Echo Holy Chords

Everyone in New York knew I was the Godfather’s heart. Gavin Whitestone’s heart. He loved me for ten years. He’d fly into a rage if I so much as got a paper cut. But he’s the one who gave me these three scars. The first time, he pulled every doctor to treat Sofia, the girl who took a bullet for him, and ignored the shrapnel tearing into my side. The second time, he was drugged and fucking Sofia in his bed. When I walked in on them, he shoved me aside, desperately carrying her to the hospital. The third time, he took my father's last gift to me—a revolver—and gave it to a pregnant Sofia, just to make her smile. He told me, “It’s all for the baby. Once the baby is born, we’ll go back to how we were.” But this time, I didn't forgive him. I threw away every gift he ever gave me and vanished without a trace. And that’s when the untouchable Godfather finally broke.

My marriage to Dante, the Moretti heir, was meant to be a union of power, an alliance of empires. But for me, it was also the real deal. Then his adopted sister, Clara, showed up at a party. She was wearing his custom leather jacket, straddling his prized Ducati, and she looked right at me with a smirk. "Dante says," she purred, "that I suit these precious things better than you do." My smile froze. Dante had her on a plane overseas so fast it was like she'd never existed. Five years later, the night before our wedding. I found him staring at the design for our wedding rings. He'd changed the engraving. The "Amor Aeternus"—Eternal Love—was gone. In its place: "Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa." My sin, my greatest sin. I took off my veil right then and there. "The wedding," I said, my voice like ice, "is off."

The sixth year I gave up my family, my name, everything, to be with Marcus. That’s when I found out I was just a stand-in for the one he could never forget. And now, she was back. I accepted my family’s arrangement. The marriage alliance. The day my engagement dress arrived at the office, Marcus looked pissed. “I thought we agreed we’d get married when my career was more stable.” I said nothing. But when the wedding invitation arrived, Marcus finally broke. The groom wasn't him. It was the heir to the Moretti family.

Aku sekarat di sudut gang setelah diserang keluarga rival. Suamiku, Dante, wakil pimpinan Keluarga Tanto ... berada di dalam mobilnya, malah memeluk adik perempuan sahabatnya. Dia menatapku dengan dingin, lalu berkata, "Biarkan saja dia. Dia bukan siapa-siapa." Setelah orang lain menyelamatkanku, aku berjalan pulang sendiri dengan tubuh berlumuran darah. Aku mendapati Dante sedang menggendong Sera, menenangkannya dengan cemas padahal yang dia alami hanya lutut tergores. Sedangkan darah yang menutupi seluruh pakaianku? Dia bahkan tidak mau melihatnya. Aku hanya berdiri menatap mereka. Tidak mengatakan apa-apa. Kemudian, aku pun mengeluarkan ponselku dan mengirim pesan pada ibuku. [ Ibu, aku mau pulang. ]

Lima tahun setelah pernikahanku dengan Reynald Dharmawangsa, penguasa Kota Segara, seluruh dunia mafia tahu bahwa dia mencintaiku lebih dari hidupnya sendiri. Dia bahkan menato bentuk biola khusus untukku tepat di samping lambang Keluarga Dharmawangsa, simbol kesetiaan yang katanya tak akan pernah bisa dihapus. Sampai aku menerima foto itu dari simpanannya. Seorang pelayan bar, telanjang di dalam pelukannya, kulit wanita itu dipenuhi lebam gelap, bekas hubungan kasar. Dan di samping tato biola yang dibuat Reynald untukku, perempuan itu menuliskan namanya sendiri. Dan suamiku … membiarkannya. "Reynald bilang, satu-satunya hal yang membuatnya masih merasa seperti lelaki adalah saat berada di dalam diriku. Kamu bahkan sudah tidak bisa membuatnya terangsang lagi, 'kan, Alyssa? Mungkin sudah waktunya kamu menyingkir." Aku tidak membalas. Aku hanya menelepon satu orang. "Aku butuh identitas baru dan tiket pesawat untuk pergi dari negeri ini."

For three years, I’d used my family’s connections to bring the company hundreds of millions in revenue. But at the quarterly meeting, the new intern stood before everyone, displaying my attendance and expense reports, and accused me of “unexcused absences” and “squandering company funds.” “These high-end clubs, these restaurants…” she declared, her voice ringing with self-righteousness. “She spends thousands of dollars every time! These are completely unnecessary expenses.” “I strongly advise the CEO to fire her immediately and save the company’s cash flow.” I glanced at Claude, the CEO. My old classmate. He knew exactly how much revenue each of those meetings generated. He also knew that when I wasn't in the office, I was at some bar, negotiating with investors, sometimes drinking until my stomach turned. But he just stared at me coldly. “Caroline, what’s your explanation for the absences and expenses Lia has presented?” I smiled. “I have nothing to explain.” They would all learn, very soon, the consequences of this little stunt.

Por cinco anos, fui casada com o herdeiro da família Romano, a maior família criminosa da Itália. Todas as noites, ele me abraçava e sussurrava: — Só me dê um herdeiro, e eu lhe darei todo o império Romano. Mas eu nunca engravidei, e a decepção do Don comigo crescia a cada mês que passava. Até que descobri que meu marido vinha trocando secretamente meu ácido fólico por pílulas anticoncepcionais. Eu ainda estava em choque de raiva quando vi uma postagem da ex-namorada dele: uma foto de ultrassom. A legenda era doce e presunçosa: Dez semanas. Vincent disse que mal pode esperar para conhecer o bebê. Ao ver a enxurrada de felicitações, tomei minha decisão. Encontrei o contato do meu ex-namorado — o mesmo que passou os últimos cinco anos tentando me reconquistar. Enviei a ele uma única mensagem. [Dê-me um mês. Depois disso, eu vou com você.]

I was a nobody, but for three years, I was in love with Dante, the heir to the Blackwood family—Chicago's biggest name in the mob. The day I found out I was pregnant, I was overjoyed. I couldn't wait to tell him the good news. But then I heard his twin brother, Marco, ask him, "Bro, when are you gonna tell Rose it was me in her bed every night, pretending I was you?" Dante's voice had a coldness I'd never heard before. "At the wedding, in one week. I'll expose everything, then I'll propose to Isabella." Isabella. The rich girl who used to bully me. So, this was all just payback for his precious Isabella. But what Dante didn't know was that the wedding he'd so carefully planned would be missing its bride.

When Zirelle woke up next to a half-naked stranger in a room dripping with luxury, she had no memory of how she got there—just a surge of panic in her chest and a towel wrapped around her body. The room was too pristine, too extravagant, and far too distant from the broken, desolate life she knew. Her first instinct? Run. But not before stealing his gold, his wallet… and the mysterious silver necklace hanging around his neck. She thought she was escaping to safety, back to the familiar chaos of her world. Instead, she ran straight into carnage. Returning home, she found her parents slaughtered and her own pack baying for her blood. As for the necklace she stole? It’s no ordinary trinket. And the man she stole it from? He’s not just wealthy or dangerous—he’s deadly. What Zirelle doesn’t know is that he’s far more than he seems. He’s the key to the truth she’s been running from her whole life. She thought she had left him behind. But by stealing from him, she’s unknowingly invited an even greater storm into her life. Now, he’s coming for her. And he won’t stop until he finds her.

My fiancé of three years, Julius, sold me. To a black market auction in Vegas. I was sold to another man for five million dollars. Julius was begging me. "I owe five million," he pleaded. "If I don't pay up, they're gonna dump me in the river." "You're a dead ringer for the Don of the Norling family's late wife. All you have to do is keep him happy, and my debt gets wiped clean." "Don't worry," he said. "When he gets tired of you, I won't think any less of you. We'll still get married." So they drugged me and delivered me to an estate that was all too familiar. But here’s what he didn't know. The Don of the Norling family would kill for his daughter. And I'm that daughter. The one he’s kept hidden all these years.