03

STARLIA

I come home to another deadbeat, he's using the damn TV again, like he doesn't have that in his gaming room that I danced my leg off for. I hate men, that much I've decided. If not for the sex I wouldn't be around them. Kade is an idiot, top five on the list of men I hate, he pawned me and his girlfriend off to Rocky after gambling way too much away.

“Starr, you're home late!” Kade smiles at me, if I hadn't walked in front of the TV he wouldn't have noticed me.

“And I see you're in the spot I left you.”

“Yes, got lost in the game.” he sighs, “What kept you at work? Is Rocky fucking you for free again?”

“I had a few clients.” I groan at the word client, my last client of the night pissed me off.

“I'm home.” Brooklyn sings songs, walking into the house. She's Kade's sister, and just like his girlfriend and I, she works her ass off just to make him live like the king he thinks he is.

“I'm guessing you had a client too?” Kade watches Brooke and she frowns at him, her gaze shifting between us.

“I need something to eat, my shift ended horribly.”

“Is Rocky hitting on you?” Kade raises an eyebrow like he gives a damn what Rocky does to me or Alison.

“That's not new, I'm used to that.” I wave him off, men hitting on me no longer affects me. “It's this upper room client I had today.”

“Total douche?” Brooklyn asks, dropping her purse onto the sofa.

“No,” I shake my head. The client's face pops into my head, his eyes, the grip he had on my hand. “More like crazy, that man kept calling me his wife's name.”

“God forbid a man has kinks.” Kade snickers.

I look him up and down, scowling. “I don't kink shame, Kade.” how could I when my tastes are more on the other side of what a psychologist would seem as psychotic behaviour. “This was different, Kade. He was calling me his wife's name and claiming I'm his wife or something, he fought Ty too. You know, the security guard in VVVIP.”

Kade frowns, his gaze more intent now, he's paying attention, he never does. “What did he look like?”

I pause, his image hunting my mind again. I don't even know how to explain what he looks like because every word I can think of doesn't do him justice, it's sad. “Like a Greek gold sculptured just for the pleasure of women.”

“Oh, good.” Kade nods, “So he looked like you but the opposite sex. If you'd played into his fantasy, you might have come home with a brighter smile.”

I roll my eyes, he's such an idiot. “I need to freshen up, I've been touched enough by dirt.”

Kade laughs, the sound particularly annoying. “Starr, you're a sex worker and yet you're always acting high and mighty like you're some golden princess.”

“Be nice.” Brooklyn shoves him, her gaze finding me. “I got some leftover ribs from work do you want some?”

“No thank you, I'll order in.” I offer her a small smile. We've had ribs for lunch and dinner, I need something more, something to have me putting in extra hours in the gym tomorrow.

“See what I'm telling you.” Kade snarls, he's always commenting on my princess behaviour. He forgets that before my brother got me into this mess I was someone's little girl too. “You owe me, Starr.” he reminds me and here I thought he had outgrown the habit.

Roughly four years ago, my brother got us both into a lot of debt, he was all the family I had—or cared for, to say the least. He got himself a gambling addiction and doubled on his drug addiction and long story short, Kade sacrificed his gang, settled those debts, and handled medical bills when my brother OD'd. It's a useless debt because my brother died after being in the for hospital three weeks. So now I owe Kade his gang back which I can't give him so I settle for selling sex until he is back on his feet. A hard gamble since he falls back on his ass invariably.

“You're already profiting over me selling my body, what more do you want from me, Kade? My kidney, liver?”

He shrugs, “In the future, why not?”

I huff in frustration, he's not even joking, with the way things are going, he just might need my liver not that it'll be any good to him because I happen to drink a lot sometimes too.

“One day, I'm going to be done paying you back and when I am I'll–”

“What? ” he snorts out a laugh, mocking my thoughts. “What will you do, Starr?”

I don't know.

This is all I know, dance, fuck and aside from giving Kade money, funding his lavish lifestyle? I can't do anything, I don't even date because men get threatened by my job, usually, he and I get along just fine.

“I'll take Brooke with me and we will set off in the sunset.” I finally say, my gaze challenging, bet he didn't think I would come up with that.

“Sail off,” he corrects me. He does this often, not just him but other people too. I'm not what one would call school smart, hell I'm not even smart, if I were I wouldn't be in this predicament.

I simply glare at Kade before heading upstairs to my bedroom, it's my sanctuary, I've designed it to calm myself, I designed it to match would my life would be like if I weren't so unfortunate with nobody to call my own. I have family, family I choose to pretend died because they gave up on my twin brother when he needed them. Brooke is a plus support system, and so is Alison but they're Kade's village, not mine.

ADRIAN

I've spent the whole night comparing my wife and the alleged Medusa, who is also my wife.

I've asked one of my men to do a deep dive on Medusa but nothing they find will change my suspicions. I spent two years married to Tatiana, and four years fighting my obsession towards her because I didn't want to see her as anything but a little girl.

I'm wide awake, running on three hours of sleep like I've done for the last three years because my dreams are haunted by Tatiana. I see her glaring at me before she left for her trip, I hate that the last memory I've got of my wife is of an unfinished argument.

“Capo,” Luca, one of my men knocks on the door of my hotel room. He's currently guarding the room outside, with another of my men while one guards me from the balcony. It's an insult to my capabilities but I seem crazy after the scene last night but padorn me for overeating after seeing my allegedly dead wife.

I don't plan on letting Luca in but when he knocks again, I tell him to come in. “I have the file you requested for last night.”

I take the file with urgency, the first page is a huge picture of her with her fake details underneath. “So this doesn't still look like my wife to you?” I turn the file in Lucas's direction.

“It does, Capo.” Luca nods, “but people look alike.”

I turn away from him, inspecting the file. This is a good picture of her, her hair is dyed raven like I saw last night, the colour is stunning on her but I like her natural colour the best. Disregarding the similarities, I move on to the details

Name: Starlia Love Preston.

Age: Twenty-seven years old.

I snicker at that, it'sThree years older than my wife is.

Eye colour: Green

Height: Nearly a foot taller,

I go over the rest of the insignificant details, her Employment and Financial Information, Criminal History, Social and Behavioral Patterns, Surveillance Reports, and Public records but none of them matter, anyone can forge this type of thing.

“So?” Luca clears his throat, just as Yuri enters, leaving his post on the balcony.

“I still think this is Tatiana.” I tell him, ignoring Yuri.

Luca nods, he has opinions that would prove me delusional but like the rest of my men, he wouldn't dare contradict me. “What do you want me to do?”