SERPENT'S HEIR

CHAPTER.4

ARIANA'S POV

I spent three days doing nothing but research.

Three days that should have been spent cataloging manuscripts and translating ancient texts at the museum. Three days of calling in sick and lying to my boss about a stomach bug. Three days glued to my laptop searching for anything that could explain why a billionaire would know about my parents.

The questions spun through my mind constantly. At work when I finally dragged myself back. At home when I tried to sleep. In the middle of the night when I woke up from nightmares about fire and screaming and my parents' cold eyes.

I changed my mind about going at least twenty times. Maybe more. I lost count somewhere around Thursday afternoon when I decided for the fifteenth time that I'd ignore the invitation and stay safe in my small carefully constructed life.

Then I'd remember my parents' faces. Remember the ritual. Remember twelve years of questions that nobody would answer. And I'd change my mind again.

By Thursday night I still hadn't decided and I was running out of time. I stood in my apartment staring at the black card propped against my bedside lamp. The serpent symbol seemed to watch me.

Friday came too fast.

I woke up knowing I was going even though I hated myself for it.

I called in sick to work again. My boss sounded annoyed but didn't push it. Probably assumed I was still dealing with whatever stomach bug I'd invented earlier in the week.

I spent the day pacing my apartment and changing clothes.

Trying to figure out what you wore to meet a billionaire who might have answers about your parents' disappearance.

I settled on a simple black dress. The only remotely nice thing I owned.

At six thirty I left my apartment and headed to the train station to hop on a train heading north into the Hudson Valley.

At seven forty-five I was standing outside the address from the invitation wondering if I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.

The Valtieri Estate looked like something pulled straight from a horror movie.

Black stone that seemed to swallow light. Towers with narrow windows that looked like eyes watching everything. Gargoyles perched on corners.

I stood at the iron gate feeling very small and very stupid. This was insane. I should turn around right now. Should walk back to the train station. Should go home to my safe tiny apartment and forget this invitation ever arrived.

But my feet moved forward anyway like they had a mind of their own. Toward the gate.

Before I could reach it the gate swung open on its own. Silent and smooth like it had been waiting for me specifically.

A woman appeared from somewhere I couldn't see. She was tall and muscular in a way that said she could break me in half without trying. Wearing an expensive suit that didn't hide the fact that she was built like a wrestler.

She looked at me with eyes that had witnessed terrible things. Then after a long while she finally spoke.

"Miss Vale. I'm Elena, head of security. Please follow me."

She gestured for me to follow her through the gate without asking my name or checking any kind of list.

They'd been expecting me. Of course they had.

I wanted to ask questions. Wanted to demand to know what was happening and why I'd been invited and who these people were. But my voice wouldn't work properly.

So I just followed Elena up a long driveway lined with trees that blocked out what was left of the evening light. The mansion got bigger as we got closer.

Elena led me to massive front doors that opened before we reached them.

The entrance hall made my entire apartment look like a closet. Maybe smaller than a closet. Marble floors that gleamed like they'd been polished that morning.

Crystal chandeliers hanging from ceilings so high I couldn't see where they ended. A staircase that swept up to the second floor like something from a palace in a movie.

But what caught my attention and held it were the walls. Covered floor to ceiling in art. Paintings that looked old and expensive and probably belonged in museums.

This was real wealth. The kind I'd only ever seen in magazines or on TV.

Elena didn't pause to let me stare or gawk or process where I was. She just kept walking through hallways that seemed to go on forever.

We stopped at a door made of dark wood carved with designs I couldn't make out in the dim lighting. Elena knocked once.

"Come in," a voice said from inside. The voice was deep and smooth, for some odd reason it sent shivers down my spine.

Elena opened the door and gestured for me to enter with a hand that made it clear this wasn't a request.

I stepped inside and heard the door close behind me with a soft click.

The room was a study. Floor to ceiling bookshelves covering three walls and filled with more books than I'd ever seen.

And standing by the windows with his back to me was Lucien Valtieri.

The photos I'd spent three days staring at hadn't done him justice. Or maybe they'd been too kind. I honestly couldn't decide which.

He was tall enough to make me feel small even from across the room. Dark hair styled perfectly without looking like he'd tried. An expensive suit that fit him so well it had definitely been custom made. But it was his eyes when he turned around that made my breath catch and stick in my throat.

Dark eyes that looked at me like he could see every secret I'd ever kept.

He studied me for a long moment without speaking or moving.

Then he moved away from the window and walked toward me, my heart pounded in my chest as he took slow strides towards me. He stopped a few feet away from me, close enough that I could see his face clearly in the lamplight.

"Miss Vale. Thank you for accepting my invitation." His voice was smooth and cold like expensive whiskey poured over ice.

I found my voice finally after so many failed attempts to speak.

"You know about my parents. Thomas and Miranda Vale. How?"

I didn't have time for small talk. Just the direct question that had been burning in my mind for three days.

Something flickered across his expression. Too quick for me to identify before it was gone. Then his face went blank again.

"I have information about them. About what really happened twelve years ago. About the night they disappeared and why."

My heart started pounding so hard I could hear it echoing in my ears. This was it. Finally. After twelve years of questions and nightmares and wondering if I was losing my mind. Someone was going to tell me the truth.

"Tell me," I said. My voice came out desperate.

I hated how I sounded but couldn't help it.

"Please. I need to know what happened to them."

"Of course," Lucien said calmly.

"But first, we need to discuss terms."

The words hit me like cold water.

"Terms? What terms?"

"Please, sit down." He gestured to one of the leather chairs.

I didn't want to sit. I wanted to stay standing. I wanted to maintain whatever tiny bit of control I still had. But my legs were shaking and I was afraid they'd give out.

So I sat. Wrapped my arms around myself and tried to look braver than I felt.

Lucien moved to stand in front of me. Close enough for our eyes to meet, I felt trapped in his cold gaze.

"I need something from you, Miss Vale. And in exchange, I'll give you everything you want to know about your parents."

"What do you need?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

"I need you to pretend to be my fiancée."

I blinked, stared at him. Waited for him to laugh or say he was joking or explain that I'd misheard.

But he just stood there with that blank expression waiting for my response.

"I'm sorry, what?" I finally managed.

"I need you to pretend to be my fiancée for six months. Attend events with me. Convince certain people that our engagement is real and legitimate."

"You're insane," I said. The words came out before I could stop them.

"Perhaps." He didn't seem offended.

"But I'm also the only person who can tell you what happened to Thomas and Miranda Vale."

I stood up so fast the chair scraped against the floor.

"This is crazy. You're crazy. I'm leaving."

"You're free to leave anytime you want," Lucien said calmly.

"But you'll leave without answers. Without knowing what really happened that night. Without understanding why your parents disappeared."

I froze halfway to the door. Turned back to face him.

"Why?" My voice shook.

"Why would a billionaire need a fake fiancée? You could have anyone. Why me?"

"That's not your concern."

"It is if you're asking me to agree to this insanity!"

"The why doesn't matter, Miss Vale. Only the offer itself. Six months of your time in exchange for the truth about your parents. Take it or leave it."