Chapter 1

SIENNA’S POV.

“There is no way out of this. You have to do this!” the manager of the Gold Rush Club voiced. His tone was desperate.

His eyes were stern and held his hunger for money—especially when that amount of cash was passing him by.

This opportunity was not the kind he would allow to slip away.

“No, I don’t want to do this..Please, Mr. Jones,” I said as I sat still.

My hands were trembling under the desk while my eyes stayed glued to the file he had just opened.

The file of the client I was supposed to serve and strip for—and the man’s picture I was looking at right now.

He was the last person I would want to show that part of myself to.

“His girlfriend is willing to pay $15,000 upfront to see you strip for her man!

That is a fucking steal, Enna! And not just that these are rich kids, imagine the buzz” he said, eyes wild with anger at my hesitation.

It was easy money, and I was being stubborn.

But not just because I held onto my pride—especially since I had honed my skill and become the best damn stripper and the High Life entertainer of the New York elite districts.

I had given Gold Rush its biggest nights with my shows.

I should have been more than excited that someone was willing to spend over ten thousand dollars on me for an hour of my time.

I should have been in tears of relief, but I was terrified.

Because the familiar face on the client file wasn’t just someone I knew.

He was my best friend.

And the man I had been in love with for the past seven years—Luca Vitale.

Luca had no idea of my double life, how hard I had tried to hide my family’s debt after the accident, or how hard I had been trying to stay strong.

And hell, he didn’t know about me being New York’s most famous masked stripper, and he never would.

Not when I had made sure to mask my double life and portray the perfect woman and his best friend.

He had always seen me as brilliant and admired my brain, especially since i was known as the most brilliant child of Victor Moretti’s family.

And I was the only person left to uphold the Moretti name—at least what was left of it after greedy men came swarming to my home,

Taking their shares before my parents’ bodies could even get cold after being buried. They had looted what remained and left me with nothing.

And that was why I had lied to Luca that I was working part-time when I wasn’t working shifts at the hospital where he had gotten me an internship as a nursing student in my last year of college. Besides

, a degree wouldn’t immediately get me the help I needed, but stripping on the poles did.

But I would be a laughingstock to the elites if they found out I was a pole dancer. My fall from grace to grass would be televised.

And that’s why I danced with a mask. I was that mysterious.

The only people who really knew my identity were Mr. Jones and no other staff.

One of the biggest rules of the Gold Rush Club was no snitches, and that was why I had been loyal for the past year.

I had been stripping at this club since I was eighteen and had just turned nineteen. As the club loved to call it, I was the fresh meat.

I saw the way the men’s hungry gazes followed the sway of my hips each time I danced. And if I wanted them to open their pockets, I would give a smile or two, and I would be set for that month’s rent.

My phone burned hot in my pocket when I recalled the message that sat in my email—a reminder of my little sister’s reassignment to another foster home in California.

I thought I had enough time, but I had only eight thousand dollars left after my nursing school fees.

And it wasn’t even close to the forty-five thousand dollars I needed as reimbursement fees to the state before I could take her away from the foster home.

I hated people’s pity, and more so the tragic accident that happened—the accident that took my mom and dad.

An accident that hurt my leg. And gone were the dreams of doing ballet. That was three years ago.

I only found out after a year that my relatives had lied to me when they claimed they were taking care of my sister.

All after they deceived me and made me sign the rights to what was left of my parents’ empire over to them. The entire time they had sent my sister to a foster home.

And to be honest, I wanted no one to find out—especially the Vitales.

I had nothing against Luca, I loved him, but his family was the most dangerous clan among the East Side of New York’s elites.

And rumors of bad blood with my parents still left me avoiding the entire Vitale clan,

especially his oldest brother—a monster within and out, so much so that Luca had made me swear to stay away from him.

Although I never talked to him in person, the pictures alone did justice to his cruel aura,

and I hoped never to find myself in his presence.

“Sienna? Sienna!” Mr. Jones’s voice called to me, breaking me from my train of thought as I almost jumped. My eyes locked with his as he looked at me expectantly.

My words were cut short by the familiar ringtone, and I looked over at my phone,

I see the ID “Foster Home.” My heart lurched in my chest as I quickly grabbed for the device before standing up.

“Please, let me get a minute. I need to answer,” I said to Jones before I quickly left his office.

I calmed my breathing as I opened the door and was immediately met with the sound of bass music,

the lingering smell of alcohol, and chatter as the club was just opening for the night.

I quickly ducked into a small janitor’s closet space, getting ready to look the part of the responsible sibling—especially because if the foster home found out about my stripper job, I could kiss my sister goodbye.

I answered, even though I was surprised to see a video call, expecting to see Rita, the foster mom.

Only to see a face that had my eyes widen with excitement when I saw blonde hair familiar to mine. Her eyes were blue compared to my green.

But then the moment I saw her face wasn’t one of excitement but tears,

My stomach drops as my expression immediately fell with dread when I saw the black eye.

“Gabi? What’s this? Is that a black eye? Who hurt you?” I gripped my phone hard.

“I am scared, Sis. I am tired of this place. I am tired of getting hurt,” she said in such a tiny voice.

It broke my heart to see she was only twelve years old.

“Don’t worry, puppy. I will be there for you soon—”

“GABRIELLA!” I heard a cold, loud voice call for her, and my little sister whimpered in fear just as her hiding place was compromised.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT, GIVE ME MY PHONE!” Rita’s voice echoed as I heard my sister cry.

“Hey! Stop hurting my sister!” I screamed through the phone, only to see Rita’s composed face.

“Your sister is lying and is safe. And if you want to see her, then get the money to the statehouse. And oh dear… you have only one day left,” Rita said in a sickly sweet voice, mocking me.

“You wouldn’t dare—”

“Goodnight, Miss Moretti,” Rita curtly replied.

The phone went dead. Even in the dark closet, I heard the quiet thump of music from the club,

but it wasn’t even as loud as my beating heart as fear consumed me, i try to call back multiple times but Rita did not pick my calls.

I held my phone so tightly my hands went pale. My vision blurred with tears.

I tensed up, wiping my tears before I pulled on my mask and headed back to Mr. Jones’s office.

This time when I entered, I found Jones on top of a half-naked woman. A familiar face—she was one of the servers—straddled over his lap while my gaze peeked over his bald head.

“I thought I told ya to knock—” he raged before even seeing me.

“—I will do it,” I responded just as he quietly sent the girl away. His smile widened.

“Atta girl! I knew you had the spirit in you.” He clapped with excitement.

My nerves were eating away at me, but I was desperate to get my sister out of foster care.

And if that meant selling what was left of my dignity and stripping for my best friend,

stripping for the man I was in love with—then I would.

I would make sure I didn’t get caught… no matter what.