Undercover Hearts
Undercover Hearts is a contemporary romance thriller featuring two professional liars who find themselves investigating the same crime from opposite sides.
Sophia Chen is an investigative journalist who goes undercover as "Sophia Sterling.” She poses as a wealthy tech heiress to infiltrate Platinum Connections. An exclusive matchmaking service where wealthy clients are mysteriously dying or losing their fortunes. She believes owner Marcus Blackwood is running a blackmail and murder scheme.
Marcus Blackwood is an undercover FBI agent. He co-owns the business as part of a long-term federal operation, with his childhood friend Elena Vasquez handling day-to-day operations. When Sophia appears, Marcus suspects she has ulterior motives.
Neither realizes they're both good guys pursuing the same case—or that Elena is the real villain orchestrating everything from the shadows.
The story follows their immediate, intense attraction as they circle each other with growing suspicion and undeniable chemistry. Both are expert lie-detectors thrown off balance by someone who matches their intelligence and perception. Through disastrous client dates, psychological evaluations, and increasingly personal conversations, they engage in a dangerous dance of deception while fighting feelings that threaten to compromise their respective missions.
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Chapter: Chapter 21 - New HireSophiaI spot the unfamiliar woman the moment I step into the lounge.She’s standing near the espresso machine, exchanging cool pleasantries with Marcus.Elena is watching from behind her glass-walled office, arms folded across her silk blouse like she’s barely restraining a snarl. That alone tells me everything I need to know. Whoever this woman is, Elena didn’t sign off on her.The woman doesn’t look out of place exactly. But neither does she blend in seamlessly. She’s definitely not a client. She clearly can’t afford the $100 000 joining fee.Her clothes are professional, but bought off the rack. No timeless elegance and hefty price tag there. I’d guess her actual income is probably about the same as mine. She clearly doesn’t have a major publication bankrolling her deception.Something Sullivan keeps reminding me of when he gets in touch to demand updates.The way she’s dressed already sets her apart from the rest of the team, who tend to lean into subtle opulence. But there’
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 20 - PlacementMarcusThe folder on my desk isn’t just thick. It’s radioactive.Inside is Agent Rachel Gillespie’s new identity, credentials, backstory, and insertion plan. Everything Rodriguez promised. Everything I didn’t ask for.There’s a sticky note on the front in Rodriguez’s tight handwriting. Make it believable. You have until Friday.I stare at it for a full minute before I move.Unlocking my laptop, I pull up the internal organization chart for Platinum Connections. I need to find a gap that Rachel can fill. A role that Elena won’t bother watching too closely. There’s an opening in Research & Development. Mona, the woman who usually works there, is on six months maternity leave. It’s a quiet little division, mostly dealing with algorithms and compatibility theory. It’s the perfect cover.It still feels like betrayal.I flag it, draft a personnel request, and send it to Elena before I can talk myself out of it.She responds two minutes later.New hire? Since when do we approve talent wi
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 19 - ConfessionSophiaI’ve rewritten this in my head about fifteen times.I have a confession to make. I’m not actually Sophia Sterling, tech heiress and trust fund hot mess. I’m Sophia Chen, award-winning journalist with a penchant for chaos and a mild addiction to oat milk lattes. I’ve been lying to you.That doesn’t sound great.What would Marcus even do if I told him?Report me? Arrest me? Look at me with those glacier-slick eyes and tell me this was all one big game of gotcha, and congratulations, I just lost?Or worst case scenario. He’d say nothing. He’d just look at me with disappointment in his usually warm eyes and walk away.Jamie’s out for the evening, so I’m alone. Which is dangerous. I’m much more reasonable when someone’s around to talk me out of a spiral.I glance at my phone. No messages.No new threats. No new bodies. No cryptic texts from Marcus like we need to talk or I know who you are.Which is both comforting and horrifying.Because it means the countdown is still ticking.I o
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 18 - Back-channelChapter 18: BackchannelMarcusI shouldn’t be doing this.Not because it’s illegal, though it’s probably skimming the edge of a dozen internal policies, but because it’s personal.Too personal.I open a secure line, type in the credentials, and wait for the call to connect.It rings twice before a voice answers.“Well, well. If it isn’t the Bureau’s favorite reclusive disaster. You lose a bet or something?”“Hello to you too, Emerson,” I mutter.Emerson Wu used to run cyber intel for the FBI before burning out and retiring into the warm, chaotic arms of open-source journalism and encrypted podcasting. These days, he mostly freelances for anyone who can afford to indulge his paranoia, in order to access his incredible skills.“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to ask me for something you can’t put in writing?”“Because I am.”“Delightful.” I hear typing, then the hiss of a soda can opening. “Hit me.”“I need a background sweep. Quiet. Deep web. No agency tags. She’s using the alia
Last Updated: 2025-07-21
Chapter: Chapter 17 - Red FlagsSophiaJamie is already halfway through a bottle of rosé and building a conspiracy board on my living room wall when I get home.“I swear to God,” he says without looking at me, “If one more rich white man dies mysteriously, I’m going to buy a taser and start preemptively eliminating suspects.”I close the door behind me and toe off my boots. “Please don’t tase anyone until I finish this investigation. They won’t allow me to bring wine and cheese when I visit you.”He turns, eyes blazing with equal parts worry and fury. “You were supposed to flirt. Not wind up one dead billionaire away from a Netflix docuseries.”“I didn’t kill him, Jamie.”“Not the fucking point!”I collapse onto the couch. The whole room smells like printer ink, whiteboard markers, and existential dread. “Richard Pemberton died of a heart attack. Apparently.”Jamie snorts. “And I’m the Pope. The Catholic church is no longer against gay marriage.”“He was in his private gym. No forced entry. No struggle.”“Uh-huh.
Last Updated: 2025-07-21
Chapter: Chapter 16 - Cold ShowerMarcusI need a cold shower. A very long one. Maybe an ice-bath.Instead, I’m walking down the hall with Sophia beside me, her expression shuttered, her stride tight with tension. I’ve seen her confident. I’ve seen her smug. I’ve even seen her furious.But this version of her? This vibrating-wire, don’t-touch-me-with-your-eyes version? That’s new.And it’s my fault.I push open the glass door to my office and gesture her inside, like this is just another part of the program. Like I’m not fighting the urge to push her up against a wall and kiss her until she’s dizzy. The door clicks shut behind us with the sound of a coffin closing.“Do all the compatibility sessions end with a post-mortem in the CEO’s lair?” she asks acidly.“Only the dramatic ones,” I reply, heading straight for the bar cart.She scoffs. “So just mine, then.”I pour myself water instead of whiskey and take a long, necessary sip. It doesn’t help. I still feel her, lingering in my head like heat lightning. Her voic
Last Updated: 2025-07-21
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