Cornered

Years ago, Bianca Russell was just a frightened girl, cornered by danger, when a mysterious boy, Marcello Rossi, stepped in and saved her. His price for rescuing her wasn’t money or gratitude—he claimed her as his own, binding her to a promise she could never forget. But when tragedy struck and her mother’s death forced her to flee the city, she left everything behind—including him. Now, she’s back, working her first shift at the elite Silver Stork club. But trouble finds her again when a powerful mafia boss sets his sights on her, unaware she already belongs to another. Just when she thinks she’s trapped, Marcello reappears—the boy who once saved her, now a man, dark, powerful, and determined to reclaim what’s his. Now owned by two dangerous mafia bosses, Bianca must decide: Will she surrender to the man who once owned her, or follow her heart and fight for her freedom?

Five years after I died, Delia—my wife, a doctor—tried to dump her first love's new mess on me again. She stormed into my old place, waving some fake agreement with my name on it, but all she found was dust. Panicking, she ran downstairs and cornered the shop owner. "William?" he said. "He's been dead five years. Heard the family of that malpractice case found him. Stabbed him up bad." Delia laughed it off, like the guy was making it up. "So what if he got suspended? He's still sulking over that?" She rolled her eyes. "Tell him this—he's got three days. If he doesn't show, I'm cutting off his sister's cancer treatment." She muttered something ugly, slammed the door, and left. The shop owner just watched her go, shaking his head. "There's no sister left," he said quietly. "She died years ago... couldn't pay for treatment."

Aria's mother died while giving birth to her which led her father to hate her. She's to work for herself and the fact that she is wolfless make him hate her more while everyone at school bullies her. Aria has accepted the life of a loser. She thinks that's how she's always going to live— alone and bullied. But one day, she’s cornered by the future Beta of the pack in the restaurant where she works, and seethes at her, "How can you be my mate? You're a loser!" Heartbroken and emotional, Aria runs away from there... Only to bump into the Alpha Male, who catches her in his arms and smirks at her flirtatiously, "Ah, Aria, we meet again?" While her mate and the Beta hate her and want to reject her, the Alpha wants to date her. But there's a problem!— They both are enemies! Now Aria is caught in a foreboding situation. Should she reject her mate, the Beta, and give the Alpha a chance? Or... Should she ignore them both and get on with her life as associating with either can lead to dire consequences for her?

Aurora Gabriel is an emerging actress, impressing many people with her overwhelming beauty and personality. Unfortunately, her father was suddenly arrested and convicted of illegal business. Cornered, Aurora has to sell herself and sleep with wealthy investors in the hope that her family will escape bankruptcy and be evicted. At the meeting place with investors, Aurora accidentally meets Phelan and develops a sexual relationship with this mysterious man. Aurora is disappointed that the plan falls through, and Phelan develops an interest in her. After that fateful night, all luck seemed to be on Aurora's side. Her role was not stolen, her family was not evicted, the company went bankrupt and stabilized... All of these "accidental" events were helped by Phelan. However, Phelan did not help Aurora for free. Phelan wants Aurora to be his secret lover. He wants Aurora's body, wants her heart, wants her mind to remember only him. However, the constant troublemakers appeared, causing the relationship between the two of them to become more and more complicated. Did the love between Phelan and Aurora finally come to a happy ending? What is the mystery of Aurora's father's wrongful conviction? Who is really standing in the dark harming Aurora?

Adelaine Montclair has built her entire life on perfection — the perfect daughter, the perfect fiancée, the perfect public image. But when she discovers her secret fiancé, Zain, tangled in the arms of her best friend on the night of her lavish engagement party, perfection shatters. Cornered in front of two hundred influential guests, Adelaine makes a reckless move: she introduces a mysterious stranger, Dante Moreau, as her real fiancé. What begins as a desperate lie spirals into a dangerous game of appearances. Dante, cold and enigmatic, has his own reasons for playing along, reasons tied to the Montclair empire and the father who controls it. Together, Adelaine and Dante navigate staged kisses, relentless media attention, and family pressure to wed quickly. But the line between fake and real blurs, forcing Adelaine to question whether Dante is her salvation or her downfall. As old betrayals resurface and hidden family secrets threaten to destroy everything, Adelaine must choose: keep playing the role others wrote for her, or reclaim her own story, even if it means falling for the man who vowed never to love her.

She was a kidnapped heiress, taken from her real family on purpose. He was a legendary tycoon, feared and admired across the business world. At a lavish party, she was set up by her adoptive mother—and unexpectedly became his cure. Months later, he received a mysterious package. Opening it, he was stunned to find... a mini version of himself. Furious, he roared: “Woman, you’d better pray I never find you!” Six years later, she returned, vowing to take revenge and reclaim her son. Armed with brilliance and unshakable resolve, she tore through scheming rivals, crushed manipulative socialites, and built her own empire along the way. But one day, the cold-blooded CEO cornered her against a wall: “We already have a child—give me the title of husband too.” She flashed a bewitching smile: “Sorry. The kid’s father? I’ve got someone else in mind.” Just then, three cheeky little munchkins popped out, grinning from ear to ear: “Daddy, give me a sister with Mommy, and she’s all yours!” In that moment, her mind went blank. Betrayed... by her own sons!

Sandy grew up surrounded by kids who adored the story of Cinderella—the gentle girl who lost her father, was cast aside by her cruel stepfamily, and endured endless chores without ever fighting back. But Sandy? She loathed it. She couldn’t stand how Cinderella stayed silent, how she let herself be tormented. Then one day, Sandy died in a fire. And woke up as Cinderella. Thrown into the very tale she despised, Sandy tries to play her part—scrubbing floors, swallowing her pride, surviving the cruelty of her stepmother and stepsisters. But everything changes when she’s kidnapped by bandits. Cornered in the forest, her fear turns into rage… and something inside her erupts. A powerful gust of wind explodes from her body, flattening everything around her. Real, terrifying magic. Her eyes flew wide, her mouth agape—pure disbelief etched across her face. Could it be? Did Cinderella possess supernatural powers? And not just her—almost everyone in the kingdom shimmered with something… otherworldly. Was this still the fairytale she thought she knew? Or had the story slipped into something far more enchanted than anyone imagined?

For three years, Laurie Rayne lived as the perfect wife. She was silent, devoted, and invisible in the shadow of the Voss empire. Every bestselling creation credited to the Voss name bore her fingerprints, but none bore her name. And Zane Voss, her cold, distant husband, never once gave her his heart. Now his first love is back, and Laurie is nothing more than a forgotten pawn; discarded, humiliated, and blamed for everything that went wrong. But when her younger brother's life is on the line, Laurie begs Zane for help… only to be spat on and called a leech. Cornered by desperation, Laurie does the unthinkable… She auctions herself off to the highest bidder. Theron Blackmoor: ruthless billionaire, feared businessman, and the man who buys her at a price that shocks the world. He makes her his possession, but promises her power in return. Anything she wants: except her freedom. As Laurie experiences the dark, seductive world of Theron, she uncovers secrets that were never meant to surface. Zane is not done with her. And the past she thought she left behind may be the key to taking everything back. Love was never part of the deal. But is it? Revenge? That was always the plan. ♠

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing