Novels by Elodie

The mansion was quiet.Not the uneasy quiet that had settled after the bloodshed, but a different kind—gentler, deeper. It was the hush of a house learning peace again, of walls no longer echoing with betrayal, rage, or secrets. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Alessio could breathe.The heavy weight of vengeance had lifted, leaving behind something fragile but honest. Gabriella remained close, not out of obligation or fear, but out of something they’d both fought hard to reclaim: trust.A week had passed since the night of reckoning. The bodies had been buried. The halls scrubbed clean. The old tapestries—once embroidered with the legacy of the Martini name—had been taken down. Alessio didn’t want reminders. Not of the man he had to become, and certainly not of the empire his brother had twisted into something monstrous.One bright morning, Gabriella stood at the bottom of the grand staircase, dressed simply, one hand resting gently on her belly. Alessio watched her f

Gabriella's Pov The sound cracked through the night like a curse. One shot—sharp, final.I spun around.“Leonardo!” I screamed, as my brother’s body crumpled to the ground, his breath hitching as if the air had betrayed him. Blood poured from the wound in his back, dark and thick, staining his shirt like ink spilled from a shattered bottle.I caught him before he hit the stone floor. His weight folded into me, heavier than I remembered, like the life was already ebbing out of him. Gabriella dropped to her knees beside us, hands trembling, eyes wide with disbelief. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to speak, but no words came out—just a gasp, choked and broken.Vandel stood across the room, still holding the smoking gun. His face was stone. No regret. No hesitation. Only hatred.I cradled Leo's head against my chest. “Stay with me,” I begged, my voice breaking. “Just hold on. Please, Leo…”He coughed, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “No... it’

Gabriella's Pov The night was supposed to be over. We had escaped. I thought we were safe—just for a second. Alessio’s hand gripped mine tightly, his other hand on the wheel, speeding through the darkened street like he could outrun the world. But safety, I was learning, was just an illusion. And illusions don’t last.Two headlights suddenly swerved into view behind us, fast and aggressive. My stomach twisted before my brain could catch up."Alessio..." I murmured, my voice already trembling.He glanced in the rearview mirror, his jaw tightening. "I see them."Another car came at us from the left. That’s when I knew—we weren’t being followed. We were being hunted.Gunfire cracked through the silence.Glass shattered.“DOWN!” Alessio barked.Without thinking, I threw myself across the console and lunged at him. We dropped below the dashboard as bullets punched through the windows, glass raining down in jagged pieces. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, deafening me.“I

Alessio's Pov My heart jolted like someone had driven a knife straight through it. Unborn child—that was what Martini had just said. The words echoed in my head, bouncing around with disbelief, confusion, and something dangerously close to hope.I stared at Gabriella.Everything else—Martini’s gun pointed at my forehead, the sweat dripping down my back, the pounding in my ears—faded into the background as I searched her face for the truth. Her lips parted slightly, her eyes shimmering with something raw. Something real.“Yes,” she whispered, barely audible. But I didn’t need her to say more.She was pregnant.With my child.I blinked. My vision tunneled, not from the pressure of the gun still threatening my life, but from the gravity of her words. She was carrying my baby. Our baby.A tremor ran through me, knocking the air from my lungs. I hadn’t seen this coming—hadn’t even considered it. But as shock gave way to awe, a warmth bloomed in my chest. A fierce kind of joy. The kind of

Alessio's Pov She looked like she hadn’t aged a second—but she wasn’t the same girl I once knew.Gabriella stood across the room, framed by the long shadows of dusk bleeding in through the tall windows. The light touched her skin like it belonged there, softening the lines of worry etched into her face. But I could still see it—the fear hidden beneath the surface, the way her fingers curled around the edge of her coat just a little too tightly. She was nervous. And she should be.Because I didn’t trust her.Not anymore.I had no idea what game she was playing by coming here again, by standing beside Martini of all people. That bastard had never shown mercy a day in his life. I didn’t even know how she’d ended up in his custody—or why she hadn’t tried to escape.I studied her face, looking for something familiar, something real.And that’s when it happened.She winked.A slow, subtle flutter of her eyelid. Barely noticeable, but unmistakable.I froze.It hit me like a punch to the gut

Gabriella's Pov The morning sunlight slipped through the thin curtains like golden fingers, brushing against my face, warming my cheek. I blinked slowly, my lashes fluttering against the pillowcase as I stirred, trying to resist the gentle nudge of daybreak. My body ached in places I didn’t even know could ache, a dull soreness clinging to every limb like a second skin. Sleep had claimed me like a thief in the night, but it hadn't been kind—just necessary. I felt as though I'd fought a war in my dreams and lost.For a long moment, I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling, trying to remember how it felt to wake up without dread pressing on my chest. The events of the past few days had blurred into one tangled mess of adrenaline, pain, and fear. But there was something else too—something sharp and persistent beneath it all. A name. Alessio.Just the thought of him sent a shiver down my spine. I hated how his presence lingered in my mind, how the memory of his voice could still echo

Valeria screamed.The sound tore from her throat like a wild animal’s cry, shaking the quiet walls of Damien’s estate. She rushed to the shattered window, hands trembling as she pushed the curtains aside and leaned out.Nothing.No sign of movement.No cars. No footsteps. No bodyguards. No daughter.Stephanie was gone.Her baby was gone.“No, no, no,” Valeria whispered, stumbling backward, her hands flying to her head as panic clawed at her chest. “This isn’t happening, this can’t be”Damien and Ares burst in behind her.“What the hell happened?” Ares barked, rushing to the window. He saw the broken glass. The breeze. The pale pink pillow still indented with where Stephanie had been sleeping just minutes ago.Valeria held up the note with a shaking hand.Damien took it, eyes scanning the words. She belongs to us now.Ares looked at him sharply. “This is your fault.”“No,” Damien growled. “This is on all of us.”“She was in your estate!”“She was in our care!”Valeria whirled on them

Valeria stared at Damien, heart pounding so loud she could barely hear herself speak.“What did you say?” she whispered.Damien looked at her, his eyes flickering with something unspoken, fear? Regret? Guilt?“Stephanie’s bloodline… it’s not just royal, Valeria,” he said slowly. “It’s ancient. Tied to a legacy people have been trying to erase for generations.”Ares folded his arms. “Start making sense.”Damien walked to the fireplace, grabbed a framed photo from the mantle, and handed it to Valeria. It was a faded picture, black and white, clearly old, but in it, a woman who looked eerily like Valeria stood next to a man in military uniform.Valeria blinked. “That’s… my grandmother?”“No,” Damien said. “That’s your mother. Taken before she changed her identity.”Valeria looked at him, stunned. “What are you talking about? That can’t be. My mom wasn’t even born when this photo was taken”“She was,” he said. “Just not under the name you knew her by.”Damien placed a thick folder on the

Valeria stared at the shattered screen of Damien’s phone on the floor. Her body refused to move. Her thoughts were stuck in that horrifying image, Stephanie, asleep and vulnerable, with a faceless shadow looming over her.“He was in her room,” she whispered again, as if saying it would make it less real. “He was there.”Damien picked up the phone with trembling hands, his expression hardening. “This was sent just now. Which means it was recorded recently.”Valeria finally found her voice. “Call Liam. Now.”He nodded and stepped away, already dialing. Valeria, heart pounding, grabbed her own phone and called Elena. It rang once, twice…“Elena,” she said as soon as the line connected. “Check on Stephanie. Now. Someone’s been in her room.”There was a pause, then the unmistakable sound of Elena sprinting down a hallway.“I’m going now. I just checked on her ten minutes ago. She was fine. Locked in. No signs of anything, ”A crash sounded on Elena’s end.“Elena?” Valeria shouted. “What ha

Valeria didn’t move.Her feet were rooted to the floor as her eyes flicked between the two unexpected guests, Celeste, with her wicked smile and predatory eyes, and Max Lockwood, who radiated danger with a casual grin and sharp, unreadable energy.“Damien,” Valeria said, her voice low, “close the door.”But Damien didn’t move either.He was staring at Max like he’d just seen a ghost, one he’d buried deep and never wanted to unearth.“What the hell are you doing here?” Damien asked, his voice cold.Max chuckled. “Relax, little brother. Is that how you welcome family these days?”“We’re not family.”Max tilted his head. “Ouch.”Celeste stepped forward. “We’re not here to cause drama,” she said smoothly. “We just want to talk.”Valeria folded her arms. “You stalked my daughter. You leaked that photo. That doesn’t sound like someone who just wants to talk.”Celeste shrugged. “I never said we play fair.”Valeria took one step forward, heat rising in her throat. “If you think you can threat

Valeria’s fingers trembled as she fumbled with the remote. Her heart pounded so loud it drowned out Elena’s panicked voice on the phone.She found the power button, pressed it, and the screen blinked to life. The news anchor’s face appeared, elegant, cold, and rehearsed.“Valeria Langford, former wife of billionaire Ares Langford has made her first public appearance in nearly a year. But the question on everyone’s mind is, whose child is she hiding?”A picture flashed on the screen. Her. Holding Stephanie at a charity event two days ago. Stephanie’s face was blurred, but her features, Valeria knew, were still far too telling.Damien’s balcony. His towel. His abs. Everything evaporated from her mind in an instant.“Oh my God,” she whispered, slowly sinking onto the edge of the bed.“Elena,” she said, barely able to breathe, “how did this happen? I’ve been so careful. No pictures, no interviews, no appearances without clearance…”“It was leaked, Val,” Elena said, voice heavy with worry.

Ares paced back and forth in his study, yanking off his tie as if it were choking him. He couldn’t believe it, Valeria had moved on so easily. Not even two years had passed, and she was already with Damien… his rival.His jaw tightened. Rage surged through him as he slammed his fist into the wall.“Oh my,” Celeste whispered, stepping into the room with two cups of coffee in hand.“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you doing this?”Ares turned to look at her. Her face, once so familiar, so admired, was now just another reminder of everything he didn’t want. Fear was written all over her features, but instead of softening him, it only made him feel more distant.“I’m fine,” he muttered, grabbing a cloth from the table to wrap around his now bleeding hand.Celeste set the coffee down and stepped closer, gently taking his injured hand in hers. “We both know you’re not fine. And I know that because you’re my fiancé.”Ares scoffed at the word fiancé. Ever since he proposed a year ago, marriage ha