Phoenix Arises

Adrian Cain has no past. At least, not one he remembers. He woke up at eighteen with a name, a guardian, and a carefully constructed identity that led him to build one of the most powerful tech empires in the world. Now, as the CEO of CainTech, Adrian is feared, admired, and emotionally impenetrable, his past locked behind clinical amnesia, sealed files, and a steel wall he doesn't dare breach. Until the suicides start. After two employees from his most classified division die under suspicious circumstances, trauma counselor Sera Vaughn is brought in to assess the psychological impact on staff. But Sera has her own reasons for stepping into CainTech, her older brother vanished fifteen years ago, and the only lead she has left is a face in an old photograph: Adrian’s. But his name back then wasn’t Adrian. It was Daniel Ward. As Sera begins digging into Adrian’s history and as Adrian’s carefully managed psyche begins to crack, long-buried memories start surfacing: a mysterious basement, whispered codewords, and a girl calling his real name. What neither of them knows is that they were both part of a covert experiment known as Project Phoenix, designed to erase identities and rebuild human obedience from the ground up. Together, they uncover a trail of lies, altered files, and fractured lives along with a chilling truth: Adrian may have been programmed to forget what he did… and who he destroyed. Now hunted by the people who created him, stalked by a version of himself he doesn’t remember becoming, and drawn to a woman whose trust he doesn’t deserve, Adrian must face the darkest corners of his past before they both disappear into it. Because some memories don’t stay buried. Some were never meant to.

She died fat, broken, and unloved, but she came back ready to burn it all down. Catherine Vale has one memory seared into her soul from her past life: the feeling of her mother-in-law's hands draining the life from her body while her new husband pretended not to hear her screams. Reborn on her wedding day, Catherine knows that marrying Anderson Vale means death. So she does the unthinkable, she runs from the altar in her wedding dress and boards the honeymoon jet alone. Her destination is Las Vegas and her plan is to get drunk and forget everything. What she gets instead is waking up married to Davis McFanger, the most powerful hybrid alive and her runaway groom's father. Davis doesn't believe in coincidences, and he's convinced Catherine is another trap sent by his manipulative ex-wife to destroy him. But the mating bond doesn't lie, and neither does the heat that forces them together night after night, even when he can barely look at her come morning. Catherine is hiding secrets even she doesn't understand. The pills she's been taking for seven years to keep her stable might be poison designed to suppress her powers. Her so-called mental illness might be a lie fed to her by the same people who killed her and the power trying to claw its way out of her skin, burning her from the inside out might be exactly what they murdered her to steal. As her phoenix abilities violently awaken, Catherine faces an impossible choice: trust the cold, ruthless man who claims her desperately in the dark but refuses to acknowledge her in the light, or face her killers alone and risk dying a third time.

My older sister, Jovina Valenti, catches the eye of the cold and ruthless mafia Don, Carlo Laguardia. However, she fears the danger that arises out of his identity and wants to go abroad to pursue a passionate romance. On the day Carlo sends his men to retrieve her, she drugs my drink and sends me to Carlo. After that, she leaves the country and disappears completely. I, Nerissa Valenti, am forced to become Carlo's wife. He treats me as nothing more than a pet. Despite being married, I ignore Carlo's existence and treat him as if he were invisible. He, on the other hand, continues to make me his pet. When he's pleased with me, he shows me affection. But when I upset him, what awaits me is either cold neglect or harsh reproach. After eight years of this, one day, Carlo suddenly orders that I be locked inside the freezing ice house. I tremble from the cold. When I see Jovina at his side, I realize belatedly that she has, for some reason, decided to return to the country. The first thing she does upon her return is seek Carlo out and lie to him that I drugged myself back then to take her place. Consequently, she was heartbroken and decided to go overseas. Jovina stresses that because of my interference, they spent eight long years being apart from each other. From that moment on, there isn't a trace of emotion left in Carlo's eyes when he looks at me. Under the excuse of visiting me, Jovina comes to the ice house and tampers with the settings. She puts the cold air on full blast at the lowest temperature. "Don't blame me for this, Nerissa. As long as you're alive, my lie will be exposed sooner or later," she says ruthlessly. I don't even last half a day before freezing to death miserably. When I open my eyes again, I return to the day Jovina first catches Carlo's attention. This time, I take the initiative to say, "Jovina, go abroad and look for your true love. I'll marry Carlo in your place." This time, the one Carlo loves will be me.

"Her crown was built on a lie. His love will help her burn it all down." At fifteen, Valencia De Von Cruz was the most feared girl in school— a shield of cruelty masking the trauma of her mother's unsolved murder. The only boy who wasn't afraid, Aaron Sinclair, left a rose for her on Valentine's Day. She never came. She vanished, leaving him with a broken heart. Six years later, Aaron is a business kingpin, and Valencia is the ruthless Queen of the underworld. When he’s attacked, she saves his life in a blur of violence, not recognizing the man she once inspired. To find her again, Aaron lies. He walks into her empire and hires her for the one thing she sells: protection. Valencia agrees, hiding her own truth: her crown is a cage. Her grandfather, who blames her for her mother's death, controls her with brutal trials. Aaron sees through her carefree facade. He witnesses her pain and wages a secret war against her grandfather, his love for her rekindled into a fierce, protective flame. As their guarded hearts collide, a shadow from the past emerges. A secret organization, *Phoenix*, is systematically destroying Aaron's empire and has its claws in the underworld’s very foundations. To survive, Valencia and Aaron must unravel a conspiracy that leads to a devastating truth: the mastermind behind her mother's murder has been hiding in plain sight all along. Now, Valencia must remember the tragedy she locked away. To claim her future with Aaron, she must first tear down the legacy built on her mother's blood. Even if it means becoming the monster they all fear. *A story of shattered pasts, fierce love, and brutal revenge, where the most dangerous weapon isn't a gun— it's the truth.*