Novels by HG

Serena believed the hardest part was over because she was wrong.The invitation arrived on thick, cream-colored paper looking elegant, understated, deliberate. No logos. No unnecessary words. Just a date, a time, and a location overlooking the river. And a single line at the bottom:Your presence is requested.Not invited, but requested.Serena folded the card slowly, a familiar instinct stirring in her chest. Power always announced itself softly, as if daring you to ignore it.Ethan noticed the change in her expression. “What is it?”“An offer,” she said. “The kind that pretends to be harmless.”The venue was quiet. Too quiet. Glass walls reflected the city lights, and the room smelled faintly of polished wood and expensive restraint. Serena counted three exits before she even sat down.Across the table sat a woman in her late forties, impeccably dressed, eyes sharp with practiced neutrality.“Ms. Blake,” the woman said, smiling. “I’m Claire Halston.”Serena didn’t offer her hand. “I

The world didn’t end. That was the strangest part.After weeks of tension, sleepless nights, and carefully calculated moves, Serena woke up to sunlight filtering through the curtains and the soft sound of Leo humming in the kitchen. No breaking news alerts. No urgent calls. Just morning.For a long time, Serena lay still, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the familiar rush of anxiety. It didn’t come. Instead, there was quiet.At breakfast, Leo chattered about a school project, his hands animated as he explained an idea that made perfect sense only to him. Serena listened, nodding, smiling at the right moments, her coffee cooling untouched.“You’re thinking again,” Leo said suddenly, narrowing his eyes.Serena laughed softly. “Is it that obvious?”“You do that face when you’re solving big problems,” he said.She reached out and brushed crumbs from his cheek. “No more big problems today.”“Promise?”She hesitated just for a second, then nodded. “Promise.”Later, after Leo left for sch

Serena didn’t leak everything, she leaked enough.At precisely nine a.m., a single document surfaced, verified, timestamped, and impossible to dismiss. It wasn’t an accusation; it was a map. Funding routes, Editorial overlaps, Boardroom connections that explained influence without ever naming it.Readers did the rest. Within minutes, analysts began drawing lines. Journalists asked sharper questions. Comment sections erupted, not with outrage, but with recognition.This wasn’t gossip. It was structure.Ethan stood beside Serena as the news spread across screens. “They’re seeing it.”“They always do,” Serena replied. “Once you give them the lens.”Phones rang. Messages stacked. Requests poured in from outlets that hadn’t been part of the smear outlets that valued credibility over access.Serena declined interviews.“Silence forces them to read,” she said.By noon, Aurelius Grant’s name trended, not as an accusation, but as a question.Why does a philanthropist fund companies that benefi

The truth didn’t arrive all at once, It surfaced slowly, like something long buried finally running out of air.Serena stared at the screen as the last data point locked into place funding routes, editorial influence, and quiet boardroom connections disguised as coincidence, as the name appeared.She went still. Ethan noticed immediately. “You found them.”“Yes,” Serena said quietly. “And it’s worse than I thought.”He moved closer. “Who is it?”Serena didn’t answer right away. She leaned back, eyes distant, as memory surfaced, handshakes, shared dinners, a smile that had once seemed genuine.“Aurelius Grant,” she said at last.Ethan frowned. “The philanthropist?”“The visionary,” Serena replied. “The man everyone trusts. The one who built his reputation on transparency and ethical leadership.”Ethan exhaled sharply. “And he’s the one pulling the strings.”“Yes,” Serena said. “Indirectly. Cleverly. He never touches the mess, he just benefits from it.”Aurelius Grant had been everywher

The public move came sooner than Serena expected.It broke just after sunrise, splashed across multiple business and entertainment platforms at once—as if released on a timed trigger.“INSIDE SERENA BLAKE’S RISE: QUESTIONS, CONNECTIONS, AND CONVENIENT SILENCE.”Serena read the headline without blinking.So this was their play.The article was careful. That was the most dangerous part.No outright accusations.No illegal claims.Just insinuations—strategically placed words like allegedly, sources suggest, unverified but concerning.It referenced old partnerships.Recycled a failed merger.Highlighted gaps in timelines that only looked suspicious if you wanted them to.“They’re not trying to destroy me,” Serena said calmly, scrolling. “They’re trying to destabilize trust.”Ethan stood behind her, jaw tight. “It’s coordinated. Multiple platforms, shared phrasing. This wasn’t journalism—it was deployment.”Serena nodded. “And they think I’ll panic.”Within hours, the reactions followed.I

The first sign came quietly. No threats. No shadows. No unfamiliar faces lingering too long. Just an email.Serena stared at the screen, eyes narrowing as she read it again. It wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t aggressive. In fact, it was almost… polite.We believe certain information about your past may soon become public. You may want to prepare.No sender name. No signature. Just certainty.Serena didn’t panic. Panic was for people without options. She forwarded the message to Ethan without comment. Within minutes, he was at her side, reading it over her shoulder.“They’re not going after Leo,” he said immediately.“No,” Serena agreed. “They’re going after me.”Ethan straightened. “Reputation damage.”“Control,” she corrected. “If they can weaken me publicly, they can limit my influence privately.”He exhaled slowly. “That’s smarter than the last network.”“And more dangerous,” Serena said calmly.By noon, the second sign appeared. A financial blog published a vague but suggestive article