Chapter 1

The drugs burned in my bones. Every muscle screamed in aching pain.

I forced my eyes open. My gaze locked onto the carved raven crest on the ceiling.

My family's crest.

Before I turned eighteen, that raven was branded on the lining of all my custom gowns.

Just outside the door, Julian's voice hissed like a greasy snake. Full of greed.

"Chloe, is the intel solid? Is Cassian really coming back to this penthouse tonight?"

Chloe could barely hide her excitement.

"Fifty grand for this tip. He'll be here by midnight."

"When he opens that door and sees a stunner in his bed... with the exact birthmark he's looking for..."

She sneered.

"Meat delivered right to his mouth. No way he won't eat it."

"If the Don is happy, that underground casino in South Manhattan is ours! Valeria is such an idiot. She really thought we'd share the wealth with her. What a stupid cash cow."

Hearing their shameless giggles outside the door, I bit down hard on my tongue. I listened quietly. It was almost pathetic.

I risked my life for Julian’s pathetic little gang. I treated Chloe like my own sister.

What did I get? They slept together in the apartment I rented with my last dime.

And now? They priced me like a cheap hooker and sent me to another man's bed without a second thought.

My stomach knotted with pain.

My nails dug into the sofa until they broke. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the hatred boiling in my heart.

They had no idea. My brother is Cassian.

Years ago, a car bomb took our parents.

We only had each other growing up.

But after he took over the family, he rarely came home.

We had a massive fight. I left for Europe in a fit of rage.

Over the years, we had an unspoken understanding. We licked our wounds in our separate worlds.

He just kept wiring money to my secret offshore accounts. Terrified I would suffer.

Julian and Chloe thought I was a broke orphan who blew through her trust fund.

That’s why they dared to use me as a bargaining chip.

But my brother might be ruthless, yet he is fiercely protective of his own.

Once, a street punk just whistled at me. Cassian had him dumped in the Hudson River.

If he saw me now? Delivered to his bed as a toy by these two pieces of trash?

Hell would be a luxury for them.

"Oh, right!" Chloe purposely raised her voice. "Once we get the casino, we should have our wedding. I want the wedding dress Valeria designed for herself."

Julian chuckled with affection.

"Sure. We'll use the money from selling her to throw you the grandest wedding. A powerless orphan like her? She'll die in this concrete jungle without a splash."

I stared at the ceiling. Counting down silently in my head.

The intel was right. My brother would come here.

Because today is the anniversary of our parents' assassination.

They made their final decision in this very penthouse. Every year, he comes here to mourn.

Every year, countless idiots send him women as "gifts". But this year’s "surprise" is me.

The next second, the door was violently pushed open.

Julian strode in and grabbed me by the hair.

A tearing pain ripped through my scalp.

"Valeria, don't blame me. Blame yourself for being a nobody. You deserve to be sold cheap."

"Even if he breaks you tonight, you better keep the Don happy!"

Powerless nobody?

I looked at his smug face calmly. My voice was flat.

"Julian, do you really know who you're giving me to tonight? Stop now. This is your last chance."

"Still talking nonsense!"

Chloe stepped up and slapped me hard across the face.

My ears rang instantly.

"Change her clothes! The Don will be here any minute!"

Chloe sneered viciously. She ripped off my designer trench coat. She forced me into a cheap, tacky red slip dress.

She even tore the neckline. Exposing the butterfly birthmark on my collarbone to the air.

"Look at you. Just like a cheap slut."

She patted my cheek in satisfaction.

I lay on the bed, feeling the ultimate humiliation. My fists clenched slowly.

Pimping out the Don's real sister to his own bed?

That's definitely a first.