She thought it was just another high-stakes con. A rich heir. A perfect lie. One more dangerous seduction before disappearing with millions.
But Valentina never expected what she encountered with Adriano De Luca—the mafia heir who doesn’t just kiss like a storm—he kills like one too.

Adriano lives by a brutal rule: kill for less than a lie. When Valentina steps into his world under a fake name and a flawless seduction plan, she becomes the one game he refuses to lose. But beneath the heat and shadows, something else stirs—he knows her face. From a past soaked in blood.

As secrets start to surface, and bodies begin to fall, Valentina is no longer sure who the real predator is. The more she lies, the deeper he digs. The closer they get, the more her fractured memories scream that this wasn’t the first time she’s stood in his arms… or in his crosshairs.

In a world where truth gets you killed, and love costs more than blood, Valentina must decide: expose the real her… or become the next ghost in Adriano’s velvet cage.

“You think you can lie to me?” he whispers, voice ice and fire.
“I already did,” she breathes. “And you still kissed me.”

Velvet Crown of Lies

THE SPLIT

An Offer She Should Refuse
Late Morning — Adriano’s Office, Villa De Luca
The air in Adriano’s study smelled of old cigars and iron. Heavy velvet curtains cast shadows over priceless art and steel safes. The windows framed the sea, but inside, the walls closed in like a cage dressed in cashmere.
...

An Offer She Should Refuse

Late Morning — Adriano’s Office, Villa De Luca

The air in Adriano’s study smelled of old cigars and iron. Heavy velvet curtains cast shadows over priceless art and steel safes. The windows framed the sea, but inside, the walls closed in like a cage dressed in cashmere.

...

THE DEAL

THE BAIT IN BLACK VELVET

COFFEE, CORPSES, AND CONTROL

 A DANGEROUS GAME BEGINS

THE LION’S DEN

RED THREADS AND TRIGGERS

THE GHOST AT HER BACK

THE GIRL FROM THE FIRE

THE OLD DEBT

DEAD GIRL WALKING

The Memory Trap

TOUCHED BY FIRE

GHOSTS IN SILK

SERA

DANGEROUS MERCY

THE BULLET AND THE LIE

PLAYING DEAD

TIES THAT CHOKE

VELVET AND STEEL

THE WIDOW’S VOICE

CROWN OF GLASS

SCORCHED SILK

RULES OF THE THRONE

THE ATTIC PACT

BENEATH THE VELVET

THE HOLLOW CROWN

THE ORIGINAL SIN

THE WRONG PRINCE