I'll Be Dead By Dawn

"Mrs. Gardner, are you sure you want to hire our team to stage a fire and fake your death in ten days?" Camellia Shaw paused for a moment. Just as she was about to reply to the message, a video call suddenly popped up. "Camellia, look! Andres is spending a fortune on you again!" The video was of an auction in progress. At the front, a man of striking elegance and charm was decisively bidding on several antique collectibles worth hundreds of millions. The crowd was already abuzz with excitement. "Mr. Gardner is so good to his wife! He bought all these antiques just to make her smile!" "$400 million is nothing! I heard Mr. Gardner even built her a private estate and named it Eterna Haven. Just the name alone is proof of how much he loves her." A wealthy businessman nearby sneered. "It's all for show. Who knows what he's really like behind closed doors?" That comment immediately sparked a wave of backlash. Many argued back, talking about how devoted Andres Gardner was to his wife. As she listened to their murmurs, Camellia forced a bitter smile.

I married Rafe Maretti—the man who owned the Maretti Casino empire. Sophisticated, ruthless, but sinfully charming. By year three of our marriage, I introduced my little sister to his nephew, Adam Moretti—twenty-five, all sharp smiles and sharper ambition. He ran the dirtier side of the family’s business—arms, drugs, the kind of trade that dripped blood and money in equal parts. I married the powerful, irresistible uncle. She married the young, dangerous nephew. It was supposed to be our fairytale. Then one day, I got kidnapped in Rafe’s casino. Snatched by a rival mafia family desperate to force Rafe to sign over one of his biggest, most profitable casinos. Except Rafe didn’t answer the phone or even notice I was gone. The kidnappers grew impatient. First, it was slaps. Then punches. Then they shattered my leg and buried a knife in my stomach. Still no word from my husband. Until finally, after what felt like a hundred unanswered calls, a single message came through. "I’m with Bianca. She’s having a stomach. Stop calling." Once the kidnappers realized I had no value, they dumped me in a rotting warehouse like discarded luggage. It was Isla, my sister, who found me. She got me out. And then the brakes failed. The car spun out. Isla went unconscious beside me. I tried calling Adam. Isla’s husband. But as soon the call went through, all I could hear was. “Leave me along. Isla, I am in the middle of something here.” When I clearly heard a woman’s voice in the back. If not for a passing stranger, Isla and me wouldn’t have made it to the hospital, let along have survived. So when I opened my eyes again, the first thing I thought was: I’m divorcing that sorry bastard. The Maretti can go to hell.

My younger sister was crazy about novels and always envied the way ordinary heroines pick up penniless heroes and climb the social ladder. So, she started picking up men wherever she could. Until one day, a man with a face covered in sores collapsed at our doorstep. I instantly recognized the signs of syphilis and warned my sister repeatedly, and only then did she give up the idea. However, fate had other plans: my sister's best friend "picked him up" instead and married into a wealthy family. My sister held a grudge. On my birthday, she locked me in my room and set it on fire. No matter how desperately I begged, she refused to open the door. Outside, she sneered: "I know you're just scared I'll live better than you, so you want to drag me down into misery with you. People like you don't even deserve to be a sister!" I burned alive, my body reduced to nothing but ashes. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day my sister insisted on "picking up that man." This time, I quietly stepped back, letting her have her way—of course, I chose to let her succeed.

After discovering the last remaining vaquita in the whole world, Amara Hayes, a marine biologist, was determined to study the creature for her research. One night, she organized a setup in order to get a closer observation of her subject, when a gorgeous man with golden eyes and tail suddenly showed up and warned her not to touch his pet again. What if fate decides to cross their paths again? Will Amara continue living her ordinary life, or will she choose to want more of his briny kisses?

Juliet, Her life takes a dark turn when her abusive boyfriend exploits her, forcing her to sacrifice everything for him. Just when she thinks things can't get worse, she discovers he's sold her out for a one-night stand. Heartbroken and alone, Juliet is unexpectedly offered a contract marriage by a mysterious stranger who promises her safety and a chance to start over. Caught between her painful past and the hope for a new beginning, Juliet must decide if she can trust again. Will she find the strength to reclaim her life, or will her past continue to haunt her?

She gave him everything…her heart, her body, her years. But Alpha Damien's cold heart never warmed, even after she bore his son. When she catches him roughly riding…another woman and watches her own child call that woman "Mommy," she knows the truth: she was never enough. Broken but not destroyed, Elena leaves her pack and transforms herself. Now she's back, stronger, sexier, and hiding a billion-dollar secret. She's not the weak Luna anymore. She's a tech genius, a hacker queen, and she's done begging for love. But the Moon Goddess isn't finished with her story. Her cruel husband wants her back. And his brother, Beta Kyle…the one who's always watched her with hungry eyes, claims she's his true mate. Two Alphas. One woman. And this time, Elena makes the rules.

"If there are infinite dimensions, then there would be infinite alternate realities and if there are infinite alternate realities we would exist in almost all of them that would make all of us omnipresent" ~ Stanley Victor Paskavich. In the distant future, mankind has achieved many technological milestones and created a method of FTL known as ‘Millennium Drives’ and has been discovered by intelligent life from outside of the Milky Way Galaxy. Unbeknownst to the mortal realm, a young woman from another realm has risen from her tyrannical ‘Overlords’ ashes and will soon leave her mark upon the universe. Alicia Iminz is a young Demi-Goddess from the 'First Realm', a realm of reality where Celestials and all sorts of mythical exist. Alicia doesn't yet know that not only is she a Demi-Goddess, but a Hybrid Human Celestial; the first of her kind. In her world, because of who her parents are and because of how she came into existence she has been branded as defilement by the Gods. In order to remain amongst her people, she must prove herself worthy by being trained by one of the Gods. Once her training is complete Alicia must pass the final phase of her training. Best one of the members of the tyrannical God Collective. In the end, her choices will restart an ancient war that will span across space and time. But her journey only begins there.

My wife, Christine Leigh, forced me to the brink of death all for her first love, Henry Carson. To give him a liver transplant, she sent me to the surgery table. I told her I had cancer and that the doctors had advised against the surgery. She just looked at me with an undisguised contempt, "Jason Lowe, stop with your petty tricks. Don't forget, you owe our family your life!" I lowered my head and smiled bitterly. I never left the surgery table.

The first experiment in the world of retrieving memories after death succeeds, and my memories are going to be broadcast live all over the Internet. My dad has just learned about my death, but he only says in a disgusted tone, "Who would want to see the memories of someone who is selfish, mean, and has nothing commendable at all about them? Today is the wedding day of Zoe and Cameron. Pause the live broadcast and stop being so sickening!" Zoe is my stepsister, and Cameron is supposed to be my fiance. After that, my father finds out the truth from the live broadcast of my memories. He begs for my forgiveness tearfully but… I'm already dead.

During a kindergarten parent-teacher conference, a rich wife accuses me of stealing her bag. I'm baffled. I bought the bag myself abroad, and it even has my name etched on it. However, when I scrutinize the bag, I discover that my name is missing. I call my husband, and he impatiently says, "I gave your bag to Jen. She's fresh out of college and needs an expensive bag to make herself look good. Even Finn said the bag is too young for you—it suits Jen more. You're too old for these things. You should be glad to even have a fake one." I bark out an exasperated laugh. I can go without having a husband, but the bag has to be returned to me.