At 18 years old, Elena Carter was framed for a murder she never committed due to the painful betrayal of her sister and the man she loved deeply. She was sentenced to spend her whole life in prison, losing everything she ever had. Ten years later, with all hope lost for her ever leaving jail, she is suddenly visited by Damien Vance, the cold and ruthless billionaire brother of Lucas Vance, the man she was framed for killing. He offers her a way out but it will come at a price—a contract marriage and a new face. With desperation and hunger for revenge, she accepts the deal. With Damien as her unlikely ally, Elena must uncover the truth, and bring down those who betrayed her while also surviving Damien’s cold and ruthless hold over her. Revenge won’t be easy, but Elena is willing to risk everything to get it.
View More11 PM in the streets of Hamilton, New York City. A few legs walked the deserted road. Alongside the road was a parked Dodge Ram car, which was constantly but slightly shaking, showing obvious evidence of motion inside.
It was difficult to see what was happening inside the car since it was dark and had tinted windows, but anyone passing by would have an idea of what was going on.
It wasn't news to anyone that couples enjoyed themselves in a parked car—it had become a trend as of late. As the shaking of the car became more intense and muffled moans escaped from it, a Lamborghini drove in speedily and recklessly, stopping in front of the shaking car. A young man descended from the car angrily; he was in corporate attire but looked so unkempt that his necktie was left loose.
He ran towards the car's door and kicked it multiple times, yelling.
“Adrian, you bastard! Come out, you fucking prick! How can you be so shameless as to indulge in this kind of act on the street? Where’s your dignity? Come out here and settle with me, you bastard!”
Just as he kept angrily kicking the door, the motions seemed to stop for a moment, then a girl stepped out. She didn’t bother to wear her shirt; she was only in a bra and a folded skirt that looked like she had hurriedly pulled it down.
“Oh… look who it is! It’s my failure of a lover disturbing the moment, Lucas,” she said nonchalantly.
“Charlotte, you shameless bitch! How can you do such a thing with your sister’s fiancé? How heartless can you be?” he asked, raising his tone, but was met with a surprising chuckle from Charlotte.
“My sister, you say? She’s too naïve and undeserving of such a refined man. How do you expect someone like her to have it perfect when she’s not even worth it, only because she’s the elder? I want it all: everything that’s hers; I’ll make it all mine, so I decided to start with her most precious fiancé. The funny thing is that we might even do it at home, but she wouldn’t find out because she’s knocked out from working all day. How pathetic, right?”
“You… you’re a heartless whore. How did I end up falling for you? I feel so stupid.”
“Thanks for the compliment; it’s proof that I’m an undeniable beauty!”
“Laugh while you can. Soon, I’ll have all your atrocities out for the world to see. You know how influential my family is, right? Don’t be surprised if you see it on national TV.” His remark made Charlotte’s mood change to that of fear.
“Don’t do something stupid, Lucas.”
“How about you wait and see? And for Adrian, that bastard…” Before he finished his sentence, there was a gunshot, and a bullet impaled his skull. His body fell lifeless the next minute as a pool of blood surrounded his head.
Upon seeing this, Charlotte’s expression turned pale.
“I thought I heard someone shouting; turns out it was a mosquito that needed to be quieted,” Adrian said as he came out from the other side of the car, holding a gun while wearing only his pants.
“O… oh God!” Charlotte staggered backwards and was supported by the car. “W… why, Adrian? Why did you kill him?!” she yelled at him.
“Hey, keep it down, will you? He was becoming a thorn and a threat; that was the only way to shut him up. This bastard is capable of pulling that shit with national TV,” Adrian explained, his demeanor nonchalant as if he had just squashed a bug. It was obvious it wasn’t his first human kill.
“Even so, you could have done something else, like kidnap or threaten him, not kill him.”
“Get a hold of yourself, Charlotte. Kidnap or threaten the son of a billionaire? That’s literally submitting ourselves to the cops.”
“Then what about this? What do we do about this?”
“Hehe, what do you think of killing two birds with one stone, huh?”
“T… two birds? How?”
“Your sister, Charlotte. I’m talking about Elena. By now, she’d be knocked out from work. Even your loud moaning wouldn’t wake her up, so how about we plant this body beside her and make up a story to frame her? Something like she loved him, but he loved you, so out of jealousy, she shot him and slept with him as a sign of love. Then, as early as six, we shoot a gun, making sure people hear the gunshots and call the cops on her. That way, we’ll have enough evidence to, in thebest-casee scenario, get her imprisoned for life. What do you think?”
“…” Charlotte was dumbfounded by how mischievously calculating he was—ruthless and heartless at the same time—but she also thought of how she was no different from him. They were a match made in hell.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked as she smiled and walked up to him, kissed him, and said, “I knew you wouldn’t do such a thing on a whim. To think you’ve calculated this far. Now nothing will stop me from getting my parents’ company.” They exchanged a passionate kiss.
……….
The next morning, just like every other morning, Elena woke up to prepare for work. She had planned that the next day would be her day off to spend time with her lovely fiancé, so she was energized. Only to wipe her face with her hand and notice a stench of iron and a thick liquid on her face.
She looked at her hand to see bloodstains, surprised to see whether she was bleeding. She turned to see the dead body of Lucas by her side.
She screamed; it was loud enough to alert the neighbours. But before she could comprehend anything, cops surrounded the house, came in, and arrested her.
“Miss Elena Carter, you’re being arrested for the murder of Lucas Vance. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”
“Wh… what is going on? Somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!” she yelled as she struggled to free herself. Then she heard distant sobbing.
“H… how could you, Elena? Why? What did I ever do to you? Not only did you covet my man, but you also killed him because he wasn’t interested in you and desecrated his body by sleeping with it. Why would you do such a heartless thing?” Charlotte cried, being supported by Adrian.
“Wha… what the hell are you saying? Me? Covet your boyfriend and kill him?”
“Officers, take her away. I might do something stupid if I keep seeing her disgusting face here,” Adrian said, shattering Elena’s heart.
As she was dragged away, she protested and was captured by the news media that had gathered, who were called in back to Adrian too.
Elena was not only helpless; she was alone—utterly alone. On the day of the final court ruling, she was considered guilty under many fake testimonies and pieces of evidence; people in the streets testified to hearing gunshots. Having no way out and falling victim to Charlotte and Adrian’s plot, she was put into jail to rot for life.
Elena – POVThe kiss was chaotic, messy, and desperate, and utterly intoxicating.I didn’t know who moved first. Maybe we moved at the same time, colliding in the center of the storm we’d both barely survived. There was no room for restraint, no space for guilt or thought. Only emotion is raw, wild, and all-consuming.He kissed me like he needed it to breathe, and I returned it with everything I had left.Our bodies pressed together like magnets. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling just enough to make me gasp, and that sound… it drove him wild. I felt the hard edge of his desire pressing into my thigh, and I shuddered, arousal surging through my veins like wildfire.I pulled him closer.My hands roamed upward, then wrapped around his neck. He groaned against my lips when I gently gripped his throat, my fingers tightening just a little. It was instinct. Emotion. A silent command to let go. And he did.He moaned into my mouth like I’d stolen the last bit of control he had. The sound m
Elena – POV"Charlotte, I’m going to kill her.”The fury in Damien’s voice was like thunder cracking open the walls of his office. His chair scraped against the tiled floor as he stood, fists clenched, shoulders taut with rage. For a second, he wasn’t Damien anymore he was wrath incarnate, pure, undiluted grief twisted into something sharp and dangerous.I stepped in front of him without thinking.“No,” I whispered, my palms pressing against his chest.His heartbeat was a wild, frantic drum beneath my hands.“Move, Elena,” he warned, his voice low, trembling not from fear, but fury. “I need to”“No,” I repeated, stronger this time. “You can’t.”He stared at me. For a breath, I didn’t think he saw me at all. His eyes were glassy, consumed by the image of his brother, by the sound of his voice saying “Adrian and Charlotte are the reason” but then they flicked downward, to the tears streaking my cheeks.“Elena…”I didn’t let him finish. I stepped back, wiping my eyes roughly with my slee
Elena – POVCharlotte and Lucas.Never…never in my life did I imagine those two names in the same sentence, let alone in the way the letters revealed them.How did they even meet? How did this start?Seven letters. Seven handwritten pieces of someone else’s heart.And they were love letters. No question about it.Some pages smelled faintly of faded cologne, others were smudged at the edges, as if reread by trembling hands. The words were tender, romantic, and reckless, filled with longing. Lucas had been ready to give up everything for her. He wanted to leave, to start fresh. With her.“You don’t have to be afraid about me being accepted,” one letter read. “We can leave everything behind and go to Paris.”It felt surreal. Painful.If they loved each other so much, why did she kill him?The question burned through me, louder than my thoughts. My fingers trembled as I reached for another letter, but my eyes stung too much to focus. I wasn’t ready for more, not yet.I needed proof. Somet
Elena – POV"You want the key to my brother’s mansion?” Damien asked, one brow arching in suspicion as he leaned against the doorframe of his office.I met his gaze, unreadable. “Yes.”He studied me for a moment. I didn’t flinch, didn’t blink. Just waited.“Why?”I shrugged, pretending I didn’t care more than I did. “To get information. How else am I supposed to uncover the truth?”He didn’t say anything at first. The silence between us stretched long enough to make the walls feel smaller. But then, wordlessly, he turned to his desk, pulled open the drawer, and tossed the key toward me.I caught it midair.“Thanks,” I said simply.As I turned to go, I paused. “Also… can I take your car?”That earned me a slow, suspicious glance. “Gas tank’s full. Don’t crash it.”I smirked. “Wouldn’t dare.”I left his room with the cold metal key pressed into my palm. I didn’t know what I’d find at Lucas’s house if anything but I needed to try. Time was bleeding out fast, and I wasn’t about to waste i
Adrian POVThe house was too quiet when I got home. No cheers, no relief, just a hollow silence that made the walls close in around me. The shares were back. The company was mine again. But inside, I was a storm barely contained.The phone call had come from someone unknown, a voice clipped and cold with a plan that had saved me. Sell what didn’t matter, buy back what counted. The pieces had moved silently, and before anyone knew, control was back in my hands.But the victory felt like ashes in my mouth.Charlotte was in the kitchen when I walked in. She didn’t turn to greet me, just leaned against the counter, scrolling through her phone, jaw tight, lips pressed into a thin line.“You’re late,” she said flatly.“Meeting ran long,” I replied, trying to sound casual, but the exhaustion leaked into my voice.She snorted without humor. “You got the shares back. Big deal. What else did you screw up today?”The bitterness in her tone cut deeper than I expected. I closed the distance betwee
Elena POVI picked up the envelope and turned it over in my hands.No name. No logo. But the moment I opened it and saw the contents, I knew who it was from.Dex.It was a file thin, precise, impersonal. Classic Dex. The title on the first page read Lucas Grayson. My chest tightened. I had called Dex a few days ago, asking for anything any scrap of information on Lucas. Apparently Dex had been listening.Still, a shiver ran down my spine.How the hell did he know I was here?No one came near the appliance room. Not even the cleaners. It was the forgotten part of the house quiet, dark, and reeking of bleach and mildew. I’d made it mine out of necessity, not comfort.My eyes flicked to the hallway beyond the door. Only one person could’ve told him.Damien.I scoffed and shook my head, the very thought of his name souring my stomach. That bastard.I still couldn’t believe he’d strangled me. Not metaphorically. Not with words. With his actual hands wrapping around my neck like I was dispo
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