Chapter 1 The Elusive Billionaire

I pulled down my dress for the second time that night. I had never worn anything that short before, and leather was hotter than I thought it would be.

I was in a red leather dress that reached a few inches below my ass and showed too much cleavage. It hugged my body like a second skin and even made me a little uncomfortable.

"You don't have to do this, Serena," Lily told me.

"I have to."

"What are you going to do once you're there? You don't even know if you'll find what you're looking for. This is dangerous."

"I need to at least try."

She didn't try to talk me out of what I was planning because she knew that I wouldn't listen to her. When I made up my mind, there was no changing it. I didn't risk my life to come to New York for nothing.

Like the good friend she was, Lily helped me put on a blonde wig to match my outfit. My hair was brunette, and needed to be blonde to pull off my plan.

I also had fake contact lenses to replace my green eyes with blue ones and a fake, realistic nose to mask my features a little bit more.

After I put on the wig, I left the dressing room and walked back to where all the girls were lined up. We were in a strip club getting picked to go to a billionaire's house so he could choose the woman he wanted for the night.

Lily had some dirt on the owner of the strip club, so she was able to get him to include me in the line-up. Apparently, the billionaire had a preference for blonde women.

A tall and muscular man walked around picking women he intended to take to the mansion, and I prayed I would be among them. Otherwise, all my efforts would have been in vain.

"You," the man said as he pointed at me.

I felt a huge sense of relief because I had been chosen. It felt like a golden moment. All ten of us who had been chosen were blindfolded and put in a van.

The billionaire in question was elusive.

He was rarely ever seen in public, and he didn't like interacting with people. He had to have women delivered to his home because he couldn't come out and choose them for himself. If that wasn't dystopian, I didn't know what was.

The ride had to have taken at least thirty minutes. When we arrived, we were each pulled from the car and led into a house. Once inside, our blindfolds were removed.

The billionaire came into view. He was sitting on a couch with a drink in his hand. He had glasses over his eyes and a nerdy look to him.

He had dark hair and the palest gray eyes I had ever seen. They were...strange, and the most noticeable thing about him, apart from the chiseled jawline that highlighted his Italian roots.

Nero DeLuca. He was the youngest heir to the DeLuca Italian-American dynasty. Many knew his name, but very few ever saw him. I didn't expect him to be a nerd, but it seemed like he was.

He didn't smile or look at any of us. If anything, it seemed like he couldn't care less that we were there.

He looked like a king sitting on very expensive furniture in the middle of his spacious living room with high ceilings, golden ambiance, and impressive chandeliers.

"What's this, Dominic?" He asked the man who had brought us there.

"I brought women here for you so you can choose the one you want to spend the night with."

He flicked his hand, and someone rushed forward to rush us away. We were taken to a smaller living room to wait. It was a golden opportunity I couldn't pass up.

"Do you think he's gay?" A girl asked.

"Please, gay? I heard that he's a beast in bed. And not only that, he's rough, and he enjoys really taboo sex. No woman has ever left his house dissatisfied. He's far from gay. I want him to pick me so I can see what it feels like to lie with a man like that."

"What's with the glasses?" Another asked.

"He doesn't have good eyesight, but don't let that fool you. He knows what he's doing when he's in bed."

I ignored their bickering and used the opportunity of being away from curious eyes to sneak away. Two guards were watching us, and I knew I couldn't get past them easily.

I got up and wobbled. Some girls looked at me curiously, but most of them ignored me. I walked to the guards, and they glared as if to tell me to go back to where I was sitting.

"I don't feel so good," I said and gagged. They looked worried because they didn't want me to vomit all over the polished marble floors. They were so shiny that I could see my reflection on them.

"I'll take you to the bathroom," one guard said.

"I can go by myself. I don't want you to get in trouble." I said and gagged again for effect.

"It's down the hallway, first door on your right."

I rushed past them, and once I was out of sight, I took a detour. I pretended to be confused for the cameras all around, but I knew exactly where I was going.

I took the stairs and went to the second floor.

Once I made sure no one could see me, I tried to open the first mahogany door I saw. My uncle had the plans to DeLuca's estate, and he had told me where his office was.

The door was locked, and before I could think of how I would pick the lock, I saw that it required a fingerprint verification. What was I going to do?

"Are you lost, birichina?"