Standing behind me was Nero DeLuca with his hands in his pockets like he was casually asking about the weather.

He was so tall that he towered over me, even in heels, and it made me feel intimidated. Looking at him standing, it was obvious that he worked out. He seemed to have a lean, muscular form.

He looked harmless in casual slacks and a long-sleeved pull-neck shirt. But I didn't let his calm tone fool me. He would punish me if he found the only reason I had gone to his mansion was to snoop.

"I'm looking for the bathroom," I said in an overly obnoxious tone. "Am I like...lost?"

I forgot to breathe for a few seconds, thinking he had realized that I was lying to him. If he caught me, he would send me to jail for trespassing.

"You're not supposed to be here."

I knew I would get in trouble if I didn't think fast, so I gagged and pretended I was about to vomit. I had taken acting classes in high school so I knew I was good at it.

"Bathroom," I said.

"Come on."

He walked away, and I had to follow him with my hand over my mouth so I would sell the act more. He led to a bedroom suite that was a floor higher. It looked like a master bedroom due to how huge and well-furnished it was.

It even had a living room and a fireplace. Only a billionaire could have such rooms in his house.

I didn't actually believe he would take me to his master bedroom. He was very reserved and picky.

He didn't seem like he liked any of the girls that Dominic had brought him, and I was one of them.

"There's the bathroom," he said as he pointed at a door.

I rushed inside and turned on the tap in the sink so he wouldn't hear that I wasn't actually going to vomit. The bathroom was something else.

It was something straight out of a home luxury magazine.

It looked like someone used the bathroom often, but I didn't want to dwell on that much longer. I needed to get as far from Nero as I could. I heard that he was alert and nothing ever got past him.

He would notice the disguise I had on if I didn't put some distance between us.

When I left the bathroom, he was leaning against the door with a drink in his hand. He was blocking my way out, and I didn't understand why.

The first thing I noticed was that the door to his balcony was open. If he refused to let me go, I would escape from there. I had come too far to allow him to catch me so easily.

There were rumors around about how he dealt with those who tried to cross him. I didn't want to find out how true those rumors were.

"Thank you," I said.

He stared at me for a long time as I looked to the ground. I couldn't look him in the eye, or he would smell my fear. He looked like a nerd because of the glasses, but there were tattoos all over his hands.

He was far from a nerd. He was a powerful man and powerful men like him got off on the fear they inflicted on others.

"What's your name?" He asked.

Telling him my real name was out of the question.

"Piper."

"Take off your clothes," he said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my obnoxious tone gone. He wanted me to take off my clothes?

"Isn't this what you came for? Or did you come for something else entirely?" He asked, like he was taunting me.

This was what Lily had warned me about.

I didn't want to have sex with a stranger I barely knew, but if I didn't, he would know I was there for ulterior motives.

"I'm sick," I said slowly, hoping he would accept my excuse.

I couldn't lie. Nero was very hot. He was the kind of man that women often fawned over. It was shocking that he needed someone to get him a girl for the night. All he had to do was smile at a woman, and panties would drop.

Having sex with him wouldn't be that bad.

But I didn't know him, and I didn't want to find out whether or not he had sick fantasies in bed.

"I'll compensate you generously," he said.

What's worse was that he had a serious look on his face, and he wasn't budging. He expected me to do exactly what he asked, and he didn't say it, but I knew the consequences of my defiance would be dire.

And if he found out who I was, I wouldn't survive the night.

He glanced at his wrist watch as though he was telling me that he was impatient. I took deep breaths and started to take off my dress. The zipper was on the front, so I slowly slid it down and exposed my breasts to him.

I desperately wanted to cover up, but if I did, he would see how shy I was and realize that I wasn't a high-end hooker. The dress had been too tight for me to wear a bra inside, which meant I was completely exposed.

I slowly took it off, and it fell to the ground. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't. I had to be brave and look him in the eye. Something about the way he looked into my eyes gave me all the confidence I needed.

I was in a red thong, practically naked in front of the richest man in New York. I never thought I would ever see him in my lifetime, and yet, I was about to have sex with him.

Nero looked bored at what he saw. He wasn't impressed, and he wasn't ogling my body either. His eyes were trained on mine. I don't even think he had looked at my naked body once.

"Take off your panties, birichina. I want you completely naked."

I took a deep breath and slowly took off what was left of my clothing. I was shaking, and it wasn't because I was cold. It was fear of what was about to happen.

He still didn't trail his eyes down my body, even when I was naked. I didn't understand why he would ask me to take off my clothes when he didn't even bother to look at me.

He looked at me for what felt like forever before he finally trailed his eyes down my body. Once. Only once. I had never felt that compelled to seek approval from a man. I started to wonder if I was really that unattractive.

He didn't seem to care for what he saw, and it rubbed me in all the wrong ways, and I couldn't even tell you why. I shouldn't have wanted approval from him, but I did.

"You can leave," he said.

"What?" I asked.

It was the first time I had met a man who turned down a naked woman in his bedroom. Those feelings of inadequacy were back full throttle. It was unnerving how one man that I had just met had such a huge effect on me.

"Put on your clothes and leave. Someone is waiting for you downstairs. He'll take you back to where he found you."

He got off the door and walked to his balcony. I followed his movements until he stopped, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

I barely registered putting on all my clothes and hurriedly leaving. Sure enough, Dominic was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"What does birichina mean?" I asked Lily.

Her mother was Italian, and she went there for holidays, which meant she knew the language better than I did. While my parents were also Italian, they never spoke the language, and they were born in the States.

"It means little troublemaker," she said. "Where did you hear that word?"

I shrugged, refusing to answer.

Troublemaker? Did Nero know I didn't go to his house to seduce him? Obviously, the hookers who were brought to his house were not his idea.

By the time I went downstairs, there was no one else there but me. Luckily, Dominic didn't speak to me. He just dropped me off at the club, and I took a cab home.

"What happened in Nero's mansion? You haven't spoken about it."

"Nothing. His office required a fingerprint to unlock so I wasn't able to find something to link him to my parents' murder." I said.

"What would you have done if you had? He wouldn't have let you come out unscathed. Besides, he doesn't have evidence linking him to murders lying around."

Ever since my uncle told me he found a lead in my parents' death and it was linked to the DeLuca family, I became uneasy. My parents were killed when I was eighteen, and their death was ruled a murder-suicide.

Bullshit.

My father loved my mother with all his heart, and he was the mayor of New York. There was no way he killed her. The news painted my mother as the unfaithful cheater when she was anything but.

My parents taught me what love could be. And when they died, my uncle suggested the right thing to do was to flee before the people who killed my parents came for me. He was the only one who believed my parents would never kill themselves.

But without evidence, there was nothing either of us could do.

If the DeLuca family was involved in their deaths, it had to be Nero. He was the only DeLuca in New York. The rest of his family was in Italy.

"I don't know what to do..."

My uncle Lorenzo gave me the plans to Nero's mansion, and I thought I would be able to find something to solve my parents' murder. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Looking back, I was naive to think it would be that easy.

"If you really want to find any evidence, your best bet is seducing Nero but hat's almost impossible considering he's a recluse." Lily said. "That's the only way you can get close enough to snoop through all his things."

I didn't tell her that I had an interaction with Nero. I didn't know why I hid it. All I knew was that it felt like a secret I wanted to keep to myself.

"How do I do that?" I asked her, even though I knew there was no way Nero would be attracted to me.

He didn't like my body, and his preference was blonde women. I had brunette hair and green eyes. I had nothing that he would ever desire in a woman.

I could use a disguise but it wasn't a good long-term plan.

"You're not serious, are you? He's rumored to be a dangerous man. People whisper that he has ties to the mafia. If he is connected to your parents' murder, he'll kill you. Don't be stupid."

"I will do anything to solve my parents' murder," I told her. "I have nothing to lose."

Lily was about to say something to her when a group of girls approached us.

"If it isn't the orphan. I didn't know you were back in town, Serena Marino. Changing your last name doesn't change the fact that you don't have any parents." Cecilia Davenport said.

I went to high school with her and the two girls beside her, Aurora and Nadia. She was still a stuck-up bitch and bully, even at the ripe age of twenty-three.

She had made fun of me and isolated me when I lost everything. She still hadn't changed.

"If it isn't the immature brat. Making fun of orphans was understandable when you were eighteen. Now you're twenty-three. It's time to grow up." I told her.

Her smile faltered, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

I was at a golf club where I went to pass the time. It was a sport my father had taught me, and I felt connected to him when I played. I never stopped, even after his death.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you poor? Don't tell me you're banging some rich old man to get in." She said, and the girls near her laughed.

She was the definition of a blonde bimbo. I bet Nero would take a liking to her.

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Cecelia."

"I heard you speaking about Nero. You'd better stay away from him. He's going to be my fiancé soon. My father is arranging our marriage."

I rolled my eyes and glanced at Lily.

"Let's go," I said, and we got up to leave, but Cecelia grabbed my arm to stop me.

"You don't belong in this world anymore. Let's face it. You're no longer the 'it girl' in our world. That title belongs to me. No one wants to see your ugly face. Pack up and go back to where you came from, orphan."

She let me go and walked away.

"What's her problem?" Lily asked. "She's acting like she's still in middle school."

Once upon a time, I was the popular girl at school in the Upper East Side, and Cecelia kissed the ground I walked on. That was until my parents died and I got a taste of reality. Everyone turned their backs on me.

As if it wasn't bad enough that my parents died, I was broke and in debt. They all laughed in my face and made fun of me. Cecelia became the new popular girl and the one every boy dreamed of marrying.

The world of New York socialites was fickle. It was all about beauty, money, social media followers, and boys. If I wanted to fit back in, I had to care about all that stuff again.

Cecelia was threatened that I was back, and I didn't understand why. We were no longer in high school. We could co-exist in the same circle. But for her, that was impossible, and I knew a bully like her would make my life miserable.

"Do you think she'll marry Nero?" Lily asked.

"I don't know..."

As I watched Cecilia walk away, my phone rang. It was my uncle.

"Zio," I greeted. He liked it when I called him uncle in Italian.

"Serena...you're okay? How...how did yesterday go?" He asked.

He sounded shocked to the point that he stuttered. I wondered what his deal was. He was the one who had urged me to go to the DeLuca mansion to get some answers. Why was he acting like he was shocked?

"It didn't go well. I wasn't able to find anything." I replied. "Are you okay? You sound weird."

"I'm okay, thank you for the concern. Don't worry. Other chances to find out the truth will present themselves. Listen, since you're in New York, I wanted to set you up with my friend's son. Go on a blind date with him to the Governor's Ball tomorrow night."

I wanted to refuse, but I didn't. Without him, I wouldn't have survived when my parents died, and my little brother would have never gone to school. Besides, he was a Senator, and he was the only influential person I knew who could help me with my revenge plans.

"Okay, Zio."

"Good. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

I wore a stunning floor-length gown made of pale gold satin fabric. It showed my cleavage or lack thereof since I had small breasts, and it was completely backless.

The dress didn't hug my body, but it accentuated my curves. It was scandalous enough to catch the attention of all the guests, but modest enough that people wouldn't say I was dressed like a slut.

I had my hair in a low, elegant bun, not a single strand out of place, and minimalist makeup.

For the jewelry, I chose a golden back necklace that cascaded down my spine to where the backless design of the dress stopped. It went well with my golden stilettos.

I walked into the ball, and all eyes were on me. They were all wondering who I was and where I came from, and I was eating it up. I had always loved attention since I was young. Besides, I was beautiful.

My mother had been a model before she married my father. I had inherited most of her features, and I embraced them wholeheartedly. She would have wanted me to bask in my beauty.

The Governor's ball was an event to host dignitaries. Only the richest people in New York were able to attend, like political figures, wealthy donors, corporate sponsors, celebrities, philanthropists, socialites, and members of high society.

They said it was a way for wealthy people to network, but it was just a show of wealth and influence. If you weren't invited, you weren't rich or powerful enough.

There were cameras everywhere, photo ops, designer gowns, and orchestras. It was impressive, but it was also boring and meant for older people. I didn't know how I had survived through such events when my parents were still alive.

I was already thinking of leaving, and I had just arrived. If it wasn't for my uncle, I would have been at home watching a movie.

"Zio," I greeted my uncle Lorenzo when I approached.

He was speaking to two men, an older one and a younger one.

"Cara mia," he greeted as he kissed both of my cheeks.

Lorenzo was a very affectionate man. He was short, he had dark hair like my father's, and he had brown eyes. He was a replica of my father. Maybe that was why I was so fond of him, besides the fact that he treated me like his daughter.

He was the one who sent me to France to get away once my parents died. He enrolled me in school and helped me make contact with my mother's side of the family in France.

"How are you, Zio?" I asked him.

"I'm doing well, cara mia. I would like you to meet my friend, Alexei Orlov. This is his son, Viktor Orlov."

I turned to the pair, impressed with what I saw. They were very handsome with dark hair and blue eyes. But something about the two of them didn't sit well with me. I couldn't place it, but something was off.

"Nice to meet you, Serena," Viktor said as he took my hand and kissed the back of it.

He seemed charming, but it would take more than that to impress me.

"Why don't the two of you get to each other as the grownups talk?" Lorenzo asked as he ushered us away.

Viktor grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter and handed it to me.

"I have to admit it, when my father told me he wanted me to meet a girl, I didn't expect her to be the most beautiful woman I have seen in my lifetime."

I blushed and smiled.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."

I heard his slight Russian accent. I couldn't lie, it was hot, and coming from a handsome man made it all the more alluring to listen to.

"What do you do for a living?" He asked.

"I'm an interior designer," I replied.

"Maybe you should come to my place sometime and design my walls. I need a change."

I giggled and gave him my number. I had to say, it had been a good idea for Zio Lorenzo to get me a date with Viktor. He was definitely my type, and he was twenty-seven and successful.

"What do you do?" I asked the question back.

"I'm the CEO of Orlov Energy. It's a European Energy Conglomerate. I am currently overseeing operations in New York. There's a lot to do here."

He was trying to tell me that he would be in New York for the foreseeable future, and it brought me delight. What I needed was a distraction from my plans for uncovering my parents' murder.

"I would love to take you to dinner sometime-"

Viktor was cut off when a business associate approached him, and he excused himself. He promised to find me so we could dance.

I interacted with a few people that my uncle introduced me to, but overall, the party was boring. That was until the whole room went silent when someone walked in.

All eyes were on him as he walked in like he commanded the room. Everyone whispered when they saw him, wondering why he was at a Governor's Ball when he never attended such events.

It was Nero DeLuca in an all-black tux that fit his body perfectly. He was a huge man, and he had an aura of power about him that made everyone want to bow down and kiss the ground he walked on.

This time, his neck was in view, and you could see some tattoos peeking through the parts of him that weren't covered by his collar.

I was scared of seeing him again. What if he recognized me? No. I was wearing a disguise. There was no way he realized it was me that night.

Dominic was standing next to him as usual. He looked like the dangerous one out of the two, but a smart person would tell that glasses didn't make DeLuca a nice guy.

I stayed as far away from him as possible. I knew I should have been making moves to make sure he noticed me, but I was scared of him. There was something about him that screamed silent danger.

After a few minutes, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I needed a break from everyone, even for a few seconds. As I was reapplying my makeup, I caught movement in the mirror. Before I could react, I felt an arm around my waist.

Nero was suddenly behind me, his body pressed into me, and his hand holding my waist firmly to keep me in place. He was taller than me, even in heels, which gave him an advantage.

"This is the women's bathroom...you...you're not supposed to be here." I stuttered.

What was he doing?

"Hello, Piper. I personally think the blonde hair and blue eyes don't suit you. Brunette is more your thing. And I have to say, those mesmerizing green eyes are hypnotic, birichina."