Chapter One CHIARA
One month ago
“They picked my eighteenth birthday. And I’m not even allowed to go,” I murmured, sighing as my little sister fidgeted in the front of the vanity table. “Stay still, Sienna. I’m trying to do these braids just how Papa likes them.”
“But stupid braids hurt!” Sienna pouted, batting her long, silky black lashes at me. “Fineeee. Only because you’re stuck here.”
I smiled with a tinge of sadness, going back to braiding her long, chocolate brown hair.
“Anyway, I think it’s incredibly unfair. And I’m not going to just sit back and take it. Sienna, back straight or I’ll mess this up!”
“Sorry,” Sienna mumbled.
I wasn’t trying to be annoying, I only wanted to protect her. She was too young to understand punishments properly, but I’d lived through enough of them to remember.
Girls weren’t supposed to wear our hair down until we were married. My marriage was coming. I’d heard enough through Papa’s office door to know that. The thought made my stomach turn.
A life in a gilded cage. No freedom. Just a husband, probably much older, with blood on his hands.
“I have a plan,” I whispered, stealing a look at my other sister, Aurora. “Can I talk to you privately?”
Aurora groaned, slapping her book closed. She pushed her legs off the emerald green velvet armchair and glared at me.
“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” she said. “This better be good. I’m at the reveal.”
I kissed Sienna’s head. She grinned at her reflection. Her braids looked perfect. Papa would be pleased.
“I thought you hated these stupid parties, like I do,” Aurora said once we were by the door, already upset with me.
“And me,” our younger brother said from the side, where he was reading a book, too. “Thank God I don’t have to go.”
“I don’t care.” I shot Matteo a look that said, stop eavesdropping. “I’m going. I don't need Papa’s permission, or yours.”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Aurora demanded. “Every member of the Five Families who means something will be there. You know what people like that are capable of. Papa is one of them.”
“Cover for me. Say I’m sick,” I replied, my voice firm.
“All this for some stupid fantasy,” Aurora sighed. “It better be worth it. Otherwise Papa will make you pay for it. In blood.”
“Lower your voice,” I demanded, glancing with panic at Sienna and Matteo, who sharply raised his eyes to mine before going back to his book. “I deserve one choice that’s mine.”
“Papa doesn’t want you to go for a reason,” Aurora replied, grabbing my palms. “Chiara, they said even The Serpent is coming.”
I swallowed hard.
All my siblings knew about The Serpent. He was the man who poisoned his victims slowly, just to watch them suffer. We used his name to tease each other, telling scary stories about the pit of snakes he threw his enemies into.
I wasn’t sure he was even real, but they said he was a Moretti. The heir. They were the family who owned the city. Even Papa answered to them.
“Please. It’s just a stupid story to make us scared of the Moretti,” I said.
“You better make sure no one sees you, and come back before morning,” Aurora snipped. “I can only cover for you for so long.”
This time, I nodded quickly.
“I’ll be back before midnight,” I promised, squeezing her hand tight.
That night, I walked into a dream, not knowing it was a cage.
My disguise was simple, but effective. I put on a simple black-and-white maid’s uniform. My heart hammered against my ribcage as I adjusted the black silk masquerade mask all staff were required to wear.
I slipped into line with some other maids in the grand marble hallway. Sweat prickled down my back under the bright, glittering chandeliers. I didn’t look up. The plan was easy enough - just don’t get noticed.
“Listen up!” the head of staff yelled. “We have some very important people in attendance.”
“Signora,” another bodyguard piped up. “Is it true The Serpent is coming tonight?”
“Nonsense,” the head barked back, but I could see her growing paler. “Keep your mouths shut. Keep the service spotless, and there won’t be any trouble.”
When they passed me a tray in the kitchen, I felt the guards’ gazes dragging slowly over my body. I still didn’t look up.
“Remember, absolutely no staff-on-staff interactions,” the head of staff hissed at one of the guards staring at me. “And whatever the guests ask for, you give it to them. Or else…”
She mimicked a knife slicing over her throat. A cold crept down my spine.
I rushed to serve my flutes of gold-flecked champagne to guests in the outdoor area. Anything to get away from the watchful eyes of the staff, who knew me as the oldest daughter of their boss.
Brilliant light spilled over diamonds and silk. The gowns looked poured onto the women’s bodies. I didn’t dare look at the men. They were the ones with bloody hands.
The veranda was lit up, with cocktail tables set up along the path leading to the family chapel. I was still carrying the tray, people grabbing drinks off it. I made sure to curtsy every time a glass was taken, like I’d seen the other maids do.
The party was beautiful, but just for a moment, I wanted to be alone. I was always with my siblings. Or bodyguards.
I walked back farther than I should have. Past the music and laughter. Until the grass was thick and long on my legs, and the forest loomed ahead. The solitude was so different, I had a big, stupid grin on my face.
Maybe this was what I’d been looking for all along. Not a forbidden night watching mafia kings, but just the thrill of freedom. Something I’d never get after I was married off.
After that ring slid on my finger, I’d be owned. A stranger’s property. And I knew it was my siblings’ worst fear, too, not just mine. Losing me meant they’d be at Papa’s mercy, with no one left to defend them. I was the oldest, so I always got the brunt of the punishments.
I could feel the iron gates surrounding our property, digging into my back. Excitement flooded me. So close to the outside, I felt liberated of my obligations. The last time I got this close to leaving the property was when I was at my all girls’ Catholic school.
Something moved in the grass. I stilled. At first, I thought it was just the wind… then I saw it. A dark shape coiled at my left foot. My breath caught. It was a snake.
“Oh, no-” I stepped back, but it was too late. My tray of flutes came crashing down as the snake reared back. Pain exploded in my ankle. Sharp and blinding, it made me grit my teeth after I screamed from the pain.
The snake slid away, hissing.
“Papa, help!” I screamed out in pain, my strength crumbling. “No, please, no!”
Something was wrong. The pain didn’t stay in my ankle, it spread. Fast. In seconds, it was crawling up my leg like something alive under my skin. I stumbled back, breath hitching, vision blurring at the edges.
“Help me!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them.
No one answered. Of course they didn’t. I wasn’t even supposed to be there.
The garden felt too big all of a sudden. The music from the house sounded distant, warped, and alien. My knees buckled. I hit the ground hard, fingers digging into the grass as panic clawed its way up my throat.
I couldn’t die like this. Not here, and not alone. I was starting to cry, the blinding pain in my leg taking over. Then, something bigger moved in the shadows.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
He was a man, but he looked more like a hallucination at first. He towered over me, blocking the moon with his back. He had black hair, black stubble, and a dark voice that crawled up my spine when he spoke.
His gaze dropped straight to my leg. “What did you do?”
I couldn’t speak. He swore under his breath, already moving. A hand with tattooed knuckles closed around my ankle, firm, unyielding. I gasped, instinctively trying to pull away when I saw a snake tattoo on the back of his hand.
“Don’t move.” The command cracked through me, sharp enough to freeze my body in place. His voice was deep, and solid.
I stilled. Not because I trusted him. Because something in his tone said I didn’t have a choice.
His grip tightened as he dragged my leg closer, fingers pressing into my skin with purpose. Heat radiated from his touch, grounding me just enough to breathe.
“A snake?” he asked. I nodded, barely. His jaw flexed.
He tore the fabric of the black lace stocking at my ankle. I barely had time to process it before he leaned down and his mouth was on me.
I sucked in a breath so sharp it hurt. His lips sealed over the bite, and everything inside me went completely still.
For a second, I forgot about the pain. Forgot where I was, and my name. All I could feel was him. This mysterious stranger who was about to… God, what was he doing?
His hand locked around my calf, holding me steady as he worked, focused, ruthless. His grip wasn’t gentle at all.
My fingers curled into the grass. This wasn’t a kiss. But my body didn’t seem to understand the difference.
My pulse throbbed wildly, each beat echoing through me, louder than the music, louder than my own thoughts.
He pulled back, turning his head and spitting the poison onto the lawn. I clamped my fingers into the grass, staring up at him. He untied his bowtie, unbuttoned some shirt buttons, then went back in.
My breath hitched. The second time was worse. Or maybe better. I couldn’t tell anymore. His mouth moved against my skin again, slower now, deliberate. I could feel every shift, every drag of his lips, every breath against me. My stomach twisted as his teeth sunk into my skin.
Something dangerous unfurled low inside me. It was hot, unfamiliar, completely at odds with the fear still clawing at my chest. A feeling I’d only chased with my own fingers before. I blushed all over, but not before I forced my fingers in the stranger’s dark hair, pushing him deeper against me.
He stopped for a second, then I felt his teeth painfully grazing my skin, drawing hot drops of blood to leak down my ankle. Shaking, my hands retreated.