Chip Skylark

"I was never a daughter, only a bargaining chip" After years of abuse from her father, torment from her stepmother, and constant bullying from her half brother, Elena Moretti has known only pain and betrayal. When her mother took her own life, the last piece of warmth in her world disappeared But her nightmare doesn't end there. To seal an alliance, her father sells for off to the most feared man in the underworld - the ruthless mafia lord Adriano Romano aka the devil whose name alone makes enemies tremble. Will she survive this marriage of chains or will she find an unexpected kind of freedom in the arms of the devil himself.

Amirah Mistake Laurel Chavez is an unfavored illegitimate daughter of a well-known family. She migrated to other country due to unfortunate circumstances that lead her to experience traumatic events that will be etched in her soul forever. However, she finds her life completely changing before her eyes when she found out that she accidentally got a vitro insemination in California and responsibility forced her to marry the person who she only met twice as a compensation of damaging his reputation. The man she will marry happens to be Castiel Rain Engraver a CEO and Mafia boss who is sharp as a knife and doesn't miss anything. He turned into vengeful person after his wife was killed when he still in a coma, and he pledges to do everything in his power to take the justice his wife deserve. To make it happen, he needs to secure his position as the supreme boss of their Mafia Organization and find the chip that contains all evidences that can bring them down. But, will he be able to give up what he planned for so long if he found out that his only daughter is suffering from her illness, where she needs to undergo bone marrow transplot? Thus, they did a surrogacy, but things didn't go as planned when Amirah accidentally got the embryo. Will he be able to give up and forget his position if he found out the whereabouts of the chip he searched for so long? Or He will sacrifice important lives just to get the justice he desired? Could romance be in the cards of these two different people who vows to protect each other even if it means throwing themselves in the path of danger? Can they find their own version of happily ever after?

“The daughter of Alaric Blackstone. How dare you deceive me?” Rejected for my bloodline, I faced a harsh truth: the man who once held me tenderly now looked at me with hatred. Marked as the shameful Omega daughter of an Alpha, I thought the mate bond was my salvation—only to find it was my curse. Forced into marriage by my father as a bargaining chip, I made a decision to escape the torment and leave behind those who betrayed me. Years later, when I finally found peace, my mate returned, begging for forgiveness. However, after enduring all the pain he caused me, can I truly forgive him?

“He made her his bride to break her… but underestimated the fire he’d ignite.” Elena Romano was never meant to rule. Promised in marriage to the ruthless Luca Valenti, she was nothing more than a bargaining chip in a deadly alliance between rival mafia dynasties. But the night her brother is murdered, and secrets buried in blood rise to the surface, Elena begins to see the truth—she’s not a pawn. She’s a ticking time bomb. Now trapped in a mansion of marble and shadows, bound to a man who wears cruelty like a crown, Elena must play the obedient bride while plotting her revenge in silence. But Luca Valenti is more than a monster—he’s dangerous, brilliant, and utterly intoxicating. And falling for him may be her greatest betrayal yet. Betrayal. Power. Obsession. When a pawn learns to play the game, even kings fall.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Natalia was born to obey, raised as a bargaining chip to secure peace between packs. It was the way girls were raised in her family. And within powerful families, being an only child, her father was sure to make her know her place since her fate was sealed when he had arranged her marriage to the brutal Alpha of the Crimson Howl pack. But Natalia refuses to be anyone's pawn. She refused to obey, and most importantly, she refused to be controlled. On the day of her wedding, dressed in white and suffocating in expectations, she runs. By the edge of a forgotten river, she finds a stranger. A man with cold eyes and a darker soul, Alpha Nolan. He mocks her at first, calls her dramatic, tells her she’d drown ugly if she jumps. But beneath his sharp tongue lies a haunted alpha with no love, no mercy, and no reason to care… until now.

Althea Johnson, a quiet but fiercely determined young woman, marries the man every woman fears yet secretly desires—Dominic Valtieri, an intimidating billionaire known for his ice-cold ruthlessness and dangerous connections. Entering the marriage with sincerity and naïve courage, she hopes that fate might finally plant the seeds of love between them. Instead, her first night as wife becomes a humiliation—Dominic uses her, not loves her. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she clings to the fragile hope that motherhood might soften him. But the truth is crueler than any nightmare: Dom never wanted her—he ONLY needed her womb. For a legacy. For a bloodline. For an heir. A pawn. A vessel. A means to an end. Shattered, she vows that her child will never grow up as a bargaining chip in a billionaire’s—or mafia family’s—dynasty.

Priest is one of the Confradia's top assassins until he suffers a grievous accident that leaves him blind. Seeing his value, the Confradia grants him an experimental surgery that gives him new hope. After years of being blind, Priest can see again. But true vision only comes when he sees her. To his consternation, he finds a woman he can’t forget but must live without. When his past comes to haunt him can he let the woman he desires to suffer for his mistakes? Sage is a strong-willed, independent woman who loves life. Unfortunately, a stalker sets his sights on her and will chip away at her life until he leaves her vulnerable. There is only one man who can help save her life. A man whom she has fantasized about since the moment she first laid eyes on him. Will her life be spared at the cost of her heart?

When Alina, a psychology student about to graduate, finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, she becomes a bargaining chip in her brother's debt. Taken to an isolated mansion in the mountains, she falls into the hands of Dante Morelli—a cold, impenetrable, and lethal man—the kind of man who doesn’t ask, he demands. She was supposed to be just a hostage, a pawn. But Dante doesn’t follow rules. He watches her. Provokes her. Touches her. And when she tries to resist, he turns the cell into a luxurious room... and pain into desire. What begins as hatred transforms into something far more dangerous: attraction. And when she becomes pregnant with his child, Alina thinks she’ll finally be set free. But Dante isn’t willing to let her go. Now she’s not just his prisoner. She’s the mother of his child. And he doesn’t share what’s his. Ever.

Elise was cruelly pushed down the staircase after a fiery confrontation with her husband and his mistress. She thought her life was over, but when she opened her eyes, she discovered she had gone back a year in time—back to when she still had a chance to rewrite her story. The first step in her new life was to cut ties with the man who betrayed her. He had saved her in her darkest moment, only to deceive and destroy her in the end. This time, Elise vowed to steer clear of her past mistakes, rebuild her family's legacy, and make everyone who wronged her pay for their sins. However, as she climbed the ladder of success, an enigmatic and captivating man entered her life, challenging her resolve. Elise wanted nothing to do with love again, convinced it would only hinder her, but his persistence began to chip away at the walls she had built around her heart.