Critical

While inspecting my company’s cold-chain operations, my wife, Mandy Snow, and the college boy I’d been sponsoring suddenly vanished. As I passed the cabinet storing the research supplies, a stream of floating comments suddenly flashed before my eyes. “That was way too close! Jeff Miller almost caught them. Good thing Mandy reacted fast and dragged her boy toy into the storage cabinet.” “But that cabinet is about to be locked up and shipped to the Antarctic research station. Are those two trying to turn themselves into ice sculptures?” I froze. My wife was cheating on me right under my nose? I was just about to pull open the cabinet door when my wife’s assistant hurried over and forced a smile, blocking my way. “Mr. Miller, the seal on this cabinet was just waxed and hasn’t dried yet. Careful, or you’ll get your hands dirty.” The floating comments appeared again. “That was so close! The assistant’s pretty sharp. Once the female lead gets out, she totally owes him a car.” “No wonder she’s the lucky heroine. She always gets out of trouble. I seriously can’t wait to watch her sweet romance with her boy toy.” Looking at the comments in front of me, I let out a cold laugh. “These are critical supplies for the research team. To make sure nothing goes wrong, seal the cabinet right now.” “Go get a welder. Weld the door shut.” The assistant froze, and so did the floating comments. “What the hell? This evil supporting male character is brutal. The two people inside aren’t wearing a thing.” “Help! If the door gets welded shut, the male and female leads are going to drift at sea for a month and freeze into specimens!”

After half a month of nonstop overtime, I secured a contract worth over ten million, pulling the company back from the brink of collapse. My boss, Richard Gray, was overjoyed. At the celebration party, he called me the pillar of the company and announced that he would reward me with a bonus. However, when the end of the month came, and I opened my payslip, I froze. Negative 250 dollars. A negative commission? I actually owed the company 250 dollars? I immediately called the finance department, asking if there was a mistake on my payslip. They replied, "No mistake. This is the cost calculation formula that Mr. Gray personally instructed us to use. He said you'd understand once you saw it." I went straight to Richard for an explanation. He laughed. "The contract that you signed, after factoring in the concessions, upfront resources, and hidden expenses, left the company with a net loss of 150 thousand. Since the loss was due to your personal decisions, you're responsible for five percent. That totals to 7500. "Considering how hard you worked, we deducted it from your base salary first. But your salary wasn't enough, so you still owe the company 250. Don't worry. The company treats its employees well. We'll write that off." Soon after, he awarded 100 thousand dollars to the newly arrived intern. I watched the newcomer, probably connected to Richard, cheerfully treat the entire company to dinner with her bonus, and something inside me just snapped. From that day onward, I did the bare minimum. I clocked in. I clocked out. Nothing more. Later, when a critical project went catastrophically wrong and the company faced a colossal compensation demand, Richard came begging me to fix it. I just smiled and said, "Sorry, Mr. Gray. I've already resigned. If there are any problems, you can ask the intern who got the 100 thousand dollar bonus to handle it."

During the ten years since I was found and brought to my biological family, Sonia Baxter, the girl who took my place, and I have been as close as real sisters. Even Mom says that Sonia cares more about me than a real sister would. I once swore I'd give my life to protect our special family of four. When Sonia is rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, I am in my office, calmly practicing a basic suturing technique on a surgical simulator. On the screen, the robotic arm threads the needle with such precision that it looks like a work of art. A few minutes later, my boyfriend, Oliver Lyons, slams open the office door and shouts at me, "Amelia Baxter! Sonia's in critical condition. Only your micro-dissection skills can save her! Every expert in the hospital is waiting for you! We've got less than an hour before the window closes!" He looks at me with hopeful eyes. I'm the only person in the country capable of performing a surgery this complex. My hands are even known as the "Hands of God". However, I simply reply with a hum and continue fiddling with the model. Suddenly, my parents rush in. Mom grabs my arm and cries out, "Amelia! That's your sister in there! How could you just stand by and watch her die?" I gently pull away from her and hold my right hand out in front of them. This hand, which had once created countless medical miracles, is now trembling slightly. "Unfortunately, since yesterday, I've been showing symptoms of essential tremor. Dad, Mom… this hand is ruined."

"Dr. Shaw! Ms. Sherwood has suffered a massive hemorrhage due to complications from childbirth! She has fallen into a coma and needs an emergency blood transfusion!" "Dr. Shaw! Ms. Lunsford is vomiting from anemia! She needs a blood transfusion immediately!" "Dr. Shaw! The blood bank just declared an emergency! We only have enough blood to save one of the patients right now!" Eugene Shaw stares broodingly at the pale and motionless Lilian Sherwood. Slowly, his hands clench into fists. "Stop all treatment for Ms. Sherwood! Have all the remaining blood in the blood bank transfused to Aurelie!" Lilian curls up in pain. Her mind is blank, but she hangs on to Eugene's every word. She hears him choose Aurelie Lunsford. Her pupils suddenly dilate as the doctor next to her sobs anxiously. "But Dr. Shaw, Ms. Sherwood's condition is more critical than Ms. Lunsford's! She should be your priority, especially since she's carrying your child!" Eugene turns, eyes slightly bloodshot, "She's a medical professional! Saving lives is her duty. I believe she would've made the same choice." Lilian is in disbelief. Tears spill from her eyes, bitter and mocking. Eugene makes his selfishness sound so noble. She regrets everything. If given another chance, she will definitely leave him at all costs! She draws her last despairing breath, and her hand droops limply. Eugene kneels before her hospital bed in panic, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Lilian. I have no choice but to save her!"

On my eighteenth birthday, my brother Seth brought back my twin sister. She had been snatched from me by kidnappers as a child. She claimed she had nothing, not a single thing to call her own. Seth gave her everything: my room, my dresses, and my awards. He even gave her my childhood fiancé, forcing him to break off our engagement and marry her in a wedding that would take the world by storm. I tried to resist, but Seth scolded me for being childish. "She's your blood sister, yet you complain about every little thing. If you can't learn to be kind, I can't call you my sister anymore." My sister, Serena, fell into the swimming pool later that day and nearly drowned. When she woke up, she cried to our brother, claiming I had pushed her. My brother, Seth, was furious. He sent me away to a remote mountain village. "If you can't learn to be kind, you'll spend the rest of your life here, atoning for your sins. "You can come back only when you kneel before Serena and apologize." Five years passed. Serena and my fiancé held a high-profile engagement ceremony. The entire city celebrated their grand love, certain they would have a happily ever after together. Then, Seth finally remembered me. "Sylvie, five years have passed. Have you learned kindness yet?" I nodded calmly with a blank expression on my face. "Seth, I will kneel before her and apologize." He smiled, praising me for finally being sensible. However, he did not know that I had received a critical medical notice. I had only five days left to live.

My wife, Heather Conner, secretly steals the funds I've saved up for our daughter, Naomi Hartman's surgery. After that, she books a high-class hotel for Jared Winters, the low-income student she has been sponsoring, just so she can celebrate his birthday with him. When I find out about it, I demand that Heather return all the money to me. But she slaps me immediately and blames me and Naomi for causing her trouble on purpose. "This is the first birthday Jared and I are celebrating together! Since it's such a big day, it's only natural that I hold it in a grand and lavish manner! "Instead, you two insist on undergoing that stupid surgery just when I've booked the hotel instead of scheduling it at any other time! You really are vile! "I've already inquired with the doctor about the surgery. Turns out it's completely optional! I might as well put the money to good use by giving Jared an unforgettable birthday instead of having you waste it on a useless surgery! "Even if Naomi does end up dying, that means she's fated to die anyway! You can't blame anyone for her death!" Heather just abandons Naomi, who's still fighting for her life. She then drives Jared to the hotel, where they spend the night watching a beautiful fireworks display. With 12 critical notices issued by the doctor in my hand, I kneel before Monica Brown, the richest woman in the city. "I'm willing to marry into your family as long as you pay me 35 thousand dollars' worth of wedding gifts!"

The doctor told me I had 72 hours left, unless I got access to the newest experimental treatment. However, there was only one slot available, and my husband Bowen Liddell gave it to my sister Yvonne Lawson instead. "Her kidney failure is more critical," he said. I nodded and swallowed the white pills that would only speed up my death. In the time I had left, I got a lot done. The lawyer's hand trembled as he passed me the documents. "Are you sure you want to transfer the two billion dollars in shares?" I replied, "Yes. Give them to Yvonne." My daughter, Candice Liddell, was giggling in Yvonne's arms. "Mommy Yvonne bought me a new dress!" I said, "It looks beautiful. Make sure you always listen to Mommy Yvonne, okay?" The art gallery I built from the ground up now had Yvonne's name on the sign. "You're too kind, Kathy," she said, crying. I told her, "You'll run it even better than I ever did." I even signed all my parents' trust fund away. That was when Bowen finally gave me his first genuine smile in years. "Kathleen, you've changed. You're not so aggressive anymore... You're beautiful like this." Indeed. This dying version of me finally became the 'perfect Kathleen Sullivan' in their eyes—obedient, generous, and no longer argumentative. The 72-hour countdown had already begun, and I couldn't help but wonder what they would remember when my heart stopped for good. The good wife who 'finally learned to let go', or the woman who completed her revenge by dying?

My ex-boyfriend’s first love insisted on dragging me onto the drop tower ride, which caused me to have severe bleeding from the trauma. When it happened, he used her fear of blood as an excuse to cover her eyes and hurry away, abandoning me in a pool of blood. In that critical moment, Steven Landers, the amusement park designer, rushed me to the hospital just in time. After losing the baby, I was completely devastated. Then to my surprise, he got down on one knee at the amusement park and proposed, promising me happiness for the rest of my life. After we got married, I became pregnant again. But I accidentally stumbled across his chat with a ride maintenance worker. "Mr. Landers, your wife already lost a child because of Miss Smith. You mentioned she has difficulty getting pregnant, so why are you pulling the same trick to get her on the drop tower again?" Steven casually touched his wedding ring and replied, "She's the reason Anne can never be a mother, so I absolutely won't let Myla give birth to a child that would upset her." "But that's your child too! How can you do this?" "So what? This is what she owes Anne. The drop tower is the perfect way to make it look like an accident. Tomorrow is Myla's birthday, and I'll personally take her on the ride. If she tries to run, I need all of you to help catch her!" So that was his plan all along—to use the drop tower to cause another "accident" and make me lose my baby!

A lie sealed with a kiss.A marriage bound by revenge .the only way out is through fire Two weeks before her fairy-tale society wedding, Ariana Carter, the witty and spirited youngest daughter of the powerful Carter dynasty, catches her fiancé, Simon Vance, in an act of infidelity..Shattered and seeking reckless oblivion, her impulsive escape leads her into a dark city alley and a dangerous confrontation. Only to be saved by Lucas Hill, the enigmatic billionaire CEO who rules the corporate landscape with ruthless efficiency—and who also happens to be her formidable older brother’s closest friend and the man who once coldly rejected her youthful crush. The very next day, the Carter and Hill families, desperate to avert a financial and media catastrophe caused by Simon's calculated actions, orchestrate a shocking solution: an immediate, high-stakes arranged marriage. Ariana is abruptly thrust into wedlock with Lucas, a man who views her not as a wife, but as a critical business asset—a necessary shield against a looming corporate raid orchestrated by her rejected fiancé.The rules are simple public unity an private war. This marriage of convenience is a battleground. Lucas, possessive and ice-cold, demands absolute control, determined to safeguard his own empire and protect Ariana with a dominance that borders on suffocating. Ariana, fiercely independent and newly defiant after betrayal, refuses to be a pawn, challenging his command with sharp wit and unexpected business acumen. As they navigate the world of New York's corporate elite, their forced proximity ignites a slow-burn, fiery passion, forcing Lucas to confront the intense, protective feelings he has long hidden for the bright, chaotic girl. Their union is a ticking clock, set against a backdrop of secrets, media scrutiny, and a vengeful ex-fiancé determined to destroy everything they hold dear.

Carly been a rejected and hopeless orphan, never knowing her true parents or lineage. Traded to the most dangerous and principled pack in Ramone, she accepted her fate as a homeless orphan after losing her parents at a tender age. Alone and struggling, Carly's life takes a dramatic turn when an unknown beast, Andrew, invades Tamine City, destroying packs and upending their lives. As Carly scales through this perilous new world, she encounters Terry, the stern and determined leader of the pack. Terry is a man of straight and direct principles, focused solely on protecting his people from the encroaching danger. Yet, beneath his tough exterior lies a heart burdened with the weight of leadership and an unspoken yearning for connection. Terry is torn between his duty and the unexpected bond he feels with Carly. As chaos spreads with Andrew's rampage, Terry faces a critical decision: Will he open his heart and home to Carly, or will she remain an outsider in her own world? Carly, must confront her fears and discover her inner strength to survive and protect those she comes to care for. Amidst the turmoil, sparks fly between Carly and Terry, their connection growing stronger as they fight side by side against Andrew's relentless onslaught. Carly's journey through Tamine City is fraught with danger, but it is also filled with moments of courage, resilience, and unexpected love. Join Carly in her struggle to find a place where she belongs and witness Terry's transformation as he learns to trust and love again. Together, they must overcome a world on the brink of destruction, where the challenges of fulfilling their destinies reside. Can they overcome their pasts and forge a future together, or will the shadows of their struggles tear them apart? read on to enjoy this amazing book.