her loss.

It was not until three days after the funeral, at the reading of her father’s will that reality came crashing into focus for the young socialite. As the attorney coldly and professionally tallied up her father’s, now her, net worth, it finally dawned on her that he was not coming back. This was not one of his business junkets or pleasure trips to one of the several ‘summer homes’. Everything was now hers and she would have gladly given it all away to have one more hour with the father she adored.

Life, it seems, is evil and unrelenting. The kind of foe that would gladly kick a blind man while he was groveling on the ground. After the crushing realization that she was now utterly alone in this world had robbed her of her cheer, life conspired to attempt to drag her further into hell.

As she was leaving the attorney’s office, broken and despairing, two members of Interpol and a local Polizia captain intercepted Gabriella. With a brusqueness that was unknown to the pampered young woman, she was ushered into a waiting car and whisked off to a dingy government building. The next two hours so thoroughly devastated the grieving young woman that she had to be sedated.

Only hours after facing the reality of her father’s death, Gabriella was forced to listen as a criminal case was laid out against her father. They laid out an alleged involvement in several organized crime syndicates across Europe and extending even into the United States. All of her father’s assets and accounts were frozen pending investigation. To add insult to injury, she was informed that the ‘accident’ that killed her father looked deliberately set and his death was being ruled a homicide.

Dazed, distraught and drugged, Gabriella was escorted home where she collapsed for three days. The household staff worried incessantly. She did not eat; drink or even acknowledge anyone’s presence. The large seaside house, the only residence not barred to her during the investigation, was haunted in the still of the night by her faint heart wrenching sobs.

The fourth day dawned and it seemed as if Gabriella had never seen a more perfect morning. Sometime in the night, she had found direction and purpose. She knew her father had many faults, but being a criminal was not one of them. She had little faith that the police would exonerate her father and was determined not to let her family’s honor be ruined in some politician’s search for a scapegoat.

Furthermore, she had plans for her inheritance. If the captain had been right, and her father’s death was not an accident, then someone would pay. Gabriella had no illusions about what it would take. A large amount of her resources and personal dedication would be needed to bring her father’s killers to justice.

With limited resources and allies, Gabriella struggled. Her life up to recent events had not prepared her for the task ahead. It was only her burning desire for justice and the need to believe that her father is innocent of the charges laid against him that kept her going.

Born a latent mentalist, her powers began to develop and express themselves at puberty. Unfortunately, the first several expressions nearly drove the girl mad. She was with her parents on safari in Africa. Both Gabriella and her mother were stricken with an unspecified viral infection. Dubbed a jungle fever, both women lay near death for weeks. High fever and dehydration caused hallucination, dizziness and nausea. Coupled with fever dreams, Gabriella’s telepathy kicked in and she started hearing voices in her head. For weeks, the delusional child frightened her caregivers, talking and answering people not present. The natives thought she was possessed, even claiming that her demons were bringing the sickness onto them.

When the fever finally broke, Gabriella recovered swiftly. Unfortunately, Annalise never fully did. The trauma of her first experiences with her abilities, the depression of her mother’s death, and the physical side effects of her powers caused her to pretend they did not exist.

These abilities were what she drew on now. Several months passed as she experimented and explored, occasionally heading out to the streets for practical experience. As she grew more adept at using her abilities, her thoughts turned more and more to clearing her father’s name. Unsure of where to start, dismissed by the police, Gabriella nearly succumbed to despair. It was not until she chanced upon an article commemorating the fire at the Dawnstar’s Venice headquarters that hope dawned again.

Gabriella smiled briefly as images of a beautiful young man with long green hair flashed through her mind. Adrian Jakmanni. The sensuous Slipknot. She giggled, as she recalled his reaction the first time she had called him that. Adrian had been her only real falling out with her father.

She had met him at a club. Some underground Goth club that a friend had drug her to. Not her usual scene, Gabriella usually preferred the very public and fashionable nightclubs and was prepared to be bored and uncomfortably conspicuous. Instead, she found herself bedazzled, bewitched and envied. Her reprieve issued by Adrian. His pale skin, long sensuous hair and sheer physical beauty had instantly captivated her, along with every other woman in the place.

When he came to her and asked her to dance, every heart but hers broke. Hers had beat so fast she thought it would break out of her chest. She later learned it was the fact that she did not belong in the crowd that had drew him to her. Possessing a slightly twisted sense of humor, Adrian had delighted in causing the regular crowd to envy this newcomer.

What neither expected was the connection that flared into intense attraction and chemistry. Much to her father’s dismay, and partially because of it, their affair lasted a glorious 6 weeks during one of the most beautiful and memorable summers of her young life. To her father’s relief, like most fires, the one between them flared bright and burnt itself out quickly. Lacking more than a superficial compatibility, the two quickly became bored with one another and agreed to go their separate ways.

While they had only minimally stayed in touch, Gabriella felt sure that Adrian would know how to help her in her quest. If he could not help, then at least he could point her in the right direction. She was unsure of how to contact him, after all, it had been 3 years since they’d spoken, shortly before the team had been disbanded by their government supporters. Her few inquiries into how to reach Adrian or any of the former Dawnstars brought her to the attention of the Ziani Group.

Further Background Information:

The Rossiello family business started as a small plot of land gifted to the head of the family that used to grow olives to supplement the small fishing industry of the area. Time, familial dedication, innovative and pioneering advancements in growing techniques saw this small olive grove grow to one of the Province’s largest and best known. In the 1800’s, the family branched out to include several vineyards to support the growing wine making industry. The next logical step for the Rossiello family was to move to exporting their already famous products. This proved moderately successful and the business passed from generation to generation with steady growth. Eventually expanding to importing as well as exporting, the Rossiello Empire began to grow exponentially. Soon every port along the Mediterranean Sea had an office, dock and warehouse.

Giordano Rossiello was the last scion of this venerable and wealthy family. In 1969, listed at 23 as one of Europe’s five wealthiest bachelors, Giordano was the consumate jet-setting playboy. The family business that had such humble beginnings had grown to be a self-sustaining corporate entity, giving it’s founding family virtually unlimited wealth and freedom and Giordano took full advantage of it. A frequent traveler, he maintained residences in Monte Carlo, Venice, Paris, New York and Beverly Hills.

For ten years Giordano Rossiello held the title of the world’s most eligible bachelor. That was until a striking pair of blue eyes captured his heart and soul.

Little did Annalise Dupre expect to find the love of her life when she agreed to accompany her father to the charity event. The daughter of a French diplomat, Annalise had become accustomed, even jaded to these events from a young age and had expected to pass the evening bored to tears. Her first sight of the dashing heir to the Rossiello empire changed all of that. His presence, charm, rugged good looks and vivacity lent a freshness to the stuffy atmosphere of an event that had changed little in the 50 years of it’s history.

Gabriella was figuratively born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The only child of a fantastically wealthy couple, she grew up wanting for nothing; attention, money, love nothing. Remarkably adjusted for that environment, Gabriella still possesses a wilful nature. She knows what she wants and she damn well will get it.

Gabriella was extremely close to her father and his death was deeply shocking to her. The subsequent revelations about the criminal investigation, the freezing of her fathers’ (now hers) assets and the fact that his death could have been murder, almost drove her over the edge. It was only her love for him and the sense of family honor he had bestowed in her that kept her from the brink. She is driven now to right the wrongs of his death. While haunted by his death, she is dedicated to proving his innocence and bringing his killers to justice.

"For your information, Adrian Jakmanni, despite my personal interest and emotions, this is about justice not revenge."

A burgeoning telepath and latent psionic, Gabriella’s powers were warped by the environment in which they first expressed themselves. Sick, burning with fever, dizzy beyond ability to withstand, Gabriella developed the ability to induce Vertigo in others with varying effect. She has learned to channel this ability in ways from damaging to simply incapacitating by making her targets so dizzy they cannot move. She also has some telepathic abilities. However, each use causes nausea and dizziness in her and the recipient so she infrequently uses this skill.

Tall, lithe, and beautiful are just a few of the adjectives used to describe this one time socialite. Her long dark brown hair and contrasting hazel eyes have often been her most effective weapon in many social scenes. Used to silks and designer labels, she finds her now diminished wardrobe a challenge, but still manages to dress fashionably.

Her costume, when she operates in one, is a fantastic work of art. The skintight suit is made to shimmer, often changing hues with the light. Crazy, non-symmetrical patterns adorn every inch of it, often making the viewer dizzy when she is in motion.