9 Minutes

I’m Tessa Dean, the true heiress of the wealthiest family in United States! This time around, I’m gonna make both of you pieces of shit pay the price! On my wedding anniversary, I walked into my home carrying groceries and hope. Minutes later, a photograph destroyed my marriage. “You’ll seduce my brother whenever I’m away on business, right?” Curtis spat, his fingers tightening around my throat. “You’re such a whore!” I was pregnant. I was trembling. And I was innocent. But in the Deveraux family, truth means nothing—status means everything. Lauren, the woman who was meant to marry my husband, stepped forward with that calm, polished smile. “I’ll give you one day to divorce Curtis and leave Deveraux Manor.” Before I could defend myself, I was pushed. I hit the table. Blood spread across the tiles. At the hospital, I begged, “Please save my child.” My baby died. At the cemetery, Curtis looked at me with hatred in his eyes. “Who’s the father of this bastard?” When he poured my son’s ashes over my kneeling body, something inside me broke. But not completely. I’ll return and make them pieces of shit crawl on their knees and beg for mercy!

When my Prince shattered our Eternal Blood Vow for the ninety-ninth time, I dragged my drained, broken body to the Tribunal of Vows. "I am here to request the dissolution of my Eternal Blood Vow with the Prince of the Kindred." Ten minutes later, Damien stormed in with Isabella in tow. The Prince of the Kindred strode toward me, his hand shooting out to clamp around my neck before he slammed me against a cold marble pillar. "You'd go so far as to dissolve our vow just because you're jealous of Isabella's promotion? Has the bloodlust driven you completely insane?" My mother Eleanor's voice echoed icily through our bond. "Forging lab results to play the victim, all for his attention. You've always been so deceitful." Tears of blood welled in Isabella's eyes as she tugged on Damien's arm. "I'm so sorry, Seraphina. I never should have accepted this position. Please, stop putting yourself—and the Prince—through this!" I wiped away the tears of blood seeping from my eyes and faced the tribunal official once more. "I no longer have the protection of a clan. So that I may turn to ash in three days, please help me complete the dissolution ceremony."

During the biggest sales day of the year, my fiance's "sweet and clueless" assistant sells a one-carat diamond for one cent. In just 20 minutes, the company loses 200 million dollars. I am so furious that my entire body shakes, yet Hendrick Shaw, my fiance, pulls me into his arms and comforts me, "Don't worry. I'll handle it." However, that same night, Selena Suther posts a screenshot on social media—a transfer of 1,430,000 dollars, with the recipient note saying "I love you." The caption attached to the screenshot is "I made a huge mistake today, but my boss comforted me instead. He even reminded me not to be angry at the 'tigress' and to be good." I comment on her post, "I wish you both happiness forever." Selena instantly deletes the post, but Hendrick abruptly charges in and lands a resounding slap on my cheek. "What's your motive for liking Lena's post? She's now so overcome by guilt and shame that she's about to end her life! "The company only lost 200 million dollars. Do you have to force her into a corner over it?" He sounds so righteous and fearless. Later, why does Hendrick cry when he can't even afford a 20-dollar meal?

I was born 5 minutes after my brother Ciranda marking the beginning of my misery. My Parents only wanted one son, instead, she got two, not two sons but a daughter, a weakling as what they always describe me to be. My twin brother Ciranda was the prince to my mother and I was what she called the Seranda. That is my name "Seranda". Seranda Copper with no title as princess or prince like my brother who was called crown prince Ciranda Copper. My parents treated me the same as the servants, they would always say “You are just like them, so why not treat you like them?” My brother had sunny golden hair, golden tan skin, bright green eyes, and a body to die for, he was the dream guy of every girl. He had the perfect body, he was the perfect child. I on the other hand had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, and a body not so much to die for, I looked nothing like the misses of wealthy and prestigious families like my own. I was more like the maid starved for weeks by her cruel master. What is worst than being auctioned by your brother as a whore to the human mafia and losing your purity to him. Vengeance is all I want.

Rocco Falcone, who is the Falcone family's Don and my so-called husband, hangs up on me for what feels like the 99th time. Having been diagnosed with leukemia, I haul my ravaged body into the family lawyer's office. "I'm here to file for a divorce," I said. … When Rocco hears about it, he barges in with my family ten minutes later. The moment he enters, he slaps me. "Did you use the emergency line just to ruin Sofia's big night? Are you out of your mind?" Lily Marone, my mom, snatches the diagnosis right out of my hand and skims through it. She chuckles dismissively. "Did you fake being sick just to get attention? How many lies have you told since you were a kid, Claire?" Sofia Moretti holds Rocco's arm with tears in her eyes. "Forgive me, Claire. I shouldn't have taken the position. Please stop hurting yourself and Rocco." I wipe the blood from my mouth and turn back to the lawyer. "I have no family left. Please hurry with the divorce paperwork. I need it settled before my cremation in three days."

The only audible sounds for the next few minutes were the platters of rain against the window and our heavy breathing. I saw him walk his naked ass to the bedside drawer, returning with a document in his hands. "What's this?", I questioned as I reluctantly took it from him. "A contract you need to sign to live." I grew silent as I read through the document. "If you sign that, you're going to be mine and mine alone. I'm going to have you whenever I want, and do with you whatever I please. In return, your father gets to live." *** Sofia's miserable life even darker when she is forced to be the payment for her father's debt to the most ruthless Mafia Lord in the city. Enzo had just one taste of her from a one night stand, and now he can't get her off his head. To keep her close he makes her sign a contract - BE MY SEX DOLL, AND IN RETURN, YOUR FATHER GETS TO LIVE. How long will the lustful contract hold? How will Sofia survive when she's suddenly exposed to the dark rollercoaster of Enzo's underworld? Will she keep being his private prostitute, or will there ever be an unlikely spark of love and desire?

Sapphire's face went covered in sweat as she saw the video. Immediately there popped a message getting her stilled in a matter of seconds. "If you want to see the truth with your own eyes, come to the paradise apartment flat number 505." She scurried to her car and asked the driver to drive, giving him the location. Opening the envelope that was delivered to her, she took out the key with trembling fingers and put it in the keyhole to twist it. The entrance unlocked and her pulse quivered her throat. Tiptoeing, she rubbed her palms to her long skirt to clean the sweat and gingerly open the bedroom door. And..... Few minutes later... "My love, I have been dying not being able to see you. Where did you go without informing anyone? If not for the jammer installed in your mobile..." Carlos shook his head and his lips landed on her neck. He bit her, sucked her there with a yearn of passion making his mark. "Do not do such crazy things." His breath was ragged after the bite, covered with desire but at the same time with a kind of control and power. Moving closer, he shifted her head up and then kissed her in wantonness, lust and most importantly in an undying love. PS This book has two parts in it. (sequel and prequel)

Pada saat malam jum’at kliwon, Aulia berjalan mendekati Lemari yang berada di sebuah kamar kosong di lantai 2. Umurnya masih sekitar 9 tahun. Dengan rasa penasaran yang menggebu-gebu, akhirnya dia berniat untuk membuka lemari itu. Tiba-tiba, “Jangan! Jangan di buka lemari itu Non Aulia!” “Loh, memang nya kenapa bu Sari?” “Pokoknya jangan non! Tolong jangan! Dan cepat anda kemari sebelum semuanya terlambat non! Cepat!!!” Seorang pembantu yang bekerja dirumah nenek Aulia mencoba menahan Aulia untuk tidak membuka lemari itu. Tapi, “Brakkk!!!” Pintu lemari itu terbuka dengan sendirinya tanpa disentuh sedikitpun. Suasana menjadi mencekam. Angin malam tiba-tiba berhembus kencang, padahal kamar itu sama sekali tidak memiliki jendela. Lalu, sepasang tangan yang penuh darah menarik Aulia masuk kedalam lemari, “Non Aulia!!!” “Brakkk!!!” Aulia masuk kedalam lemari itu dan pintu dari lemari itu tertutup dengan sendirinya. Angin malam yang tadi berhembus, sekarang menghilang. Seketika, lemari itu menjadi lemari biasa. Aulia yang tadinya masuk kedalam lemari, sekarang menghilang tanpa jejak sedikitpun. Lemari itu kembali menjadi lemari yang dipenuhi dengan baju-baju yang dimiliki oleh neneknya Aulia.

**Perfect Blind** *She pretended to be her blind twin. Then she watched her brother-in-law die. The killer tested her—held the bloody head five inches from her face. She didn't blink.* **But what he didn't know? She's not just pretending. She's hunting him too.** --- Jiang Yan has spent three months learning to be her blind twin sister: the walk, the voice, the empty stare. She breaks into Lin's apartment seeking a diary—evidence of a murder Yan committed ten years ago. Instead, she finds a body. A killer who knows sign language. And a "dead man" who won't stop breathing. Trapped in a locked room with two strangers and one lie, Yan must play the perfect blind woman while uncovering the truth: her sister isn't blind, her father isn't dead, and the murder she confessed to never happened. **In this family, everyone wears a mask. The only way out is to see through them all.** --- **Perfect for fans of:** - *The Silent Patient* (unreliable narrator) - *Gone Girl* (toxic sisterhood) - *Behind Her Eyes* (identity games) **Tags:** #PsychologicalThriller #TwistedFamily #BlindPOV #ShortRead #DarkSecrets --- **Word count:** 10,000 words | **Chapters:** 10 | **Reading time:** 45 minutes *Every chapter ends with a twist. The final page changes everything

I'm a nationally certified animal trainer running the Lion King, Caesar's final assessment. I've barely stepped into the enclosure corridor when the steel guillotine door slams down behind me. My wife's laughter crackles over the loudspeaker. "Everyone, we're doing the ultimate challenge today! We're locking the so-called number-one animal trainer in the Lion King's enclosure and taking bets on whether he wets himself in ten minutes!" Caesar crouches low and rumbles a warning. I reach for my tranquilizer gun but stop cold. The liquid isn't the right color. In a phony sing-song voice, the veterinarian, Hugh Archer, says, "Lucian, I forgot to mention, I swapped your tranquilizer darts for pepper spray so you won't hurt Caesar by mistake. "You two are so close. Just win him over with love!" I look at Caesar, his eyes bloodshot from the stimulant, and it clicks. Hugh still resents that I stopped him from touching a tiger with his bare hands a few days ago. I tune out the trash blaring over the loudspeaker, pull a remote from my pocket, and hit the button. It's the master switch for the electric fence gates around every predator enclosure in the zoo. If I don't make it out, no one does.