Clean Code の小説・ストーリー

On my fifth birthday, my parents showed up at my birthday party later than usual. They brought with them a skinny little girl who couldn't seem to speak at all. I rushed over, hoping to hug Mom, only to get knocked down by her. That was how I fell into the ten-foot cake that my parents had specifically picked out for me. Buttercream filled my nose and mouth, suffocating me to no end. When I managed to climb out of the mess, I burst out in tears and asked Dad to cuddle me. But Dad retracted his hands while looking conflicted. "Don't blame your mom, Willow. From now on, you must take good care of Maple, your little sister. As long as Maple is happy, your mom will be happy." Later on, the mean kids in the neighborhood shove Maple Thompson, my new little sister, into a pile of sand. I rush over to protect her immediately. Once we get home, I mimic my parents by drawing a bath so that I can clean Maple up. That's when Mom suddenly barge into the bathroom and slap me heavily across the face. "You've already enjoyed our love for the past five years! Why are you still greedy for more? I can't believe you're trying to drown Maple right now!" Mom's eyes have gone bloodshot. She drags me by the hair and stuffs me into the washing machine. "Only a washing machine is capable of cleanse that filth out of your soul! You can only scramble out of the washing machine and apologize to Maple once you've decided to quit bullying your sister!" In the living room, Dad lowers his voice. "Keep your voice down when you're chewing Willow out. Maple is about to fall asleep. Don't go around waking her up now." Mom doesn't want to look at me anymore. Instead, she slams the lid onto the washing machine forcefully. I can't get out of the machine. What she doesn't know is that the washing machine will activate. "The 212-degree-Fahrenheit wash cycle has been activated." Scalding hot water is soon dumped onto my body. It hurts so much that I gradually lose my consciousness. Will Mom love me again once I'm squeaky clean after the wash cycle?

All Raven Caruso has ever known is blood, bullets, and betrayal. Born into the infamous Caruso crime family, Raven was raised not with dolls or lullabies, but with guns, knives, and a ruthless code of silence. Trained from childhood to be an assassin, she became her father’s most dangerous weapon,and his greatest pride. Jack Caruso doesn’t just want to rule the South. He wants the North, too. But the North belongs to his bitter rival, the Moretti mafia,and standing between Jack and total dominance is one man: Leon Vitali. They call him The Butcher. Cold. Calculated. Lethal. Jack’s solution? A union of blood and power. Raven will marry Leon Vitali. And when she bears his child, the Carusos will strike,wipe out the Vitali bloodline and rule using Ravens child. Raven knows her mission. She's loyal. Deadly. And ready to make her father proud. There’s just one problem. Leon Vitali is supposed to be the enemy. But he’s also devastatingly charming, maddeningly confident, and far more complicated than she expected. With every stolen glance and dangerous kiss, he awakens something in her she doesn’t recognize,something soft. Something real. Now Raven must decide: stay true to her blood... or betray it for love.

Isabella’s Herrera’s world unravels when her father’s reckless dealings with the notorious mafia boss Lorenzo Castillo leave her family drowning in debt. With her younger brother’s life hanging by a thread, Bella is forced into a dangerous bargain: herself as payment for her father’s sins. Lorenzo Castillo is a ruthless and calculating man, hardened by the violent underworld he controls. Bound by a code of power and loyalty, he has no room for emotions—until Bella’s fiery spirit and unwavering determination begin to chip away at his cold exterior. As the contract between them deepens, so does the dangerous attraction that neither can ignore. But Bella’s past is riddled with secrets, and as she navigates the shadows of Lorenzo’s empire, she discovers that not everything is what it seems. A rival mafia leader, Gabriel Moretti, is hell-bent on taking over Lorenzo’s empire, and Bella becomes the key to his plot. With her life now at the mercy of two powerful men, Bella is caught between love, loyalty, and survival. In the world of betrayal and bloodshed, can a debt born from desperation ignite a passion that could either save or destroy them both? A Debt of Passion is a gripping tale of forbidden love, power, and redemption, where every choice comes with a deadly cost, and every heart is a battlefield.

At the company’s year-end party, management tried to cut costs by using junk as raffle items. The prize box was filled with bottle caps, instant noodle wrappers, toothpaste boxes, and other trash. Everyone was only allowed to pick one item and scan the QR code on it. Whether you won anything depended entirely on luck. I casually picked up a bottle cap and unexpectedly won a car worth 500,000 dollars. As soon as the vice president found out, he rejected my win and demanded that I hand over the prize. “The company spent 20 dollars to get these raffle items from a recycler. Any prizes won have to be recorded in the books as company assets. They belong to the company.” My boss reprimanded me as well, “Have you lost your mind because you’ve been poor? Do you think you could have won without the company? You don’t know how to be grateful, and now, you’re trying to take company property. Stop causing a scene!” I did not argue and calmly handed over the bottle cap. Then, I turned around and called one of our clients. My boss had forgotten one thing: I was the company’s top salesperson. If he insisted on crossing me, I would make him lose five million.

"What is it now? Are you chasing me? You just got home the other day. I need to spend more time with you." "I don't need any slut's company." Her heart seemed to stop at the outrageous word he used to refer to her and she regarded him with a long suffering expression. “What did you just say?" She was now offended. "You are crossing the line with these jokes.” “Do I seem like joking?” “Wha..what? You must be out of your mind. Why? What is going on? Are you throwing me away?” Becky wailed confused. Tears Of Agony traces the life of Becky a young beautiful woman recently married. Her dressing style sharply contrast that of those around her. She is encouraged to conform to the ways of the clan by changing her code of dress but refuses. She ends up being disliked by her husband's relatives and there is a campaign to cause a break in her marriage. The majority of the members of the clan are in favour. The disastrous end of her marriage leaves her dissolutioned and devastated. She is forced to leave the clan without her only child. She meets a kind man she like. The man is desperately in love with her but she rejects his proposal to be his wife.

There had been a shortage of faculty at the start of the freshman year, so I had temporarily stepped in to take on the role of a student advisor. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I had deliberately dressed down in the plainest shirt I could find and put on a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses. However, a troublemaking student brought a group of people and blocked me on the field just as the opening ceremony ended. "Hey, old hag, you're done being a faculty member in Salt-U. How dare you dress like that on purpose to mess with my eyes! Strip and get on your knees, and I might let you off this once!" I narrowed my eyes, irritation rising. Then, I reminded him of the student code of conduct. He immediately blew up. "Cut the act! Who do you think you're fooling? My dad's the Director of Academic Administration! He's the one in charge of your evaluations!" The field suddenly fell silent, and all the freshmen began sneaking glances in our direction. I unhurriedly took off my glasses and let out a low chuckle as I looked down at the meeting notes in my hand. His father was a director, he thought that was enough of a reason for him to behave so imperiously. In that case, I supposed that the first item on the board meeting agenda that day would be the dismissal of the Director of Academic Administration.

Nataliya Barsukov was raised to obey, molded by the iron fists of her father and brothers to be the perfect wife in a world ruled by men. But when she turns eighteen, she breaks their chains—and seizes their empire. Now, as the ruthless and enigmatic Queen of the Russian Mafia in Los Angeles, Nataliya rules her city with an iron will and a twisted code of honor. Those who know her identity are either fiercely loyal… or dead. Ryan Taylor is an undercover cop, fresh to LA and burning with purpose. His mission: infiltrate and dismantle the elusive mafia queen’s empire. But when he meets Nataliya—a woman as sharp as she is stunning, with the fire of a warrior and the grace of a dark Snow White—his world starts to blur. As Ryan is pulled deeper into her world, he begins to question everything. Nataliya doesn’t sell drugs to kids. She doesn’t traffic innocents. And the organs she harvests? Voluntary. In her own brutal way, she’s cleaning the streets more effectively than law enforcement ever has. Now Ryan must face the truth: justice isn’t black and white, and the real villains might be the ones wearing badges. Torn between duty and the woman he’s falling for, Ryan must decide—will he betray the queen… or fight for her?

Iris Hartley has spent her entire life as the spare daughter, invisible in the shadow of her beautiful half-sister Felicity. So when Felicity disappears two hours before her wedding to billionaire CEO Dominic Laurent, Iris does what she's always done: she steps in to clean up the mess. The plan is simple. Walk down the aisle, say the vows, save her family's company. Three years of marriage on paper, then freedom for everyone. But Dominic Laurent didn't build an empire by missing details. He knows his bride isn't who she claims to be. And when he discovers the truth, he gives Iris an ultimatum: prove she can be useful to him, or he'll expose the fraud and destroy both their families. What Dominic doesn't expect is that the replacement wife is brilliant, brave, and nothing like the woman he agreed to marry. And Iris never imagined that being chosen second could feel like being chosen first. Sometimes the wrong bride is exactly right.

After three years of dating Nathan Foster, I thought I knew where we were headed. But he never proposed. Instead, he fell in love at first sight with my stepsister. His pursuit of her was bold and relentless, leaving no room for doubt. This time, I didn’t break down or wait around, hoping he’d return like before. I made a clean break. I threw away every gift he had given me, shredded the wedding dress I once secretly bought, and on his birthday, I left Riverdale behind. Just as I was about to board my flight, Nathan messaged me: “Where are you? Everyone’s waiting for you.” I smiled, didn’t bother replying, and blocked him on every channel. He had no idea that, two weeks earlier, I had accepted the proposal of my college senior, Eustace Cooper. When the plane landed in my new city, Eustace and I were ready to begin a new chapter of our lives together—as husband and wife.

Catching her husband with another woman was only the beginning of Valerie's nightmare. Greg didn't just betray her, he humiliated her, dismissed her, threw her away like trash. But Valerie isn't the broken housewife he thinks she is. Collins Sterling, Greg's older brother is a billion-dollar empire builder, and the most dangerous man Valerie has ever met. Their contract marriage starts as revenge—make Greg jealous, secure Collins's deal, walk away clean. Except nothing is clean when Collins touches her. When he whispers promises in the dark. When she realizes the baby she's carrying might be his salvation or her destruction. Because Greg wants her back. Jasmine wants Collins dead. And someone is willing to kidnap, kill, and burn everything to the ground to keep them apart. In a battle of billionaires, broken vows, and explosive passion, Valerie must become the player, not the pawn. Even if it means risking the one thing she swore never to give again: her heart.