Trace Of Doubt

Would you love something that is broken or admire something that had fell into pieces? Would you hold it close to your heart and accept it, even if it means you'll get cuts? She was broken yet bravely collected herself together. She started a new life and decided to forget everything in the past by creating a fabricated image of herself. Would you dare look beyond the facade she made to get to know her more?" But getting closer means hurting her; digging for more from her past would destroy her. Would you gamble all the chance of helping her fix everything up, even though you’d break her more and make her feel worse? Or would you only admire her from afar and maintain your distance, to keep everything in place that she had built. Would you fight for her even if it means fighting against her?

During my wedding reception, I make a toast to my wife's true love. He smashes his wine glass in retaliation and snaps, "I lost to you and allowed you to marry Isabel, but you shouldn't have humiliated me in public!" My wife, Isabel Eaton, is furious. She calls me petty and says she's disgusted by men like me, who get jealous over the smallest things. She rips her veil off and runs after her true love. I chase her, wanting to explain myself. However, a car rams into me. Isabel turns to glance at me but doesn't stop as she goes after her true love. I'm taken to the hospital to be rescued. However, my heart dies despite my body recovering. Upon regaining consciousness, I call my father. I've cut off contact with him for the past three years, but it's time to cave. "I'll go ahead with the marriage alliance, Dad."

Summary: Inspector Thomas Bertrand, a methodical and respected police officer, is tasked with investigating a mysterious murder. The evidence seems to point to the assassin being a beautiful and young woman, Isabelle Dufresne. But as soon as he meets her, an irresistible attraction grows between them, a feeling that deeply unsettles him. The battle between his duty to justice and his growing emotions for Isabelle leads him into an intense inner struggle. As the investigation progresses, he discovers that nothing is as it seems and that dark forces are manipulating the truth. His heart and mind are in conflict, and the hidden truth could very well destroy him.

Jordan Carter has made a career out of defending the kind of clients everyone else is afraid to touch—without ever crossing her own line. So when a sealed, high-dollar retainer lands on her desk tied to Mercer Holdings, she expects a rich man’s mess and a clean paycheck. Instead, she’s driven through gates and cameras to a fortress of “security” men who watch her like prey, and introduced to Maddox Mercer—cold, controlled, and dangerous in a way no suit should be. A body has surfaced on his land: a violent trafficker killed in self-defense… and then buried. The district attorney, Silvia Smith, isn’t just looking for a conviction—she’s building a task force meant to destroy the entire organization. Jordan’s job is to keep the pack out of prison. Maddox’s job is to make sure she and her team doesn’t learn enough to ruin them. But the deeper Jordan digs, the more personal it gets. The dead man’s name is tied to her father’s “wild animal” case—the call that ended his life and left her with questions no one would answer. Forced to live on Mercer land “for security,” Jordan finds missing footage, rehearsed stories, and an internal traitor with a grudge sharp enough to burn the pack down from the inside. Maddox can be her greatest threat… or her only ally, if she can survive the pull between what she feels and what she knows. Because if Jordan exposes the truth, she can win the case—and destroy him. If she protects him, she’ll become complicit in a secret that was never meant to survive daylight.

Six years after marrying Rhiannon Westley, she takes a lover. He's like a puppy—timid and clingy. He flinches at the slightest raised voice, so Rhiannon never loses her temper in front of him. But when he acts up in front of me, Rhiannon snaps. She's furious, and she gives him a harsh scolding. The next day, he sends me a photo of his neck covered in red marks. "Zane, Ms. Westley is so fierce..."

Elena Frost has been by Aaron Reed's side for a decade. He goes from being a broke freshman who almost drops out of university to the proud CEO of Reed Corporation. Everyone in Halston City knows Aaron loves Elena more than life itself. At one point, even Elena believed this. Then, in the third year of her and Aaron's marriage, she discovers his mistress. He even has a one-year-old child with her. Since Aaron doesn't appreciate the sacrifice Elena has made to be with him, she decides to take it all back. … Aaron sees Mia Wynn as a distraction and a form of entertainmen and heir child is an accident. Elena is the only person he truly treasures. But when Elena disappears without a trace and takes half of his soul with her, he realizes one thing—he's the true loser in the relationship he's betrayed.