Reckoning

He shattered her heart to avenge a past that wasn’t hers. Now he desires her in his bed—as his wife. Marceline Valino once believed in love. She gave her heart—and her innocence—to Cross Dejava, the boy who whispered promises in the dark, igniting dreams of a forever that felt so real. But by morning, her world was left in ruins. Private photos were leaked, her name dragged through the mud, and at the eye of the storm? Cross, smirking, cold, and ruthless. “You mean nothing to me,” he said, delivering a blow that would leave scars. “You’re just the bastard daughter of my father’s mistress.” His vengeance had never aimed at her heart; it was meant to punish the daughter for her mother’s sins—an ex-lover who had torn his family apart. Pregnant and abandoned, Marceline begged for mercy, but all she received was the echo of his silence. When she lost the child, she lost every last piece of the girl she used to be. Now, five years later, she’s preparing to return—broke, desperate, and willing to do anything to save her ailing mother. Anything… except this. Because the man extending a lifeline isn’t a savior. It’s Cross. And he has no desire for her heartfelt apologies; he craves her complete submission. A contract marriage awaits her. No love. No escape. No mercy. But Marceline isn’t the naive girl he once broke. She’s a woman who has risen from the ashes, ready to play his game. And as the pieces of their lives fall into place, she’s determining when—exactly—she will ignite a fire that could burn it all down. The future promises a reckoning, and she's preparing to seize it.

"Don't touch me! How could you do this to me Hardin? I loved you!" "I'm sorry you had to find out this way babe," Hardin replied calmly. Too calmly for Melanie 's liking. There was no trace of regret in his voice. "But I was never really in love with you Melanie. It was always Natalia for me. She was my first and only love." Melanie Marshall thought she had it all - a loving marriage, wealth inherited from her grandfather, and a future brighter than her dreams. But one fateful day, everything came crashing down. Returning home from a business trip, Melanie was devastated to find her husband Hardin in bed with her half-sister Natalia. Not only had he betrayed her, but he served divorce papers, intent on taking everything - her inheritance, her home, even her dignity. Years later, Melanie has rebuilt her life and Hardin desperately wants her back! But this time, she's stronger. It's time for a reckoning, and revenge will be sweet.

Flora's existence is barred into solely pleasing her husband, the hard-hearted CEO Damien Vance, who mistreats her as his maid and is only manipulating her for his own unlawful, hidden purpose. Little does Flora know that her entire presence in his life is nothing more but strings upon strings of endless manipulations orchestrated by malicious, selfish individuals. But when her high school Infatuation surfaces out of the shadows, seemingly more powerful and wealthier than her husband with a promise to take her away from her life of trouble and suffering, her life will never remain the same and she is thrown into an experience that utters the course of her life forever and reveals to her shocking secrets she never expected were going on right under her nose. THIS NOVEL IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS PART 1: TANGLED TRUTHS: MAIN STORY: The Billionaire's Secret Betrayal PART 2: TANGLED TRUTHS: A Billionaire's Revenge PART 3: TANGLED TRUTHS: The Final Reckoning

**MATURE CONTENT** Territorial Mafia Series 1: DEMETRI SYLVESTRE Demetri Sylvestre is a powerful and ruthless crime lord. He’s used to getting everything he wants. But everything changed the moment he met Snow Hidalgo, a beautiful and kind-hearted actress who just happened to be engaged to his half-brother, Marcus. Unbeknownst to the two, they shared a much darker connection in the past. A long-buried secret tied to a trauma Snow has never fully escaped. When Demetri discovered that Snow was Marcus’s fiancée, he used his influence and skill in manipulation to destroy their relationship. Amid pain and confusion, Snow ended up marrying Demetri. They became husband and wife, but her heart remained trapped in the past far from him. As the lies, anger, and desire grew deeper, the battle intensified not just for Snow’s love, but for control over her entire life. In a time of loss, rediscovery, and reckoning, Snow was forced to choose not just between two men, but between chaos and the peace her heart longed for. Three years passed. Snow rose again. Her career flourished, and at last, she discovered who she truly loved. And like a prayer finally answered by fate, the man her heart chose returned… but he wasn’t alone. In their reunion, Snow had to face both the past and the present. And in the end, she chose love not as a chain, but as a choice freely and truthfully made.

Arla-Rosa gave her heart to the wrong man and paid the ultimate price, her life, and the lives of her unborn children. Betrayed by her family, ruined by love, discarded like trash, she was left to die in the cold, her trust shattered and her spirit broken. But death was not her end. It was her rebirth. Waking six months before the night of her greatest betrayal, Arla is no longer the naive, trusting girl they destroyed. This time, she sees the daggers hidden behind smiles, the poison laced in sweet words. This time, she has no intention of forgiving. No plans to surrender. No mercy to spare. Armed with the knowledge of what’s to come and a heart forged in fire, Arla-Rosa is ready to play their games... only now, she is writing the rules. And when the final reckoning comes, they will learn one brutal truth: The phoenix does not forgive. It burns.

"I will burn with no rest until I exert revenge for what happened 20 years ago. The flames of my vengeance know no mercy, Nathan, they burn until every injustice turns to ash. I am the storm, the reckoning that will come for those that dared wrong me in the past" ******** Twenty years ago, Morgana was an eight year old girl who idolized her loving parents – a highly intelligent father and a strikingly beautiful mother. But a drunken car crash shattered her world, claiming her mother's life and silencing her father's pleas for justice. The culprit: Genevieve, the privileged daughter of Montenegro's newly appointed governor, untouched by the law. Embittered by this terrible experience, she vows revenge on the super-rich people who orchestrated the tragedy. By placing herself as a seductress at the center of a billion dollars divorce lawsuit of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage, she vows to bring her enemies to their knees and in the most painful way possible. Can revenge bring her the satisfaction she craves – or will it end up ultimately consuming her?

Ciara Mendes is a talented and captivating journalist at Flare Magazine, the best, where she tirelessly chases compelling stories while grappling with the emotional fallout of a recent heartbreak. Her journalistic prowess is matched only by her determination to heal personally, as she balances the demands of her high-pressure career with her pursuit of emotional recovery. Meanwhile, Giovanni Haynes, a strikingly handsome and enigmatic CEO of Anton Industry, captivates everyone around him with his undeniable charm and affluent lifestyle. Widely regarded as L.A.'s ultimate womanizer, Giovanni embodies a magnetic confidence that conceals a haunted past filled with betrayals and unfulfilled desires that linger like shadows in his life. As fate intertwines their paths, tensions rise, and the undeniable chemistry between Ciara and Giovanni ignites a spark that neither can resist, drawing them into an intoxicating whirlwind of passion and vulnerability. Their lives grow increasingly intertwined as they confront unresolved issues from their pasts, leading to a cascade of secrets surfacing that reveal a world rife with deception, lies, and hidden agendas. Each revelation pulls them deeper into the complexities of their connection, forcing them to navigate a maze of ambition, longing, and trepidation. Torn between their professional ambitions and the burgeoning attraction they cannot deny, Ciara and Giovanni find themselves at a crossroads where love becomes both a beautiful gift and a perilous gamble. Ultimately, they will come to understand that the most powerful stories are the ones that unfold in the depths of the heart, guiding them toward a reckoning that could change everything they thought they knew about love, trust, and forgiveness. In a city beautiful city defined by ambition and allure, where the glimmer of neon lights often masks the shadows of hidden agendas, Ciara Mendes and Giovanni Haynes find themselves at a crucial juncture.

She lost everything—but she's about to take it all back.   Betrayed by her husband and stepsister, Juliette Winchester watched her world crumble. Her thriving company—a legacy inherited from her mother—was stolen, her children were ripped away, and the life she'd built was reduced to ashes. Left with nothing but her will to survive, she disappears into the shadows, vowing to return stronger.    She fulfills that vow five years later when she emerges as a woman transformed—powerful, confident, and ready to reclaim what’s hers.    But what she doesn't expect along the way is an unexpected ally in the form of a rich investment mogul who has always had feelings for her.   When he reignites feelings she thought were long buried, Juliette must choose between the vengeance she craves and the future she deserves.    This is her reckoning—and no one will stand in her way. 

Anais Vale vanished three years ago, breaking the terms of a legally binding marriage contract with billionaire CEO Cassian Vale. To the world, their short-lived marriage was a mystery. To Anais, it was survival. But when a mysterious legal summons pulls her out of hiding, she’s forced to return—not as a woman in love, but as a wife under obligation. Cassian, ruthless and unreadable, never divorced her. Their original contract still holds, and now he wants her back—if only to fulfill the remaining years and protect his corporate empire from a hostile takeover. Emotion is not part of the deal. But the contract hides more than just legal conditions. It conceals a past filled with betrayal, a family legacy steeped in secrets, and a shared history neither of them fully understands. Anais returns as a woman determined to endure it quietly. But things change quickly: she discovers Cassian’s health is failing, that someone wants her dead, and that her own tragic past may be connected to his family’s crimes. As the truth unravels, Anais is forced to confront who Cassian really is—and who she must become if she wants to survive in his world. Along the way, both begin to transform. Anais, once passive and self-effacing, begins to find her voice and strength. Cassian, seemingly heartless and stoic, is forced to feel and face the consequences of his past. Their story is a collision of control and vulnerability, love and guilt, power and protection. What begins as a contract slowly becomes a reckoning—and a second chance neither of them expected. But second chances come at a cost. And not every ending is fair.

--- River Witch Some bloodlines are bound to water. Some debts are never paid in full. When Evelyn Blake returns to the remote riverside village of Elowen after fifteen years away, she expects grief and silence—but not the whispers that rise from the mist-covered water. As bodies resurface and ghostly lights drift through the fog, Evelyn uncovers a buried legacy: a pact made generations ago between her family and a nameless spirit that haunts the river. With the curse's final reckoning approaching, Evelyn must confront the sins of her bloodline, unravel the truth behind her ancestor’s forbidden ritual, and decide whether to escape the fate written for her—or embrace it. In a village where no one speaks of the drowned, the river never forgets. And it always collects what it’s owed.