Chapter: 106!MABEL"Wait!"Claire's voice cracked. Actually cracked.I'd never heard her sound anything but composed. But now there was desperation in her tone.I stopped at the restaurant entrance. Didn't turn around."Your mother was a thief," Claire said loudly.That made me turn.Claire stood by our table, her perfect composure finally shattered. Her face was flushed. Her hands clenched into fists."What did you say?" I asked quietly."Your mother. Elena. She was a thief." Claire's voice was sharp now. Defensive. "She stole MY designs. Not the other way around."I walked back slowly. "Say that again.""Elena James stole from ME. She had access to my studio. She saw my sketches. And she copied them." Claire's eyes blazed. "Everything she created was based on work she stole from me.""You're lying.""I'm telling the truth! The truth you've been too blind to see!" Claire moved toward me. "Your mother wasn't some innocent victim. She was a copycat. A thief. A plagiarist.""My mother was original….
Last Updated: 2026-02-09
Chapter: 105!MABELI started laughing.Not polite laughter. Not restrained. Full, loud laughter that echoed through the expensive restaurant.People stared. I didn't care.Claire stood there, perfectly composed, watching me laugh at her offer."Something amusing?" she asked coolly."You." I wiped my eyes. "You actually think you can buy me off?""Ten million dollars is a substantial amount…""I don't care if it's a hundred million!" I laughed again. "You think I'd sell my son? You think there's a price tag on motherhood?"Claire's expression remained calm. "Everyone has a price, Mabel. The question is whether you're honest enough to admit yours.""Not me.""Really? You're telling me there's no amount of money that would make you walk away?" Claire tilted her head. "I find that hard to believe.""Believe whatever you want." I dropped the torn envelope on the table. "I'm not for sale. My son isn't for sale. And you're delusional if you think money solves everything.""Money solves most things…""Not
Last Updated: 2026-02-09
Chapter: 104!MABEL"Wait."Claire's voice stopped me at the restaurant entrance.I turned back. She stood beside our table, composed as ever."We're not finished," she said."Yes, we are.""No. We're not." Claire gestured to my chair. "Sit down. I have an offer to make.""I don't want anything from you…..""You haven't heard it yet." Her voice was calm. Reasonable. "Sit. Five more minutes. Then if you still want to leave, you can."Against my better judgment, I walked back to the table.I didn't sit."Talk," I said.Claire sat, folding her hands on the table. "You're angry. I understand that. You feel wronged. Violated. Robbed of something precious.""I was robbed of something precious. My son.""From your perspective, yes." Claire nodded. "But from mine, I saved my grandson from an unsuitable situation. We see the same events differently.""There's no different way to see kidnapping…""Let me finish." Claire's voice sharpened slightly. "You want justice. Revenge. Whatever you want to call it. You
Last Updated: 2026-02-08
Chapter: 103!MABELI stopped walking.Turned back.All the rage I'd been holding in, five years of pain, of searching, of grief, came flooding out."You destroyed my mother," I said, my voice shaking.Claire looked up from her wine. "I beg your pardon?""My mother. Elena James. You destroyed her." I walked back to the table. "You stole her designs. Ruined her career. Drove her to kill herself.""That's a dramatic interpretation….""It's the TRUTH!" My voice rose. Other diners looked over. I didn't care. "She trusted you! She showed you her work! And you stole everything!"Claire's expression remained calm. "Your mother and I had a professional disagreement…""You STOLE from her! You took her designs and filed them as your own! You made her look like the copycat when YOU were the thief!""Business is competitive, Mabel….""It wasn't competition! It was THEFT!" I slammed my hand on the table. Silverware rattled. "She spent months creating those designs! Months of work! And you took them in a day!""
Last Updated: 2026-02-08
Chapter: 102!MABELClaire set down her wine glass and looked at me directly."You want me to deny it," she said. "You want me to lie. To claim it was all a misunderstanding. That the baby swap was an accident. That I had no idea what happened.""Did you know?""Of course I knew." She said it simply. Casually. Like admitting she knew the weather forecast. "I orchestrated the entire thing."Even though I'd known it, had evidence of it, hearing her admit it so baldly took my breath away."You're admitting you stole my baby.""I'm admitting I did what was necessary." Claire picked up her fork, examining it as if we were discussing something mundane. "There's a difference.""No. There isn't.""Of course there is." She set the fork down. "Necessary actions aren't always pleasant. But they're required when the alternative is worse.""The alternative being what? Me raising my own son?""Yes. Exactly that." Claire leaned forward slightly. "Mabel, you were twenty-three years old. Barely able to support your
Last Updated: 2026-02-07
Chapter: 101!MABELThe restaurant Claire chose was exactly what I expected.Le Bernardin. One of the most expensive restaurants in Manhattan. The kind of place where reservations took months and a single meal cost more than most people's weekly salary.The kind of place that screamed wealth, power, and exclusivity.I gave my name to the hostess."Ms. James. Mrs. Hoss is expecting you. Right this way."She led me through the elegant dining room. White tablecloths. Crystal chandeliers. Hushed conversations. The quiet clink of silverware on expensive china.Everyone here looked like they belonged. Designer clothes. Perfect hair. The casual confidence of people who'd never worried about money.I'd dressed carefully. Navy Armani suit. Louboutin heels. My mother's vintage Cartier watch, one of the few things of hers I still had.I looked like I belonged too. But I felt like an imposter.The hostess stopped at a private table near the back. Secluded. Away from other diners.Claire sat facing the entrance
Last Updated: 2026-02-07
Chapter: 180!AURORAI have been in a moving vehicle for the better part of ten hours. Wherever my captors are taking me, they don't seem to have an idea what they are doing.This can't be LeVert, he won't make such a mistake by hiring amateurs, even if he is doing it by himself. He has enough experience to do it right.Suddenly the vehicle stopped moving, the back of the vehicle opened and I was brought out. One of them was about to speak when the other one shut him up without speaking.I kept my mouth shut, I need to be brave, for myself and for my family. My wedding is in a few hours along with Carina's and there is no way I'm missing it.They tied the blindfold around my eyes even tighter, causing the darkness to engulf me.The rough fabric of the blindfold pressed harder against my eyes, sending a jolt of sharp pain across my temples. Darkness was absolute now, not just the absence of sight but the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me. I tried to focus on my breathing, forcing myself to s
Last Updated: 2024-11-28
Chapter: 179!JACOB“I can't believe you are getting married!” Braden slammed into me. Trying to ruffle me up a little.“Says the married man,” Andre said to him. It's funny how we are all friends now and we have Aurora to thank for that. She brought all of us together. That's my future wife.“What are you smiling about?” Grey asked me.“You better not be thinking about my sister in some certain way in front of me,” Martin said and we all laughed.I have asked all of them to be mine and Andre best men including Michael, Ryan and Clay. Liam insisted on being the DJ for the service. Right now we are having our bachelor party and having loads of fun. “Thank you for allowing Aurora to do this with Carina,” I said to Andre holding his shoulder.“Are you kidding, Carina will have my head if I don't agree, plus we get to give the world the wedding of the year,” he said and I smiled.“Good man,” I shook his hands and walked towards Grey. “Hey bro,” he turned around and placed his phone in his pocket.“Th
Last Updated: 2024-11-27
Chapter: 178!AURORAONE YEAR LATER“What about this?” I walked out of my closet in a black gown filled with diamonds and a white off shoulder handle.“Perfect,” Carina squeaked. I rolled my eyes and walked deeper into the room.“People see me on this, they might think tonight is my rehearsal dinner,” I said to the soon to be bride.“Oh come on, you are the chief bridesmaid, you are meant to dress as elegant as the bride,” Aubrey said, adding her own wisdom to the situation.“Well, apart from that, I will think you guys are just playing dress up with me for me to impress Jacob,” I said to them and they both laughed.“Why are you laughing?” I asked them.“Nothing, just remembering how you blunted out I love you to him,” Carina said, still laughing. I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my blushing face.“Aubrey smirked, “Oh Aurora, you were so abstract about it. It feels like you have been bottling that emotion.”“Maybe I was. I guess my body moved before my mind,” I said to her.“And your timing couldn'
Last Updated: 2024-11-26
Chapter: 177!AURORA“Okay, alright. Be safe,” I said and hanged up the call.“Is everything alright?” Carina asked me. I looked at her with my puffy eyes. I can't believe I asked her to move her wedding date all because of LeVert. I feel so sad and heartbroken.“No, don't do that,” she said, hugging me. “Everything will work out. We just need to protect Anna and Mary and we all will be safe.”“But your wedding…”“Can wait,” Andre said, standing beside her. “We all need to be together right now.” He took my hands and I nodded.“Okay,” I exhaled, wiping my face with my other hand. “Let's do this then.”“The girls are pulling up,” Aubrey said to me. We raced towards the car to stop the paparazzi from taking pictures of them.“How come there are so many paparazzi?” Madeline asked as we moved through the crowd.“LeVert probably called them here to witness whatever he had planned,” I said to her.We finally got to the car and help Linda protect the girls from the cameras.“Aunt Aurora,” Anna and Mary hu
Last Updated: 2024-11-25
Chapter: 176!JACOB“What does Christina has to do with any of these?” I asked her.“I'm sure you heard from your stepbrother, Grey?” She asked.“Lara, what are you doing?” Aurora asked her. “Grey is not to be trusted.”“I was the one who told Grey to meet with you,” she said looking at me. “He is trying to make amends. You should let him.” I looked at Aurora, who just shrugged her shoulders.“So what about Christina?” Amy asked, standing in front of her. “You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not say anything to it.”“I was getting to it,” she handed her USB drive to Liam, “here, input it to the system,” Liam looks at me hesitant to do it. “Do it Liam,” I nodded.”A lot of files displayed on the bug screen. “These are all of the operations I could find that can be linked to LeVert, including serial killing of high profile women.” “Which one involves my step mom?” I asked, and a more detailed document displayed on the screen.“Wait,” Aurora scoffed. “You have this much evidence and LeVert
Last Updated: 2024-11-25
Chapter: 175!JACOBI kept pacing around, it's been almost two hours since Aurora left and she isn't back yet.“Martin is with her,” Madeline said to me, “he won't let anything happen to her.”“But if he can't,” I said and she looked confused. “Whatever is going on is beyond his power,” she sighed and shook her head.“Hey, you have to think good thoughts bro,” Amy said, holding my shoulder. “Aurora didn't come this far to give up or jeopardize everything.”“She is right, J,” Braden whispered, standing beside me. “You have to be able to trust Aurora, trust that she knows what she is doing,” he said and scoffed, “because she has been doing this long before she returned back to her life.”“I just want to protect her, want to keep her safe,” I said to him.“I know bro, but she got this and you know it.”I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, even though every fiber of my being screamed to go after her. Braden was right, though. Aurora had proven time and again that she could handle herself.
Last Updated: 2024-11-24
Chapter: Chapter 188: Epilogue!~~Victor~~“Matthew! I'm right here.” As I said those words it felt like some sand particles were dropped into my throat.I kept walking deeper into the mall but I didn't see him, just some of his minions pointing guns at me from across the wall.“Well, well.” Matthew came out clapping his hands with a smirk on his face. It was taking everything in me not to run towards him and see if I could end this once and for all.But nope, I have to think of Madison and the kids.“Why are you doing this Mathew?” I asked him.He shrugged his shoulders and then stared at me. “How does it feel to be the lesser man right now?”“I don't understand you.” I said to him, trying not to jump out of my skin because of the weapons close to me.“Madison needs a bigger man and right that isn't you.” He said.“So you are the bigger man because you are holding a shopping mall hostage?” I asked him, sounding disgusted.He placed his two hands in front of him, “anything for a reunion with my girl and my boys.”“
Last Updated: 2024-05-23
Chapter: Chapter 187: Another Choice!~~Victor~~I stood in front of the giant window in my office. Marveling at the sight of the city from where I stood.This city has taken a lot from me. It has also given me plenty of reasons to keep on fighting.I took out my phone and opened it. My wallpaper showed Choice. Madison likes calling her Miranda.I know that's her name but I prefer, Choice. She makes me think of the different ways I will choose to protect my family even if it means giving my life for them.She looks so pretty in this picture and peaceful like she doesn't have any care in the world.“Turn on the TV!” Alex shot at me while he barged into my office.“Oh please, come in.” I said sarcastically.“Just turn on the TV!” He yelled“Okay.” I said softly. I turned on the TV and it was showing a mass shooting in a shopping mall.“Is this any of ours?” I asked him.“No, but Madison and the kids are in there.” He said.I felt numb and the whole world seemed to stop moving. The sound of the remote falling down brought me
Last Updated: 2024-04-30
Chapter: Chapter 186: Christmas shopping!~~Madison~~It feels like the world is finally in our favor. Our lives have been filled with so much joy and glamor that sometimes I begin to doubt that I went to some certain things in my life.Life has been good. My career has been flourishing and so has Victor's. He has opened fourteen more branches in different parts of the world.Mark and Meave left the country because Mark is overseeing some of the branches. That was after we found out his fiance wasn't a real fiance after all. She was fake and used to trick Meave.She nearly killed him when she found out but I'm happy she found someone to love her just the way I am loved.Cynthia is living her best life with my step brother, Philip, who is in the race for Mayor of the city. She has been helping him with his campaign and so have we in our free time.Renee and Michael are having a blast, especially with Isabella. They looked so lovely and happy. I'm so glad she found me and I found her because I wouldn't have made it out of some
Last Updated: 2024-04-30
Chapter: Chapter 185: Choice!~~Madison~~I froze as I felt water trail down my thighs. A gasp escaped my lips as I realized my water just broke. Panic swelled in my chest as the wetness clinged to my skin and I struggled to control my panic. “Vi–Victor.” I stammered, feeling the fear in my throat.“You are fine.” He said holding me. “Steven is outside, I will go get him.” He said, trying to leave.“No, no. Don't leave me alone.” I said to him. I held his arms.“Okay.” I took a sharp breath, taking in the pain hitting me every ten minutes and counting.“We are just going to the car.” He said.“I don't think I can!” I yelled at him, digging my fingers into his arms.“Yes, you can.” He said.Each step brought a sharp pain to my legs like I have ever felt before.It wasn't like this with Aiden and Caleb because it was a C-section.“We are almost to the door.” Victor said.“Go, get Steven.” I said to him.“Are you sure?” He asked, “it's just a few steps.”“Get him!” I yelled at him. I don't know if I meant too or did
Last Updated: 2024-04-30
Chapter: Chapter 184: Pregnant!~~Madison~~It's been a few months since my step sister kidnapped me and held me hostage for ransom money.These last few months I have been trying to heal and also grow a human being inside of me.Finding out I was pregnant came out with mixed reactions. I was glad I got to give my boys a baby sibling but on the other hand I was scared another enemy will come after us or maybe Stephanie will break out of prison.Holding this picture of myself and Stephanie in my hands reminds me of when we were little. How we did not have any evil in our mind. All we wanted was for our parents to give us sweets and treasure.“Hey, you have been staring at that picture for a while.” I heard Victor's voice behind me.“I know.” I said, putting it back in the box. “My Mom gave it to me during the trial.” I said to him.“She shouldn't have done that.” He said, sternly.“I know, but it's okay.”“No, it's not. They might be your family but all they have wanted to do was hurt you. The only person who made am
Last Updated: 2024-04-29
Chapter: Chapter 183: Baby?!~~Victor~~I heard the door open and closed then I saw Renee walk towards me.She squatted the same way I did and placed her head on my shoulders.“When I found Madison. I thought she was going to be mean to me for having spent time with a dad that loved me. And I will be mean to her because she had our mom.” She said.“But even with all those thoughts in my head when I saw her it just flew away because she brings so much light out of her body. And maybe because her first reaction to seeing me was calling me mom.” We both laughed.She held my hands, “Madison is strong. With everything she has gone through. She is strong and capable of handling herself against that evil woman.”She scoffed, “I never understood why she still refers to Stephanie as her step sister but I see it now.” She said.“Why?” I asked her “Because she believes in love, you made her love. So you have to believe in her. Believe in her to survive.” She said.“Thanks Renee.” I said to her.“Don't just thank me. Get up
Last Updated: 2024-04-28
Billionaire's Rekindling Love
Zara Taylor’s life crumbled when her father died, leaving her trapped in a loveless marriage with Ronnie Phillips, who only valued her business intellect. Betrayed by Ronnie’s affair with her stepsister, Zara fled the City, raising her IVF-conceived daughter, Hazel, alone.
Years later, Matthew Russell, her first love and the IVF donor, reappears with a ruthless proposition: marry him to reclaim her father’s stolen shares.
“Marry me, Zara. It’s the only way you get your father’s legacy back.”
“I’d rather burn in hell,” she spat.
“But you need me,” Matthew replied, his touch igniting desires she swore to bury.
Their alliance uncovers mysteries and conspiracies rooted in her father's death, all pointing to Caleb Ross, the man who orchestrated it. But Matthew has secrets of his own, shadows Zara’s determined to drag into the light.
Desire simmers between them, impossible to ignore. But will Zara surrender to the passion that’s always burned for him, or will betrayal consume them both?
Read
Chapter: 160!Rekindled!ZARARekindling my relationship with Matthew didn’t feel like a decision. It felt like coming home.After everything that happened, after the lies, the fear, the kidnapping, the truths that almost broke me, I realized something very clear.I had never stopped loving him.The evidence against Howard Dewitt was undeniable. The FBI laid it all out piece by piece. Financial crimes. Threats. Manipulation. Kidnapping. Cover-ups that spanned years. Things he thought money and power would erase..They didn’t.Howard Dewitt went to prison quietly.No dramatic outburst. No last speech.Just cold metal cuffs and the sound of a cell door closing behind him.I didn’t attend the sentencing.I didn’t need to see his face to feel closure.What I needed was peace.Forgiving my father took longer..Some nights I lay awake thinking about what he did, about the choices he made that put all of us in danger. Other nights I remembered him teaching me how to ride a bike, how he used to wait up just to hear a
Last Updated: 2026-01-23
Chapter: 158!Alive After All!ZARAI kept watching as Matthew walked into the building with his hands on Monica's waist. It's a subtle act of protection. He does it to me whenever we are entering a restaurant, our home together…..Our home together. That's been a lie. All the while I thought he was protecting me by keeping me close. He was protecting Monica.But that can't be true. Matthew loves me. He loves our daughter. He loves the life we are building together.“You are lying!” I screamed at Howard. “These are all fake. They are fakes,” I yelled towards the TV screen.“Maybe they are,” Howard scoffed. “But these aren't,” he stretched his hands and a huge file was handed to him.“Lose the ropes,” he ordered, and the two men who brought me into the room did as they were told.As soon as I was free of the ropes Howard dropped the huge files on my lap. “Read.”My hands shook as I opened it. The first page made my breath catch. A death certificate, it has my father’s name.Cause of death: homicide.Suspect status
Last Updated: 2026-01-23
Chapter: 158!The Kiss On The Screen!ZARAIt's been four days since I have been in this little room, desperate for an escape. Four days since I heard Monica's voice on the phone or what I think is Monica's voice because there is no way she's alive. I saw her dead body, I saw her wrecked car. There was no way she would have survived that crash and she didn't. Because she was buried and I went to her funeral. In fact I grieved her death. Still grieving.So Monica can't be alive. That's reality and right now I'm in another reality where I have been kidnapped by her father.I haven't seen Howard since he brought me here along with so many of his men. I have been given food and water daily but I haven't seen anyone's faces.Maybe that's his tactics to keep me isolated and delusional. And it's working, because no matter how hard I try to fight it. I can feel myself slipping from reality.The door finally opened. Not the small slot where food came through. The whole door.Light flooded the room so suddenly that I had to squee
Last Updated: 2025-12-29
Chapter: 156!Operation Mahoe!MATTHEWI looked at Evans and the rest of the team as they secured the building. “Is he dead?” I asked as Evans checked his pulse. “No,” he shook his head. “Just unconscious,” he brought out a peppermint out of his pocket and placed it close to the nostrils of Agent Asher.I watched as he sniffed it and woke up in shock and in survival mode.“Hey, easy tiger,” Evans said to him as Asher's hands went towards his weapon holster but his weapon wasn't there.“What are you doing here, Asher?” I asked.“I could ask you the same question. And it's Agent Asher to you,” he groaned as he struggled to get out of the ropes he was tied with.“No,” I raised my hands as one of the operatives bent over to help him.“What do you mean no?!” Asher yelled. “I need to get out of these things.”“Not until you answer all of my questions,” I said and he sighed.“Fine. What am I doing here?” He continued to struggle with the rope. “I'm the lead Agent in charge of your girlfriend's kidnapping.”“Yeah, right,
Last Updated: 2025-12-29
Chapter: 156!The Thermal Bodies!MATTHEWThe burner phone felt heavier than it should in my hands.“This is our best shot,” Evans said, placing it gently on the table like it might explode.The IT team immediately went to work. Screens lit up. Numbers, maps, red dots moving slowly across dark roads.While the other part of his security company, the operation teams known as operatives were gearing up. The technical team gave us eighty percent accuracy of the potential Howard's location. And right now that's enough for me to storm into the building.“So you had this burner phone all these while and didn't bring it to us?” I heard Krystal's voice and I turned to see her directly in Becca's face.“I didn't come earlier because I didn't think I would be believed,” Becca responded.“And why is that Becca? Why wouldn't we believe you?” Krystal kept moving towards Becca and refused to back up even when Claire tried to hold her.“I know I was a bitch to you Krystal but I'm only here to help bring back my sister,” Becca said,
Last Updated: 2025-12-25
Chapter: 155!We Won't Lose Her!MATTHEWThe sounds of computers, people talking to each other, desperately looking for clues did not stop me from hitting myself hard against the wall. I should have been with her every second. I knew since we weren't able to catch Howard, he was going to find a way to make me pay and now he has her. And I feel hopeless. I haven't slept in the last five days, I have barely eaten. All I did was stare at the computer hoping to get a clue as to where Howard took Monica but there haven't been any.It's like he vanished with her and I hear a voice in my head telling me I won't see her again.But I had to shut that voice down because there is no way I'm going to be looking at my daughter, Hazel for the rest of our lives and tell her I didn't do everything to bring her Mom back and I will.“We found something!” One of Evans' IT support officers yelled and I raced towards his section along with everyone else.“What did you find?” Evans asked him.“The number that called Miss Zara right befo
Last Updated: 2025-12-19
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