Laurel P.O.V
The night Paris glittered the most...was the same night we ruined our lives.
I remember Sophie sprawled across the velvet couch in our rented penthouse,laughing so hard she spilled champagne on the marble floor.Scarlett danced barefoot on the glass table,bottles rattling with each movement while Sally posed by the balcony railing like a queen overlooking her kingdom.
And me?
I stood by the window,watching the city lights flicker like they were mocking us-mocking how stupidly fearless we were.
Bundles of money-his money-were scattered everywhere like confetti. Richardo's money.The devil we thought was just another wealthy fool.
We shouldn't have been that relaxed.We shouldn't have been that proud.
But we were.
Sally opened the duffel bag again and poured out another wave of hundred-euro bills onto the floor.
"We did it,bitches!" She screamed,her voice was sharp with hysteria.
"Paris has nothing on us!" Scarlett added.
We were prostitutes who never slept with men.We only sold illusions.Beauty, charm, lies-those were our weapons. We lured, flirted, pretended...and vanished with their money before they could touch us.
We had done it a dozen times.Rich men.Lonely men.Married men.Every one of them cursed us after falling for our game.
We thought Richardo was no different. Just another wallet to empty.
Then Sally's phone rang.
An unknown caller lit up the screen like a warning from hell itself:
We all froze.
Sally,drunk and reckless,answered with a wide grin.She put him on speaker.
But then,Richardo's voice slithered out,cold,venom-filled:
"Return my money in 24 hours...or I'll return for your lives"
Sophie burst into laughter.
"Please,like we haven't heard that before"
Scarlett rolled her eyes dramatically.
"They all say the same thing when their egos get hurt"
"Block him,Sally!" I hissed,my stomach twisting for reasons I didn't understand.
But Sally waved me off and threw back a shot instead.She danced while he was still on the call.
"You talk too much for a man who got played" She taunted.
He didn't shout.
He didn't insult her.
He just breathed...slowly.
Then said one sentence that made the air in the room shift:
"You won't see me coming...until you're begging for your last breath"
Sally hung up.
Scarlett laughed.
Sophie laughed.
Even Sally laughed.
I didn't.
Because for the first time,a threat didn't feel like a joke.It felt like a countdown.
And yet...we kept partying.We spent his money like it was the last day on earth and maybe it was.
We drank.
We danced.
We bought clothes worth fortunes.
We celebrated like the world owed us something.
We chose ignorance.
We chose stupidity.
We chose death...
...we just didn't know it yet.
The phone rang again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, more furious.
Each time, more chilling.
Sally silenced the phone.
Scarlett blocked his number.
Sophie called him "desperate"
But I watched the screen blink red in the dark and something inside me whispered:
One day...he's going to make us pay for this.
And that day...came faster than we ever imagined.
Katy P.O.V
I laid sprawled across my king-sized bed,my legs were tangled in the silk sheets,my phone pressed loosely to my ear as I stared at the ceiling.I was exhausted from typing on my laptop for so long,trying to find evidence against James Bron,my makeup was still on,my jewelry discarded carelessly across the bedside table.The room smelled faintly of rose perfume and lavender candles.
Then my phone vibrated.It was Donald.
My secretary.
I sighed and answered.
"What is it,Donald? It's midnight"
His voice came through shaky…too shaky.
"Miss Katy…you need to hear this"
I frowned. "About what?"
"About your fiancé"
A pause.
"About James Bron"
My brows pulled together. "What about him?"
Another shaky breath.
Then the words that froze my bloodstream—
"James Bron is not who he says he is.His real identity is Richardo Alterdo"
I sat up immediately,my heart slamming into my ribs.
"That's impossible" I whispered. "You must be mistaken"
"I'm not" Donald pushed with his voice trembling. "I...I found his real file.His fingerprints match.His face. Everything"
"No" I shook my head. "Richardo is a businessman.A well-known investor.My fiancé.You're confusing him with that criminal"
"Miss Katy,listen to me—please" He inhaled sharply.
"Richardo Alterdo is one of Italy's most feared underground figures.He was accused of multiple crimes including—"
He listed them one by one.
"—money laundering ten years ago…"
"—leading a private assassination ring…"
"—illegal arms trafficking…"
"—drug cartel funding…"
"—suspected involvement in seventeen disappearances…"
"—two confirmed murders…"
"—and a nationwide manhunt in 2017 that he escaped from"
My heart felt like it dropped into my stomach.
No.
No,this couldn't be true.
My Richardo—
my soft-spoken, gentle, protective Richardo—
could not be that monster from the news archives.
"Donald,stop" I snapped. "You're stressing over nothing.Richardo is kind.He's never even raised his voice at me.He can't be this…the James you're describing"
"Miss Katy—"
But then…
A voice drifted through my room from behind me.
So calm,deep and familiar.
"Katy"
I froze.
Slowly,my head turned toward the doorway.
There he stood.
Richardo.
James.
Or whoever he truly was.
Leaning against the doorframe…hands in his pockets…watching me with eyes that held storms.
I swallowed hard.
I didn't even hear him come into my penthouse.How long had he been standing there?
"Miss Katy?" Donald's voice pressed into the phone. "Are you alone? Miss Katy? Miss Katy—"
But I didn't get to answer.
Richardo —James—whatever name belonged to him—fixed his cold gaze on the phone and spoke—
"Hang up"
And Donald did.
The line went dead instantly.
My breath hitched.
Richardo walked toward me slowly,his steps silent and predatory like a shadow gliding across the floor.His presence filled the entire room,intoxicating and terrifying at the same time.
He climbed onto the bed—
over me,his hands braced on either side of my head.
"Katy" He murmured,lowering his face to mine. "Why do you look so scared,amore?"
I forced a weak smile. "You startled me…that's all"
He studied me closely,his lips brushing my cheek as he whispered—
"I missed you"
The warmth of his breath made my skin shiver.My heart battled between fear and wanting.I loved this man…or at least the version of him he allowed me to see.
"Richardo" I said softly,my fingers brushed his neck.
And then I saw it.
The tattoo.
The serpent winding up the left side of his throat.
I had seen it a thousand times.But tonight…It felt different.
Familiar.
Wrong.
"I…I've seen this tattoo somewhere else" I whispered.
Something flickered in his eyes like a warning.
A lie preparing itself.
"It's a common design" He murmured smoothly. "Lots of men have it"
He leaned down,closing the small distance between us,his lips brushing mine,his voice turning low, warm and dangerous.
"Stop thinking…"
Then his mouth claimed mine in a slow,deep kiss.
The kind that stole my breath.The kind that made my body tremble under his.The kind that made me forget every warning bell in my head.
His hand cupped my jaw,tilting my face,deepening the kiss—
passionate,intoxicating,possessive.His lips moved against mine with a hunger that made my mind spin,made me feel wanted,claimed,owned.
My fingers slipped into his hair,my breath mingling with his as his mouth explored mine harder,deeper until I almost whimpered from the intensity of it.
This kiss was love.This kiss was danger.This kiss was a promise— one I didn't yet understand.
And yet…I kissed him back.
Even though I shouldn't have.
Even though part of me sensed the truth.
Even though the man holding me tonight…might be the devil everyone feared.