Chapter: Chapter 171Eve's POV It was late June, and the garden was in full bloom. The boys were asleep in the nursery, exhausted after an afternoon of chasing Marlowe through the rose bushes. Priya had gone back to her cottage. The security team had settled into their posts. And Devin and I were lying on a blanket in the grass, staring up at the stars, the way we used to do on the roof of his building when we were younger and the world was simpler. "Do you ever think about how we got here?" I asked. He turned his head to look at me. "Every day." "I mean, really think about it. The marriage of convenience. The threats. The running. The years of pretending. All of it." "I think about it more than I should." I was quiet for a moment. Then I asked the question that had been living in the back of my mind for weeks, the one I had been circling for months without ever saying it out loud. "Do you regret it?" He was quiet for so long that I began to wonder if he had heard me. Then he turned onto his side
Last Updated: 2026-09-27
Chapter: Chapter 170Devin's POV We took the boys to the estate in early spring. The house had been cleaned and repaired in the months since the network collapsed, its windows opened to the fresh air, its gardens restored to something resembling their old glory. The staff had returned, and the rooms were filled with flowers and the smell of bread baking in the kitchen. It was the first time we had been back since the night I found the tracker on Eve's car, and walking through the front door felt like stepping into a different lifetime. The boys were three months older now, crawling everywhere and pulling themselves up on the furniture and shrieking with delight every time they discovered something new. Sebastian had taken to chasing the estate cat, a fat gray creature named Marlowe that had adopted us the moment we arrived. Theodore preferred the garden, where he spent hours examining leaves and rocks and the occasional startled beetle. Priya visited every weekend. She had moved into the guest cottage
Last Updated: 2026-09-27
Chapter: Chapter 169Eve's POV The trial of Marcus Kane lasted four days, and I attended every single one of them. I sat in the front row of the courtroom with Devin's hand wrapped around mine while the prosecution laid out the evidence piece by piece. The weapons shipments. The financial records. The testimony from the people he had recruited and threatened and used. Hannah Reyes flew in from the west coast to testify, her voice steady as she described the night she drugged Viktor Orlov's drink. Elena Vasquez appeared by video link from Paris, where she had settled into a small apartment overlooking the Seine. Even Thomas Grant, the analyst who had betrayed us, took the stand to describe the threats Kane had made against his family. Kane watched it all with that same cold, unbothered smile, as if the proceedings were a minor inconvenience rather than the end of a thirty-year reign of terror. When the verdict came back guilty on every count, he did not flinch. He simply turned his head and looked direc
Last Updated: 2026-09-27
Chapter: Chapter 168Devin's POVThe gun in Marcus Kane's hand does not waver.He stands by the shattered window, silhouetted against the gray morning sky, and there is something almost relaxed about the way he holds himself. He is not afraid. He is not nervous. He is a man who has been preparing for this moment for years, and now that it has arrived, he intends to savor every second."Marcus Kane." The name feels foreign on my tongue, like a curse I have not yet learned to speak. "I have never heard of you.""I know. That was the point." His smile is cold and humorless, the smile of a man who has spent decades hiding in plain sight. "While you were chasing Croft and Pembrooke and Trent, I was building something new. Something better. Something that will outlast all of them.""You are the one who killed Volkov. The one on the roof.""I am." He tilts his head, studying me like a specimen under glass. "And I would have killed you too, if I had wanted to. But I did not want to. Not yet. I wanted you to see t
Last Updated: 2026-09-26
Chapter: Chapter 167 Eve's POV The next target is a man named Yuri Volkov, and he is the most dangerous of the three. Unlike Orlov, who hid behind intermediaries and dead drops, Volkov operates in the open. He owns a chain of nightclubs in Miami, and he uses them as fronts for the network's money laundering and weapons trafficking. He is careful, but he is also arrogant. He believes he is untouchable. We spend three days planning the operation. Marguerite provides the intelligence, Solomon assembles the team, and Mark works around the clock to trace Volkov's movements and identify his weaknesses. The weakness, it turns out, is his ego. "He hosts a private party every month at his flagship club," Marguerite says. "Only the wealthiest and most connected people in Miami are invited. He uses it to show off, to make deals, to remind everyone who is in charge. If we can get someone inside, we can get close to him." "Who do we send?" I ask. "That is the problem. It has to be someone he does not know, som
Last Updated: 2026-09-25
Chapter: Chapter 166Devin's POV The call comes at six in the morning, and it is not good news. Solomon's voice is tight, controlled, but I can hear the anger underneath. "Orlov is dead." I sit up in the hotel bed, careful not to wake Eve. "What do you mean, dead?" "He was being transported to the secure facility in upstate New York. The convoy was ambushed on the highway. Three of my men are dead. Orlov was shot in the head before they could get him out of the van." "Who ambushed you?" "We do not know yet. The attackers were professional. They came out of nowhere, hit us hard, and disappeared before we could mount a defense. The only thing we found was this." He pauses. "A message. Carved into the side of the van. It said, 'You are not the only ones who can play this game.'" The words settle into my chest like a cold weight. The network knew. They knew we were coming. They knew we had Orlov. And they made sure he could not talk. "Where is Eve?" "She is still asleep. I have not told her y
Last Updated: 2026-09-25
Chapter: Chapter 207Iris’s POVI knelt beside Adrian and pressed my hands against the wound. Blood seeped through my fingers. He looked up at me, his eyes glassy and unfocused."I am sorry," he whispered. "I never meant for it to end this way.""Stay with me.""I wanted to hurt him. But I ended up hurting you instead." He coughed, blood flecking his lips. "Tell the children I am sorry. They did not deserve any of this.""The ambulance is coming. Just hold on.""I do not think I can.""Yes, you can. You have to."He smiled, a sad, broken smile. "You always were the stubborn one."I pressed harder against the wound, but it was not enough. I could see it in his eyes. The light was fading."Iris," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You asked me once why I disappeared. I was going to ask you to marry me. I had a ring and everything. But then my father died and I lost everything. I was too ashamed to come back. I was too broken.""Why are you telling me this now?""Because I wanted you to know that I
Last Updated: 2026-09-26
Chapter: Chapter 206Iris's POVOne afternoon, I got a call from the school that Ava and Noah were gone. A man claiming to be their grandfather had picked them up. He knew their names, their teachers, their schedules. The secretary apologized through tears, saying she had no reason to doubt him. He looked like a grandfather. He acted like a grandfather. He said all the right things.I called Victor. He answered on the first ringa"I did not take them. I swear to you.""I know." My voice was steady, calmer than I felt. "It was Adrian."I called Marcus next. He was in a meeting, but he left immediately when I told him. Rachel was with him and she insisted on coming.We met at my apartment. Marcus paced the living room while I sat on the couch, my phone in my hand, waiting for a call that might never come. Rachel made tea that no one drank. Victor arrived twenty minutes later, his face pale and his hands trembling."I have people looking," he said. "Every contact I have. We will find them.""You should not b
Last Updated: 2026-09-26
Chapter: Chapter 205Marcus's POVThe wedding invitations arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, and Rachel screamed when she opened the box."Marcus! They're perfect!" She held up one of the cards, her eyes bright with excitement. The invitations were simple and elegant, cream-colored paper with gold lettering and a small embossed design of two interlocking rings. "Look at the calligraphy. It's exactly what I wanted."I walked over and wrapped my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. "They look beautiful. You have good taste.""We have good taste," she corrected, turning her head to kiss my cheek. "You picked the venue.""I picked the venue because you fell in love with it.""Same thing."We spent the next hour addressing envelopes. Rachel had a system, a spreadsheet with every guest's name and address carefully organized, and she worked through it with the precision of a project manager. I sat beside her and folded invitations and licked envelopes and tried not to think about the last t
Last Updated: 2026-09-25
Chapter: Chapter 204The message from Briggs came through just as I was settling into the couch with a cup of tea and the latest draft of my manuscript. I traced the number on the burner phone. The location is a hotel downtown and I'm sending you the address now. Do you want me to check it out first? I stared at the screen for a long moment. The tea went cold in my hands. The manuscript sat forgotten on my lap. I thought about the messages. You destroyed my life. I am going to make sure you lose everything. I thought about who could be sending them and why. I thought about Adrian, who had been watching me for months, waiting for the right moment to strike. I typed back: I will go. Send the address. Briggs replied immediately: That is not a good idea. Let me handle it. I need to do this myself. He did not argue after that. He just sent the address and told me to call him if anything went wrong. I got up from the couch and walked to my bedroom. I changed out of my pajamas and into jeans and a
Last Updated: 2026-09-24
Chapter: chapter 203Iris's POVThe email from my editor arrived at 6:47 in the morning, and I read it three times before I let myself believe it was real.We want to publish. The manuscript is brilliant. Can you come in today to discuss the contract?I sat on the edge of my bed with my phone clutched in my hands, the words blurring together as tears filled my eyes. I started writing that book six months ago, in the quiet hours after the twins went to bed and the apartment settled into silence. I wrote it for myself, mostly. A way to process everything that happened. A way to make sense of a life I could not remember.Now it was going to be published.The twins were still asleep, curled together in Ava's bed the way they always ended up by morning, and I did not have the heart to wake them. I tiptoed to the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee, then sat at the table and read the email again while the sun came up. The words did not change. They still said the same thing. We want to publish.I thought ab
Last Updated: 2026-09-24
Chapter: Chapter 202Marcus's POVThe morning started with Rachel burning the toast, and I loved her for it.I sat at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in my hands and watched her scrape the blackened edges into the sink with a knife. She was wearing one of my old shirts, the blue one with the frayed collar that she claimed was the most comfortable thing in the house, and her hair was still damp from the shower. She was muttering something under her breath about unreliable appliances and the perils of trying to do too many things at once, and I found myself smiling."I can make more," I offered.She turned to look at me, her expression softening when she saw my face. "No. You sit. I will fix this."I stayed where I was and watched her move around the kitchen with the easy familiarity of someone who had been doing this for years. Three years together, and I still found myself surprised by how natural it felt to have her here. She fit into my life in a way that felt effortless, not because she tried t
Last Updated: 2026-09-23
Reborn: Blood Bag No More, I Am Their Ruin
What would you do if you died just after finding out your whole life was a lie?
Mila Collins spent her entire life trying to be the perfect daughter. She gave, forgave and sacrificed, all for a love she never received. It wasn't until her final breath that she learned why. She was never their daughter at all. She was a spare, kept for her blood and her body. And to crown it all, the man she loved had been sharing a bed with the very sister she saved.
Then Mila opens her eyes at nineteen with every memory of her past life burning behind them and she is done being used.
In her newfound bravado, she crosses CavanBlackwood, the coldest and most ruthless heir in the city. Now he is watching her and Mila, who swore never to trust another man, is beginning to wonder what it would cost to be seen by one who is impossible to fool.
Her second life was meant to be about revenge, nobody warned her it might also be about love.
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Chapter: Chapter 62 Mila had braced for the Wendell house to feel cold. It was warm, which turned out to be harder to handle. It sat behind a screen of old trees and landscaped gardens, grand without showing off. Wide windows looked out over the lawns. Modern furniture shared the rooms with older pieces that had clearly belonged to the family for generations. The staff greeted Iris as if they had known her all her life, which Mila supposed they had. "Grandmother's in the sitting room," Iris said. "She's been looking forward to meeting you properly." "You make it sound like an interview." "Don't worry. She doesn't bite. That's my brother's department." "Your brother doesn't bite either." "Interesting. You sound very sure." "Iris." "I'm walking. See?" Cavan's grandmother rose when they came in and her face lit up. "You came! I'm so glad." "Thank you for inviting me." Mila held out the gift bag. "I brought you something small. I hope you like tea." The older woman peeked inside and smiled. "You
Last Updated: 2026-11-04
Chapter: Chapter 61After a quick shower and a change into a plain skirt and blouse she reached the shopping mall shortly before noon. She was meeting Iris there before they went to the Wendell house and she wanted a small gift for the grandmother. She chose a box of good tea, something thoughtful without being too personal, and had it wrapped. With it tucked into her bag she headed for the exit. That was when she saw Sophia. Her sister stood outside an expensive café with two young women, laughing while one of them showed her something on a phone. She looked perfectly healthy. There was no trace of the weakness she described to their parents. Her dress was spotless and her handbag was costly and her sunglasses probably cost more than Mila had once spent on a month's food. One of her friends said something and Sophia laughed again. Mila stopped. She had known for a long time that Sophia's illness was a tool. She had also known Sophia could enjoy herself while Mila was made to feel guilty for wanting
Last Updated: 2026-11-04
Chapter: Chapter 60She looked from Mila's flushed face to Cavan's suddenly rigid back. Nobody spoke. Then she slowly lowered the bag. "I am so sorry," she announced, sounding delighted instead of sorry. "I didn't realize I was interrupting something." "There's nothing to interrupt," Cavan said. Iris looked at the space between them. "Of course. You were just standing very close together for professional reasons." Mila pressed her lips together, fighting a laugh born of pure embarrassment. Cavan gave his sister a warning look. "Why are you here?" "I brought breakfast. I thought you'd be hungry." She held up the bag and glanced between them again. "I can leave it if you'd like to get back to your very serious professional discussion." "Iris." "I'm going!" She set the bag on the bench and started for the door and stopped halfway, unable to resist. "Do you two like each other?" "Iris, go." She burst out laughing and vanished. Mila covered her face with both hands. "I'm never going to hear
Last Updated: 2026-11-03
Chapter: Chapter 59They started on footwork across the padded floor. He showed her how to stay balanced and avoid being cornered, and she followed him until she tried to change direction too fast and her foot caught the edge of a mat. The floor tilted. For one startled second she was falling. Then Cavan caught her. His arm came firmly around her waist and his other hand steadied her upper back, and the momentum brought them chest to chest with both her hands on his shoulders. Neither of them spoke. She could feel the strength in his arms and the heat of him through their clothes and the sudden stillness that had come over him. His face was near enough for her to see the tension in his jaw. "Are you hurt?" His voice was lower than before. "No. I just lost my footing." He did not let go right away. His eyes went over her face checking for any sign she had hurt herself, and when he was satisfied he began to loosen his hold. She should have stepped back. Instead she became very aware of how they were s
Last Updated: 2026-11-03
Chapter: Chapter 58 Mila had learned the hard way that surviving was not the same as getting ahead. In her first life she had spent too many years reacting to other people's choices. She trusted the wrong people and wasted chances and let the ones who claimed to love her convince her that her own plans could wait. By the time she saw what it had cost her it was far too late to buy any of it back. She had no intention of paying that price twice. That evening she answered Iris's last message and settled at the desk beside the living room window with her laptop open. The apartment was quiet. The doors were locked and the alarm was on, and for once she could think without wondering who might be waiting outside. There was money to make and she had something nobody else in the market had. Her memories. She opened her accounts and went through her holdings before turning to the companies on her watchlist. She did not buy blindly from what she remembered. She set each company's current numbers against the
Last Updated: 2026-11-02
Chapter: Chapter 57Across the city the Collins house was far less pleasant. Margaret stood by the dining table with her eyes on her phone. Richard read a document he had already read twice. They had hardly spoken for several minutes and the silence had begun to feel deliberate. Sophia broke it. "Has she contacted you?" "Who?" "Mila, obviously." "No." "Then why do you keep checking your phone?" "Because I have things to do." Sophia folded her arms. "She's been gone for days and nobody knows what she's doing. She hasn't even asked how I am." Richard lowered the paper. "You know why she left." "Because she was upset." "Because she refused a decision we made for her," Richard said. "And because she no longer thinks she has to do as we say." Margaret set her phone down harder than she meant to. "She can't just vanish whenever she likes. She's still part of this family." Sophia let out a bitter laugh. "You should have told her that before she walked out." "Don't speak to me as if t
Last Updated: 2026-11-02
Chapter: Chapter 6I stared at the back of his head. A mirror? He was sending me home to practice loving him in front of a mirror. Five years ago this man had sent flowers to my office every morning. He had once driven across the city in the rain because I mentioned wanting a particular pastry. He remembered the smallest things about me including that I hated lilies and could not sleep without checking that the front door was locked. Now he was grading my performance. I would have thrown the folder at his head if I had not needed it so badly. "Anything else Your Majesty?" "Sign this." I went back to my chair and signed so hard that the pen nearly went through the page. Aziel took the folder and checked my signature. "Patricia will take you to legal department . We will go over the rest after the wedding." "The wedding," I repeated. It was the first time either of us had said it aloud. "Come to City Hall on Monday at ten in the morning." "Monday? That's in two days." "I'm aware." "F
Last Updated: 2026-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 5 I gave myself one night to wallow and one morning to be furious. Then I wasted four more days pretending I still had names left to try. I did not. Arthur had reached every last one of them before I could dial. By Saturday morning I had two days left on Victor's clock and a twelve million dollar notice sitting in my desk drawer and one very plain thought. Pride looks lovely on a woman but it does not pay a board of directors and it certainly does not stop Arthur Kane from looking at me as if I already belong to him. So I got dressed. I chose white this time because I wanted to look like someone who had not been broken even though I was mostly held together by hairspray and spite. Patricia was at the front desk when I arrived. It was a Saturday which told me everything I needed to know about working for Aziel Richards. She looked me over and wore the same pity she had worn the last time. "Ms. Grant." "Patricia." "He's in a meeting. It will be longer than last time." "I brought
Last Updated: 2026-11-01
Chapter: Chapter 4By the fifth month I could tell a man was about to turn me down from the way he said my name. It came out a little too warm and a little too slow and it was always followed by tragic news about a fiancée he had apparently forgotten to mention. I had stopped taking it personally because I totally understand that they had to protect their interests. That Monday I was not thinking about husbands at all. I was at my desk at 8:30 AM with a cup of coffee going cold beside me and a number on my screen that I had now read four times. Six million dollars. It had left one of Grant Industries' investment accounts and landed with a consulting firm I had never heard of. The firm had been registered barely three months earlier and the authorization carried Victor's signature. I printed the page and slid it into the folder with the three other payments that had been costing me sleep. Twice I had asked the finance director to explain them. The first time he sent me a stack of reports so thick with
Last Updated: 2026-10-04
Chapter: Chapter 3The days after the funeral I swallowed in grief and sleepless nights. I did not leave my apartment but I had Nina with me. I sat on my couch in my father's old sweater and stared at the walls, replaying every moment of my meeting with Aziel until the memory felt like a wound I kept pressing on purpose. Nina brought me food I barely touched and sat with me in the silence and I was grateful for her presence even when I could not find the words to tell her so.On the third day, I received a call from Arthur Kane.I stared at his name on my screen for a long moment before I answered. I did not want to hear his voice but I knew that ignoring him would only give him more power."Ria," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "I was hoping we could talk. Privately. Away from the prying eyes of the board and your uncle.""I have nothing to say to you.""I think you will want to hear what I have to offer. Meet me at the Garden Club this afternoon. If you do not come, I will assume you are not inter
Last Updated: 2026-10-04
Chapter: Chapter 2I walked into Richards Industries still wearing the black dress from my father's funeral. My heels clicked against the marble floor and I did not slow down to look at the art or the people in expensive suits who turned to stare. I walked straight to the reception desk."I need to see Aziel Richards," I said.The receptionist looked up, her eyes flicking over my tear swollen face and rumpled dress. "Do you have an appointment?""No, but I am not leaving until I see him."She picked up her phone and murmured something into the receiver. I stood there with my hands clasped tightly in front of me, refusing to sit down. A man in a gray suit walked past and gave me a look that lingered too long. I met his gaze and he quickly looked away.Twenty minutes passed but I did not move.Finally, the elevator doors opened and a stern woman with sharp eyes and silver hair stepped out. I recognized her immediately. Patricia had been Aziel's assistant five years ago, back when I was naive enough to bel
Last Updated: 2026-10-04
Chapter: Chapter 1The day I discovered I would have to beg Aziel Richards for help was the day I realized God had a truly twisted sense of humor. I was sitting in Gerald Hartwell's office, still wearing the black dress from my dad’s funeral. I've lost count of the times I was told that the funeral arrangement was beautiful, as if my father's death could be reduced to a floral arrangement and a polished eulogy. Many people showed up to pay their last homage to my father. Business associates who had spent years trying to outmaneuver my father now stood in line to shake my hand. Politicians who had once called him a ruthless capitalist now spoke of his philanthropy with tears in their eyes. Some old friends who hadn't bothered to visit him in the hospital now wept openly over his coffin. I watched them all with a face carved from stone.She hasn't cried once, they whispered. What kind of daughter doesn't cry at her own father's funeral? I heard them but I have learnt long ago that the truth was a l
Last Updated: 2026-10-04
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