The Diamond Game

The night air clung to Valentina’s skin like velvet and smoke as she stepped from the backseat of the hired car. The Romano casino rose before her, a temple of glass and gold, its neon lights spilling across the pavement like the glow of a thousand sins waiting to be committed. She adjusted the strap of her black lace dress, the kind that suggested money without screaming it, and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear.“Miss Bellamy,” the driver murmured, handing her a sleek clutch.Valentina smiled at Bellamy tonight. Perhaps Russo tomorrow. Silk dresses often marked identities—you wore them until someone noticed the seam.Inside, the casino pulsed with heat and noise: the click of roulette balls, the chiming of slot machines, the perfume-clouded laughter of women draped in diamonds that glittered as if they were still wet with blood. Valentina moved through it all with the calm grace of a predator cloaked in velvet.She made a slow circuit of the floor. Men turned to look—w

Last Updated : 2026-01-13

The Man with the Knife

“You’ll sit at my table,” Dante said again, as though it was already decided.Valentina let silence spool out, long and deliberate, before lifting one perfectly arched brow. “Do you always drag your guests into vault rooms before offering them a drink?”Dante’s mouth curved faintly—again, not quite a smile, more a blade testing the edge of its own sharpness. “Only the interesting ones.”The two men by the diamonds shifted uncomfortably. Valentina caught it, the way they wouldn’t meet Dante’s eye, the way they seemed suddenly smaller. So he didn’t just command the room—he owned it.And she was standing in the middle of his territory with nothing but a forged card, a vial of powdered glass, and her smile.She let her shoulders drop in a languid shrug, feigning ease she didn’t feel. “Fine, A drink. But only because I’m parched.”“Good girl,” Dante murmured, brushing past her to open the door. The phrase slid under her skin like a match sparking against stone. She didn’t flinch, didn

Last Updated : 2026-01-13

A Devil's Bargin

The door shut behind her with a weight that felt almost final.Valentina straightened her shoulders, forcing her stride into a glide, heels clicking a rhythm of defiance against the polished floor. The escort at her side was broad and silent, his suit stretched taut over his muscles. He didn’t touch her, didn’t need to. His presence was a wall.The corridor unfurled toward the elevator, lined with framed oil paintings and discreetly placed cameras. Each step felt longer than the last.Her reflection ghosted along the dark glass panels—lace dress, red lips, eyes that glittered with secret. She looked untouchable. Untouchable, but for the faint tremor beneath her ribs that no one could see.Why let me walk?Men like Dante Romano didn’t release liars They cut them loose—literall. She had expected a body bag, not an escort.The elevator doors opened with a muted chime. She stepped inside, the guard following, his jaw clenched in professional silence.As the car began to descend, sh

Last Updated : 2026-01-13

The Red Lipstick

Her apartment smelled faintly of stale perfume and cigarette smoke, the kind that clung to velvet chairs long after the night was over. Valentina dropped her clutch onto the counter with a sharp snap, the sound echoing in the silence.For hours, she had worn the mask, every glance and every smile tailored to Dante Romano’s gaze. But here—alone, with the city’s neon glow bleeding through her window blinds—she allowed the mask to crack.Her heels hit the floor one at a time, followed by the whisper of her dress as it slipped down and pooled like spilled ink at her feet. She stood in the dim light in nothing but her slip, bare skin prickling as the reality of the bargain settled in.Twenty-four hours.Her pulse quickened, but her hands moved steadily as she laid out the ars

Last Updated : 2026-01-15

Smoke and Mirrors

The ledger pressed against her ribs with every step, a phantom weight inside her clutch.Valentina crossed the street toward the Romano casino, neon lights spilling across the pavement like broken glass. The building loomed higher than she remembered, each pane of glass gleaming like an eye, watching, waiting.Her heels clicked sharply against the marble as she entered, the hum of the casino floor swelling to meet her—laughter, coins, music, all of it gilded noise. But beneath it ran something else, a current of menace only she seemed to feel.The guards at the entrance barely glanced at her before nodding her through. No one asked for her name this time. No one asked for proof of who she was.Because Dante already knew.Vale

Last Updated : 2026-01-17

The Don's Shadow

The restaurant shimmered with chandeliers and gilt mirrors, every table dressed in white linen and heavy crystal. Servers moved like shadows, pouring champagne and setting silver trays with the kind of precision that whispered of old money and even older power.Valentina stepped into the room as though she belonged to it, the silk of her navy dress hugging her figure with just the proper restraint. No red tonight. Tonight, Dante had told her, she needed to look like a woman who could be trusted, admired, and underestimated in equal measure.Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she followed the maître d’ to the long table at the center. The men gathered there weren’t bankers or politicians—not really. They were wolves dressed in tailored suits, their conversations smooth as bourbon, their smiles lined with teeth.

Last Updated : 2026-01-20

All Chapters of Liars Like Us - Book 1: Legacy of Lies: Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

The Diamond Game

The Man with the Knife

A Devil's Bargin

The Red Lipstick

Smoke and Mirrors

The Don's Shadow