Page 1 of Bound in Vengeance
CHAPTER ONE
SIENNA
I tug the hem of my dress down for the fifth time in about thirty seconds. It doesn’t help. The dress still looks illegal. The black silk clings to my body like a second skin, the neckline dipping low enough that if my older sister, Eleonora, saw me right now, she'd throw holy water at me.
I take a deep breath, keep my shoulders relaxed, and stare ahead at the entrance of the mansion glowing gold against the dark hills outside the city.
Luxury cars snake around the circular driveway, and more splendidly dressed guests drift out. Glittering gowns, expensive suits, shiny watches, fake laughter. I swear the whole thing is like a rich cult.
Unease crawls through me.
If someone comes close to recognizing me tonight, it’ll be my funeral by morning. I've never deluded myself into thinking my father is above ending my life if I no longer serve him. And right now, where he's concerned, I’m walking a slippery slope.
The line moves forward.
The woman in front of me laughs as the guards scan her invitation.
I glance down at mine again. It’s fake. The original one belonged to my father. Fortunately, Massimo Caruso thinks parties involving masks and anonymous sex are “desperate displays of weak men seeking attention.” Since he had no intention of attending, I stole—no,borrowed—the invitation card from his office and altered the name.
The paper suddenly feels light in my hands.
What if they notice?
What if they contact my father?
The guard waves the next guest through, and then his attention lands on me. Massimo will never win the Father of the Year award anytime soon, but one thing he taught us in spades was courage.
There are two guards in front of me, and they both look like they bench press trucks for fun. But I step forward sassily, and flash them a smile. The larger guard holds out his hand.
“Invitation.”
I place the card into his palm carefully and pray to every available deity. The guard scans it once. Then nods.
“Enjoy your evening, Miss Caruso.”
He steps aside and opens the door.
The first thing that hits me is the sound. Moans. I stop just past the doorway, my eyes widening behind my mask. Everywhere I look, people are having sex. Wild, animalistic sex.
My gaze is drawn to a woman perched on the lap of a man old enough to have seen the first fossils form. He’s swallowing her face, while another man rubs his bare cock across her back.
Another woman is pushed against the wall, her expensive dress bunched around her waist while her partner pounds relentlessly into her.
My face heats, and I’m glad I have the mask on.
Goodness gracious.
I knew this was a masked sex party, but still…
I hate the fact that for once in my life, I agree with my father. Parties like this are absolutely deplorable and very well beneath me.
Which reminds me of why I’m here.
Think, Sienna, think.
I don’t need much. Just enough information to destroy my sister’s engagement to Alessandro Gallo.
If my own scandal hadn’t ruined me in my father’s eyes, I’d be the one promised to the Gallo family instead of Camilla. I was supposed to marry Matteo Gallo, Alessandro’s older brother, until I ran away with my boyfriend, Domenico.
