Novels by C. Elliot

The gunshot was the loudest thing I had ever heard. The kick of the pistol jerked my arm back, but I didn’t let go. I watched the bullet strike the marble floor just inches from my father’s expensive shoes.He jumped back, his face turning a sickly shade of white. The detonator in his hand wobbled. For the first time in my life, the man who terrified me was the one who looked afraid."Serena!" he screamed, his voice high and thin. "Are you crazy? I’m your father!""You were the man who sold me," I shouted back. My voice didn't shake. The blood of the man I had just killed was drying on my skin, and it felt like armor. "You sold me to a monster, and then you tried to blow me up to cover your tracks. You aren't my father. You’re just a businessman who ran out of luck."Beside him, Marco Vitelli laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound. He was a handsome man, but his eyes were as empty as a graveyard. He looked up at me and Alessandro on the balcony like we were a show put on for his entertai

The explosion threw me against the wall. The sound was so loud it felt like my head was splitting open. Dust and bits of glass showered down on my hair, and for a second, I couldn't breathe. Through the smoke, I saw Alessandro. He hadn’t fallen. He stood like a mountain, his gun already drawn and pointed at the door."Stay down!" he roared.I scrambled behind his heavy oak desk, my heart hammering so hard I thought it would burst. Outside, the world had turned into a nightmare. Rapid gunfire ripped through the air, the sharp pop-pop-pop of rifles echoing through the hallways of the estate."Is it Marco?" I choked out, my voice thick with dust. "Did Bianca send them?""She didn't just send them. She gave them the security codes," Alessandro hissed. He checked the hallway, then turned back to me. His eyes were cold, but there was a flicker of something else fury. "Your sister just signed your death warrant, Serena. They aren't here for me. They’re here to erase the evidence of their bet

Alessandro’s grip on my arm was like an iron shackle. He didn’t wait for me to process the news about Bianca. He dragged me out of the room, my wedding dress trailing behind me like a broken wing."Wait! You’re hurting me!" I cried out.He didn’t slow down. "Pain is the only thing your family understands, Serena. Your sister is currently in the arms of the man who tried to put a bullet in my head last month. Do you understand what that means for you?""I didn't know!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "I haven't spoken to her in weeks! She treats me like a servant, not a sister!"We reached his office. He threw the door open and shoved me inside. He didn't turn on the main lights. The only glow came from a row of computer monitors on his desk. He pointed at one of them. It showed a grainy thermal image of a car speeding across a bridge."That is a Vitelli armored transport," Alessandro hissed. "And my scouts just confirmed Bianca is in the back seat. She didn't just run from a wedding. S

The black SUV sped through the night, but it felt like a cage. Every time the tires hit a bump, my shoulder brushed against Alessandro’s. He didn't move. He didn't look at me. He sat there like a statue carved from ice, staring straight ahead."Why are you doing this?" I finally whispered. My voice sounded small and broken in the quiet car. "If you know I’m not Bianca, why did you marry me?"Alessandro didn't answer for a long time. Then, he turned his head slowly. The light from a passing streetlamp hit his eyes, making them look like cold glass."A contract is a contract, Serena," he said. "Your father promised me a De Luca daughter to seal our borders. He didn't specify which one. If I had walked away, the other families would think I was weak. I don't do weak.""So I'm just a replacement?" I felt a sharp sting in my chest. It was an old pain. All my life, I had been the spare tire, the one hidden in the back while Bianca took the spotlight."You're a hostage," he corrected.The ca

The slap echoed through the cold marble hallway, stinging my cheek and forcing my head to the side. I didn’t cry. I was used to the pain, but the betrayal in my father’s eyes was new."You will do this, Serena," my father hissed. His breath smelled of expensive cigars and cheap desperation. "Your sister is gone. If Alessandro Moretti arrives at that altar and finds no bride, he will burn this house down with us inside it."I looked at the white silk dress spread across my bed. It was beautiful, expensive, and felt like a shroud. It belonged to Bianca. Everything always belonged to Bianca. She was the golden daughter, the one promised to the Devil of the Moretti family. I was just the shadow that cleaned up her messes.And now, she had run away with a rival, leaving me to face the monster in her place."He’ll know," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I am not her. He met her at the gala. He’ll see my face and realize you lied to him."My father grabbed my shoulders, his fingers digging