Sasha never imagined that a one-time encounter at a luxury gala would tie her fate to Ethan Viero-a dangerously attractive billionaire with secrets darker than his designer suits. As she gets drawn into his glamorous but treacherous world of fame, power, and hidden enemies, Sasha must decide whether to run from his shadow... or become the woman who can tame it.
Chapter 1 The Masked Stranger
The scent of expensive perfume and champagne clung to the air as Tessa Monroe stepped into the grand ballroom of the Viero estate. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above a sea of elegance-silk gowns, tuxedos, and faces veiled behind ornate masquerade masks. This was no ordinary gala. This was the billionaire's playground.
She adjusted the golden mask over her eyes, her fingers trembling slightly. This was her only chance to get close to Ethan Viero-the elusive billionaire with rumored mafia ties. Her editor wanted dirt. She wanted justice. But part of her wanted answers to a different question entirely: What kind of man hid behind such power?
A string quartet played something haunting as waiters glided through the room with trays of champagne. Tessa slipped a glass from one of them and scanned the crowd. Every person here had been vetted, wealthy, and powerful-she, on the other hand, had crashed the event with a forged invite and a wire beneath her dress.
She hadn't expected the opulence to shake her. But it did.
And then she saw him.
Tall. Broad. Dangerous in the way still water hides deep currents. The man in the black suit and obsidian mask didn't walk-he prowled. The air around him shifted. People moved out of his path, whispered behind crystal flutes.
And as if pulled by an invisible string, his gaze locked with hers.
Tessa's heart faltered. Her lips parted, breath caught somewhere between fear and fascination.
He moved toward her. Each step deliberate. Each second slow enough to stretch her nerves thin. She knew who he was before he even spoke. There was no mistaking him.
"You're not on the guest list," he said when he reached her, his voice low, smooth, and entirely too close.
Tessa raised an eyebrow behind her mask. "Neither are you. Ethan Viero doesn't usually make appearances."
A flicker of amusement crossed his lips. "I do when someone interesting shows up."
"And what makes me interesting?"
"The way you look at everything like you're trying to remember it," he said, leaning closer. "Like you're writing it down in your head."
Shit.
She tilted her head, playing cool. "Maybe I just have a thing for architecture."
"Or maybe," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek, "you're not here for the gala."
Tessa's breath hitched as his fingers grazed her skin.
This wasn't part of the plan.
He was supposed to be hard to reach, shrouded in secrecy, inaccessible. Instead, he was in front of her-tall, tempting, and far too intuitive. Her instincts screamed to walk away. But her body... her body leaned in.
"I could say the same about you," she said, lifting her glass to her lips. "Maybe we're both here for the wrong reasons."
His smirk deepened. "Or maybe we're exactly where we're meant to be."
He reached for her hand, guiding her effortlessly onto the dance floor as the music shifted to a slow, sensual waltz. His touch was confident, warm, but restrained-like a man used to controlling everything, including himself.
"You dance?" he asked.
"I fake it well."
His eyes gleamed behind the mask. "Good. I like liars. They're more interesting."
And as he pulled her closer, hand firm at her waist, Tessa realized one terrifying truth:
She might've come here hunting a story...
But she was the one being hunted now.
Chapter 1 The Masked Stranger
21/04/2025
Chapter 2 Dangerous Curiosity
22/04/2025
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