Matt Lauer Net Worth 2023 Novels & Stories

The Legend of Karistus is a story the elders told to keep the young ones in line. At least that's what Damon Cortez thought. But then a sexy stranger started at Moonvalley High, and weird things began to happen. Lisa Montgomery wasn't there to make friends. She has a bad temper and a long history of violent blackouts. Moonvalley is the last chance she has to get an education. When wolves start disappearing and legend becomes flesh and bone, can Damon pass the test? What will he do with a mate far stronger than his Alpha wolf? And when a Royal reappears from a line thought dead, who is the rightful ruler of the kingdom? Read on at your own risk.

"Black Network" is a gripping urban mafia suspense novel filled with darkness, betrayal, redemption, and justice. Female protagonist Lina Rossi, a principled senior investigative journalist, digs deep into the East Dock smuggling case and becomes entangled in the Moretti family's vast black-gold empire. After being detained by mafia boss Dominic Moretti, she evolves from prey to avenger, eventually forming a life-and-death alliance with him. The story revolves around internal mafia power struggles (Dominic vs. his brother Marco and sister Valentina), brutal warfare with rival Victor Russos, corrupt political and business protection networks, and Lina’s relentless pursuit of truth. Through intense sequences—including a deadly rooftop shootout, underground escapes, emergency wound treatment in a safehouse, global fund freezes, explosive media exposés, manor bloodbaths, and a subway bomb crisis—Lina uses her journalistic logic and courage, teaming up with Dominic to dismantle the black-gold network. She ultimately detonates the bombshell report “Nova City Judgment,” triggering a city-wide anti-crime storm. Key antagonists fall one by one: Victor dies in a tunnel shootout, while Marco, Valentina, politician Davis, and others face justice in a landmark trial. Dominic confesses in court and activates a financial “dead man’s switch” to protect Lina, earning a reduced sentence. The story ends in triumphant justice: the Moretti manor is demolished, Lina becomes editor-in-chief before retiring, and Dominic is granted early release. The two reunite at sunset by the renovated old dock, walking hand-in-hand toward a peaceful, ordinary future. The novel powerfully explores how truth, redemption, and human resilience ultimately triumph over violence and corruption, proving that justice, though winding, cannot be stopped.

"Did you... did you just burn down the hotel I was staying in!" I practically screamed into my phone. "Yes, it was mine." "You are crazy, do you think I'd move in because of this? I'll just find another place." He was so infuriating, did he think he could make me do anything by threatening me? he's got another thing coming. "And I'd just buy that too and burn it to the ground." ... Mirabella is a wedding planner, Innocent and careful woman known for never taking risks but she takes the biggest risk of her life to save a man from death and that puts her in his sights. One night of mistake and she disappears but now she has a child for him and she is determined to never let him know. Mirabella goes to Rome to plan the biggest wedding of her entire career but nothing prepares her for the shocking life she's about to experience.

A gray sky, full of clouds warning of an approaching storm. This is how Allie's world is perfectly described. A girl whose vision of life is pessimistic and full of darkness, where not even the slightest ray of light enters through her window thanks to her illness. But there is Rie, the boy who, despite the circumstances, remains optimistic and radiant, who will be the ray of light that Allie needs so much in her life. However, Rie hides his true origins from her, he comes from a rich family, but he does it out of fear that Allie will see him differently, so he pretends to be a middle class person, and tries to keep his secret hidden for a long time. But as they say, the truth... sooner or later it will come out. Will Allie be brave enough to dare to see beyond her gray world? Will Rie tell Allie the truth or will she hide it forever? Will Allie be able to forgive Rie?

Isla Hart gave up her dreams for love. But when love gave up on her, she had no choice but to fight for herself. After marrying the man she thought was her first, and forever, love, she gave up everything: her career, her family, her identity. For six years, she lived quietly as a devoted wife and mother, convinced that her sacrifices were for a greater good. Until the day he whispered another woman’s name under anesthesia. Until the woman showed up, pregnant with twins, claiming to be the real love of his life. Humiliated, heartbroken, and called unworthy by her husband’s family, she takes her three-year-old daughter and walks into a stormy night with nothing but a suitcase, a broken heart, and a single phone number to call. But rock bottom is where her story truly begins. With the help of an old friend, and a man she never saw coming, she’ll find the courage to start over, the strength to stand tall, and the power to prove that she is, and always was, more than enough. A story of betrayal, resilience, and second chances in love, Unworthy No More is a heart-tugging journey from silent suffering to radiant strength.

Seven is a socially awkward teenager who was fortunate enough to find love online. everything changed when the truth about his girlfriend was revealed and now he is stuck between fighting for his life, his friends, and his sanity.

I run into a group of rogues on my way home for my daughter's birthday. I call my wife for help, but she blocks my number. I'm dragged out of the car, stabbed a dozen times, and thrown into the bushes to die. My neck is broken, and my organs are spilling out of my body. The rogues think I'm going to die—they even mention each other's names before me. Then, they drive off in my car while whistling happily. I hold onto my head and organs as I crawl to the roadside, hoping against hope that someone will save me. Before I'm taken to the hospital, I see my wife's social media update—she and her secretary have taken a sweet photo together while celebrating our daughter's birthday. The first thing I do after being discharged is demand a divorce.

Jade knows what it feels like to have no one in her corner; she experienced it firsthand when her aunt sweet-talked her parents and took her to the Philippines' when she was eight. After years of abuse and being used, the only thing Jade wished for was an escape to finally go home and be with her family. All Jade wished for was to experience what it feels like to be loved once again and she got that when she finally escaped from her aunt and made her way back home to her pack and family in Detroit. Finding out that the Alpha Heir Hunter was her mate was the best thing to ever happen to Jade, and Hunter gave Jade a home, love, and became the safety and comfort Jade had always wished for. Two years of blissful union came to an abrupt end when Jade woke up in bed with her sister's boyfriend after a party. Her life goes from sweet to bitter in a matter of days as everyone Jade once loved turned their backs on her, refusing to believe them when she said she didn't cheat on her mate. How could she? Hunter was the love of her life. Jade goes from preparing to becoming the Luna of the Blackwood Pack, to being treated no less than a traitor. Hunter doesn't wait another heartbeat before rejecting her, and Jade is soon branded as a defective mate, banished to the woods as a rogue. How will Jade survive life as a pregnant rogue? The cursed brand on her neck makes it impossible for any pack to take her in. Will her mate come after her? Or will Jade find her strength somewhere else and come back to enact her revenge on the people who hurt her?

On the night of the Benedetto family's Harvest Festival, my Mafia husband, Salvatore, told me to bring our son, Giuseppe, to the family gathering. He said his madre had finally accepted us into the Benedetto bloodline. I was trembling with excitement in our little cottage as I dressed Giuseppe in his finest little suit. He had carved a single wooden rose by hand, a project he'd saved for over five years. He said he would present it to his grandmother at the celebration, a plea for her to accept our place in the family. But the moment we stepped into the stone manor, I saw Carmela. Salvatore had her pinned against an oak barrel in a deep, searing kiss. In the moonlight, her hand was undoing his tie. In front of everyone, Salvatore smiled and gently pushed her away. He walked toward the family members gathered in a semicircle and raised a crystal glass. "Tonight, in addition to celebrating the harvest, I have an important announcement." "I would like to introduce you all to the woman I have married in the eyes of God and the Church." "Miss Carmela Torrino." Before I could even process his words, Giuseppe tore his hand from mine and rushed forward. "Papa, what are you saying?" "Isn't my mother your wife?"

She was supposed to be the thief who stole from his empire.   Instead, she became his wife. Arielle Vasquez wakes up bound to Matteo Moretti—a tattooed, ruthless enforcer of the Moretti clan, a bastard son burning with rage and a hunger for validation. Their marriage is a punishment, a cage of suspicion and hate. He sees her as a liar, a liability. She sees him as the enemy who stole her freedom. But the first night changes everything. She gasped as Matteo pinned her against the wall of their wedding suite, his breath hot against her throat, ink-dark eyes devouring her defiance.   “You think you can play games with me, little thief?” he growled, his fingers digging into her hips, possessive, punishing. “I’ll break you before you break me.” Arielle lifts her chin, lips brushing his ear in a whisper. “Try it. I dare you.” As secrets unravel and betrayals cut deeper, the line between enemy and obsession blurs. Every touch during late-night raids, every heated argument that ends with her back against a wall and his mouth crashing down on hers, pulls them closer to surrender.   But the real danger isn’t the Russians closing in.   It’s the heartless man who’s starting to want her more than revenge.   And the woman who’s beginning to crave the darkness he offers. In a world built on blood and power, love is the deadliest weapon of all.