Operating Systems: Internals And Design Principles Novels & Stories

Zarah Ling has one goal: revenge. Two years after her father is killed for trying to expose a human trafficking ring, she goes undercover under a new name (Chelsea) inside the Romano Group—working directly for Dante Romano, New York’s most feared mafia Don, and the man she’s determined to destroy. Dante is dangerous, unpredictable, and far more complex than the monster she expected. The closer Zarah gets, the more the lines begin to blur; between truth and lies, revenge and desire. But she’s not the only one playing a game. With powerful enemies circling and a trafficking network still operating in the shadows, Zarah is pulled deeper into a world where one wrong move could cost her everything. Including her life. And when the moment finally comes to strike, she’s forced to face a question she never prepared for— What if she’s been hunting the wrong man? And even worse What does she feel for that man?

I faked my own death to escape a killer surgeon. Then I saved a mafia boss's brother and became his prisoner. I thought I was safe hiding in the shadows. Then Frank Costello dragged his dying brother into my clinic with a gun to my head: "Save him or die trying." Now I'm trapped in his world. Three months of service, he says. Treat his men, ask no questions, and he'll give me enough money to disappear forever. But Frank Costello doesn't play fair. He knows my secrets. He knows I'm running from a murderer who thinks I'm dead. And when that killer finds me again, Frank makes me an offer I can't refuse: Stay with him, let him protect me. The price? My freedom, my principles, my heart. I'm a healer. He's a killer. We're on opposite sides of every line that matters. But when the man I'm running from comes back for blood, Frank Costello might be the only thing standing between me and a bullet. The question isn't whether I'll fall for him. It's whether I'll survive long enough to regret it.

Ariana Torrey has been Brian Lodge's simp for three years. She casts aside her dignity and principles for him. But to Brian, she's only a plan B or even a zero. She's someone he can cast aside at a moment's notice. The whole of Gleaston knows Evelyn Granger is the one Brian loves. Ariana is nothing but a cheap substitute. On the day of their wedding, Ariana is abducted and tormented for three days and nights. However, Brian refuses to pay the ransom, even marrying Evelyn at a wedding that's supposed to be his and another woman's. Only then does Ariana wake up to reality. When she's reborn on the day of her engagement to Brian, she experiences him leaving her behind to go to Evelyn, who's threatened suicide. Everyone waits to see Ariana make a fool of herself. To their dismay, she doesn't shed a tear or kick up a fuss. Instead, she calls off the engagement, claiming that Brian, the CEO of Lodge Co., can't get it up. The news of this spreads like wildfire, stunning everyone. Meanwhile, Brian turns and pins her to the wall. "Is it fun playing hard to get, Ariana?" "Has anyone ever told you you're full of it, Mr. Lodge?"

"So my one-night stand is now my boss, the father of my three-year-old, and literally called 'The Executioner'?" Lora rebuilt her life as a fierce single mom after one night of rebellion left her pregnant. Her mysterious stranger? Ancient history. Until Lord Erin Marrock—werewolf nobility and part-time executioner—walks into her design firm. Their first meeting involves her calling his demands "corporate peacocking." Their second involves her son casually shifting into a wolf pup during a tantrum at the playground. Now they're locked in the custody battle from hell, complete with his supermodel girlfriends and her nice human boyfriend. But when enemies target their son, mutual hatred becomes irrelevant. Because the only thing more dangerous than a werewolf protecting his heir is a mama protecting her son. Enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance featuring a sharp-tongued single mom and a werewolf with serious control issues.

Three years ago, Aria Sinclair loved her billionaire husband Damien Cross with everything she had. In return, he destroyed her. Framed for infidelity by her own sister, Vanessa, Aria was publicly divorced, humiliated, and cast out with nothing, pregnant and alone. Now she’s back. Operating under the name Seraphina Kane, Aria has rebuilt herself as the CEO of a rival luxury empire. She’s powerful, untouchable, and unrecognizable. She returns to New York with one goal: to take everything from the people who took everything from her. But she didn’t plan on Damien falling desperately in love with her new identity. She didn’t plan on the old feelings resurfacing. And she definitely didn’t plan on him discovering that her two-year-old daughter has his eyes. As Vanessa schemes to expose Seraphina’s true identity, and Damien grows closer to a truth that could destroy them all, Aria must choose: complete her revenge, or risk her heart one more time for the man who shattered it.

To snatch a limited-edition piece of jewelry for his mistress, my blind brother was shoved down a flight of stairs. Ethan Sterling, one of the best surgeons in the country, refused to enter the operating room — all because of a tiny cut on his precious sweetheart's finger. He forged a forensic report and bought Daniel's life for a mere fifty thousand dollars. Even my own daughter turned against me: "You're a liar! Aunt Vivian is the best person in the whole world!" Later, in front of everyone, I stepped off the third-floor terrace and plunged into the void. Ethan Sterling lost his mind. He knelt by the river for three days and three nights, clawing his fingers raw against the stone. A year later, desperate to save his daughter from going blind, he knelt in a downpour begging that mysterious, world-renowned surgeon. I stood there holding my umbrella, utterly unmoved. "I'm afraid you have the wrong person, Mr. Sterling. Miss Holloway died a year ago." "I'm Mrs. Ashford. I'm here to acquire Sterling Medical."

Tobin Leith was never supposed to survive the first week. When his older brother's gambling debts spiral out of control, the Saal mafia syndicate comes to collect. They want collateral to keep on a leash until the debt is settled. Tobin volunteers before his brother can speak. Emeric Saal, a dominant underworld boss, is cold, calculating, and bored by almost everything. He accepts the arrangement without emotion. Tobin is just a pawn housed in his guest wing under constant surveillance. Except Tobin refuses to act like a hostage. He stays defiant. On the fourth night, Emeric catches him picking the lock on his office door with a fashioned tension wrench. Emeric simply sits down across from him, lights a cigarette, and says the words that change everything: "I was wondering when you would try." Emeric already knows the truth. Tobin is operating under a hidden identity, actively hunting for revenge. What begins as a volatile cat-and-mouse game quickly twists into a steamy, intense MM romance. Emeric, for the first time in years, is deeply interested in seeing what happens next.

Maya de Cruz is at the lowest point of her life—her career is in ruins, her uncaring family has her backed into a corner, and her past continues to haunt her. In the depths of her despair, Maya’s world tilts when Aaric Salvaterre Bernardi—her ex boyfriend, now her sister’s fiancé—appears with an offer too tempting to resist, one that could either save her or destroy everything she once held dear. Aaric, with his deadly charm and power to subdue anyone, drags Maya back into the web of his dangerous world. What begins as a risky deal slowly turns into a seductive and inescapable game of desire. Maya struggles to suppress the emotions slowly invading her heart, but Aaric's undeniable magnetism pulls her deeper into his orbit. Every glance, every word, unravels her defenses, leaving her at war with a dilemma that threatens to shatter her principles and pride. Amidst a swirl of intrigue and dark secrets that are increasingly revealed, Maya finds herself at the crossroads between a burning forbidden love and the threat of losing herself. As reason gives way to desire, a single question lingers like a haunting melody: will Maya dare to risk it all for the man who shattered her world, yet awakened a flame within her she thought had long died?  

He left me bleeding on an operating table while he wined and dined my replacement. Three months later, Julian Voss has everything: the heiress with "proven fertility," our penthouse, his perfect life. I have nothing. Until I meet Damien Hale the billionaire rival Julian destroyed eight years ago. The enemy who's been waiting for the perfect weapon. Me. One proposition: Pretend to be his wife. He'll give me everything I need to burn Julian's empire to ashes. But revenge gets complicated when Damien's possessive touch makes Julian's jaw clench with jealousy. When our fake marriage starts feeling dangerously real. When the man who was supposed to be my tool becomes the one thing I can't control. Julian's begging now, destroying his perfect life trying to win me back. He doesn't know I'm not his anymore. I'm the weapon they both created. And when the ashes settle, only one man will have me.

"I, Leila Steen of the Lycan King's Pack, rejecgt you, Lucas Lavoie, Alpha of Kingfisher Pack."
 "You think this stunt will win me over? You're gravely mistaken." In her past life, Leila, a Lycan princess, cast aside her pride to appease her mate, Lucas - a cold, merciless Alpha whose heart belonged to another. While Leila groveled for scraps of his affection, the entire kingdom whispered of his torrid affair with Josephine, his true love. Scorned and discarded, Lucas drained every ounce of Leila's worth, leaving her to perish in agony on an operating table. Reborn with fire in her veins, Leila vows to reclaim her destiny and sever ties with the man who shattered her. But after her bold rejection and demand for divorce, Lucas, once repulsed by her very existence, undergoes a shocking transformation, pleading for a second chance. Unmoved by his groveling, Leila turns away, her gaze fixed on a new horizon - and into the arms of Darren, Lucas' fiercest rival, whose dangerous allure promises a future forged in passion and power.