Cash Contests 2023

At the celebration where Lorenzo Alvarez is crowned the new mafia boss, his men arrange a few performances. A dancer in a backless top and short skirt twists around the pole under the lights. "Don't look," he murmurs, covering my eyes with his hand. "This kind of cheap entertainment isn't worthy of you." His men jump in immediately. "Lorenzo still spoils Ms. Valenti after all these years. That kind of devotion is rare. We're so jealous." "A man as loyal and single-minded as Lorenzo is hard to find." I rest a hand on my belly, planning to tell him tonight that I am pregnant. But when I return from the restroom, I see the same man who had just held me in his arms leaning back in his chair while the dancer straddles his lap. Lorenzo slips his business card and a thick fold of cash into the waistband of her skirt. He laughs, relaxed and unbothered. "Isabella is wonderful, sure, but life needs a little passion. This ragazza is just something new. A bit of fun. "Keep your mouths shut. Don't go running to Isabella and upset her. Otherwise, you'll have a problem." Cold rushes through me. I do not approach or confront Lorenzo. I simply take out my phone and answer the email I have been avoiding for days. "I agree to participate in the confidential experiment."

Grace Summers had always been the ‘Mrs. Goody Two Shoes’ always doing what’s right or what’s expected of her by her family and high maintenance friends. She’s now 21 and had just graduated yet another special school her father had sent her to, she’s fed up with her ‘angel’ persona. She hops on a bus, rides to the furthest stop available and lands a job at the most popular place in the city of Bakersfield, California: Dale’s Ladies, a gentlemen's club, or at least that’s just the front it uses, people from all over come to use this club for their addictions or to take care of unfinished business. You can do anything in this club: murder, sex, drugs, you name it you can do it. With only one rule, you have to do it within the walls of the club. Jett Lynch is the oldest of the twins, his younger twin Dale Lynch, owns a club and helps bring in some heavy cash from the ladies he has, the drugs he sells and the gruesome murders that he’s allowed to happen and not say a word about to ANYONE. Jett is popular in a bad way with the media, and the police; he’s the head of the mafia in the city of Bakersfield. He does things to people the police won’t when it’s deserved. What happens when someone who wants to overthrow Jett, gets wind of his new prize? Will Grace be caught in the crossfire or will she be taking the heat of it?

After my son’s surgery, I stayed overnight at the hospital. While keeping watch, I scrolled through my phone and came across a post. [What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?] An anonymous user replied. [I used the senior who sponsored me as a stepping stone.] [My sponsor was rich and clueless. He paid for my entire college education, and after I graduated, I slept with his wife. She even had my child.] [The best part is that he treats my son like his own. He works himself to exhaustion just to set that kid up for life.] [By the way, his family just received three million from the relocation compensation. My lover will be here soon. She’ll pretend we need it for a school district apartment and trick him into giving it to us.] [Once the cash is in hand and the villa is bought, I’ll have my son acknowledge me as his real father and then throw my sponsor out of the house.] A blurry photo of a little boy was attached. My heart skipped a beat. On his wrist was the safety charm I had given my son. Just then, my wife pushed open the hospital room door. “Honey, Xeno is starting elementary school soon. Let’s take your mom’s compensation money from the relocation and use it to buy a place in a good school district.”

Vivez avec moi et à travers les yeux de Sofia, l'enquête qui a bouleversé la vie de la jeune commissaire Valenti… Paris, fin d'année 2023, la capitale est plongée dans un hiver glacial, les routes sont désertes. Sofia Valenti, jeune commissaire de 29 ans, cheffe au central de la brigade criminelle, est réveillée en pleine nuit par le lieutenant Leeroy, elle se retrouve en charge d'une affaire bien sombre. Un meurtrier vient de frapper dans plusieurs arrondissements de Paris, laissant derrière lui des scènes de crimes aussi brutales qu'énigmatiques. L'enquête semble simple au début, mais très rapidement la commissaire se rendra compte de la complexité de la personnalité de l'assassin. Au fil des investigations, le profil du criminel le plus recherché de Paris se détaillera enfin. L’enquête prendra un tournant décisif quand l’équipe de Sofia accumulera de lourdes preuves contre lui. Une course contre-la-montre commencera alors, dans le but de l’attraper avant qu’il ne frappe à nouveau. Avec ses rebondissements et ses révélations plus que troublantes, la commissaire devra aussi faire face aux mensonges et a la manipulation. Des fantômes du passé ressurgiront, ce qui ne présagera rien de bon pour l'équipe d'enquêteurs. Qu’adviendra-t-il quand la vérité éclatera ENFIN ? Découvrez Alter-ego, l’histoire d’un second soit.

On the day the real heiress was welcomed home, my fiancé was already sleeping with her. Staring at the blue pills and torn lingerie scattered on the floor, I told them to get the hell out of my wedding house. But a second later, my father stormed in and slapped me hard across the face. "Who are you to tell her to leave? Bella is our real daughter!" "Elena, you’re just an outsider we took in by mistake. You’re the one who needs to get out." Marco wrapped his arm around Bella, his tone impatient: "Elena, I’m the heir to the Moretti family. I can’t marry a mongrel with impure blood like you. If you don't want to bring shame to the family, be smart and go tell the Don the wedding is off tomorrow." Bella gave a coy smile and tossed a stack of cash at my feet like she was giving alms: "Sister, I know Marco and I hurt you, but we’re true love." "Take this as your severance package. Take the money and get lost." I suppressed my rage and stepped forward to throw these disgusting people out, but Marco shoved me violently. "I told you, I’m not marrying you! Keep pestering us, and don't blame me for getting rough!" My stomach slammed against the table. I laughed out of pure anger. Who said I wanted to marry him? The one I’m going to marry is his father—the Don of the Moretti family, Lorenzo.

Extract Alpha Dominic’s gaze cut through me like ice. “I don’t know you,” he spat, his voice filled with disgust. “How dare you show up out of nowhere, claiming to be my mate, claiming to carry my child, when I have never laid eyes on you before?” “Um, I—” I opened my mouth to explain, to tell him everything, but he cut me off. “Are you here for money? Is that it?” Without waiting for an answer, he reached into his car and pulled out a bundle of cash, flinging it at my feet. “I don’t want to see your filthy face again. I won’t waste my energy rejecting you. We will never be together. The moon goddess must have been mistaken to think a lowlife like you could be my mate.” The money lay scattered on the ground as hot tears blurred my vision. “I’m not lying,” I sobbed. “I am carrying your child.” Wolfless and satisfied, all Odette ever wanted was to be promoted and to become a full-time teacher. But her world came crumbling down when her boss made sexual advances at her, saying it was the only way for her to keep her job. Brokenhearted, she ran from the school, and instead of going home to her family, she went to a hotel, got drunk, ended up in the bed of a stranger, and got pregnant afterwards. She was sent out of the house by her mother until she aborted the baby. Will she abort the baby? Or find the father of her child?

I was sold to the Devil. Rider Thorne. The Alpha King. A man whose name alone makes grown wolves tremble. My stepfather cleared his gambling debts by trading my life for a stack of cash, handing me over with a single, chilling instruction: Give the King an heir, and you go free. I accepted my fate. I prepared to be nothing more than a vessel, a temporary fixture in his cold, luxurious prison. I told myself I could survive his cruelty, his indifference, and his icy glare. But the moment he walked into the room, the universe played a cruel joke. The scent of rain and dark chocolate. Mate. The cruelest Alpha of all time is my soulmate. The sad part? He doesn't know. Or worse—he doesn't care. To him, I am just a tool. A breeder to secure his lineage before he discards me like trash. Heartbroken and realizing he will never look at me with love, I made a choice. I will give him what he bought, but he will never have my heart. But when I discover I’m carrying not just one heir, but three, and that my life is in danger, I did the unthinkable. I ran. Now, the Alpha King is tearing the world apart to find me. He realizes too late that the "tool" he bought was the other half of his soul. But he’s not chasing a submissive girl anymore. He’s chasing a mother protecting her cubs. Run, Bailey. Run.

During the company’s celebration party, Zenia Andrews, my girlfriend, declared in front of everyone that she was going to get married. Everyone turned to look at me with teasing smiles. “Not bad, Felix; you’re finally tying the knot with Zenia.” However, their smiles stiffened the very next second, because Zenia announced that she was not marrying me, but her assistant. I showed no sign of anger or sadness. I just dug out a wad of cash and threw it in her face. “Get someone else to be his bridegroom. Here’s five hundred dollars. Split it evenly between you two.” Zenia ran over and said airily to me, “Don’t get jealous so easily! I already told you that we’re just going through the motions. He’s a foreigner and wants to get a green card. The easiest way for him to do so is by marrying me. The moment he gets it, we’ll get divorced. Then, I’ll marry you right away, okay? He even prepared a wedding gift for you to repay you!” I just smiled as I listened to her. When she saw that I was not behaving strangely, she nodded in relief and returned to the banquet hall. She trampled all over my love like it was worth nothing. How could I possibly let her trample all over it again? My next reaction was to call our rival company. “We’ll do as we promised last time. I’ll bring all the core patents when I join you.”

I've been working for five years now. This is the first time my mom takes the initiative to call me to go home for the holidays. So I travel home with heaps of luggage. Still, I manage to free one hand to produce an envelope filled with cash and give it to my mom. A grin blooms on her face instantly. But when she realizes that there's only ten thousand dollars in the envelope, her grin starts to falter. "Oh, it only makes sense that you're the most manipulative out of the bunch after all these years." I pause momentarily as I'm about to go through the front door. "You've been working for quite a few years now, and yet you only bring home ten thousand bucks. Meanwhile, Sabrina gave us 100 thousand dollars in her first year of working a nice job. Having a bachelor's degree definitely pays off a lot!" Upon noticing how stunned I look, my mom yanks the gifts over right away. "Don't go around looking as though we owe you a life debt, Regina! See, Sabrina has better grades than you, and she doesn't have the intention of hiding anything from us. The gifts she always brings us are top-end supplements, so you should stop bringing us cheap stuff like this." I can only grip the hems of my shirt tightly. But the thing is, I'm the one with better scores back then…

At the annual company raffle, I had barely stepped onto the stage when my supervisor, Lily Smith, pressed a crumpled slip of paper into my palm. "A special reward for our top salesperson," she chirped. "Go ahead, open it. Let everyone see." Under the eager gaze of the crowd, I unfolded the note. Written in messy handwriting were the words: Clean the company toilets for three days. The room erupted in laughter. Lily folded her arms, cocked her head, and smirked at me. "Nice, right?" she said. "Everyone knows those sales of yours came from sleeping with old men. Dirty money. To keep things fair, the others get a break, and you pick up a little extra work. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" The laughter surged again, nearly lifting the roof. From the side of the room, my boyfriend, Seth Hoffman, the company's CEO, watched everything unfold. As usual, he said nothing in my defense. They all thought I would fall apart, cry, or make a scene. Instead, I simply gave a calm nod. The very next day, the company was hit with over three hundred property cancellations. Its cash flow collapsed overnight. That was when Lily and Seth rushed to me, demanding I go plead with the buyers. I smiled and said, "No thanks. I wouldn't want to help the company recover and end up with strong numbers again. That might make everyone even more uncomfortable."