Talent Code

On New Year’s Eve, a poolside party was held at the hospital. There, my fiancee Valerie Charlton’s medical prodigy junior colleague, Cyrus Zeigler, drew the wildcard in a party game. His task was to select a woman from the attendees and enact an explicit scene in front of everyone. He scanned the crowd, and his gaze landed on Valerie. “Valerie, you’re about to get married. I know I can’t have you. So let me have this one time. Okay?” Valerie’s eyes welled up, and she was about to nod. I scoffed and tossed the unsigned medical equipment purchase contract onto the table. “You’d better think carefully. Either he gets lost, or your family’s hospital shuts down for good. Your choice.” Cyrus glared at me angrily when he saw that Valerie was torn with indecision. “Is it that Mr. Everest can’t take a joke? He’s already controlling everything you do before the wedding. After you get married, he’ll probably keep you in a cage.” Valerie calmed down. Then, she turned to me and said scornfully, “You are a grown man. Have some grace. What era are we living in? Do you have to flaunt your masculinity all the time?” I watched calmly as they walked toward the pool. Then, I turned and made a phone call. “Since she doesn’t care about this marriage, she can watch the Charlton family crumble.”

After wrapping up a book signing out of town, I received a message from a friend on the way home. "This personal trainer is something else. He can do all kinds of things with an exercise ball." He also sent me a Live Photo. In the Live Photo, a woman was lying on an exercise ball, pinned down by a man. Her hair was covering her face. In the Live Photo that was a second long, I heard a familiar moan. I called my fiancée. "Where are you?" Her voice was a bit hoarse, "I'm training with an exercise ball at the neighborhood gym, babe. I have a big surprise waiting for you when you get home." I snorted and said, real slow, "How about I give you a big surprise right now? Open the door!"

I came to Vane Capital to destroy the man who murdered my father’s legacy. But I didn't expect to be caught mid-hack by Julian Vane himself. ​Now, I’m his 'Golden Captive'—blackmailed into a deadly game of corporate espionage. Locked in his penthouse, I’m forced to work inches away from the man I swore to ruin. But as bullets fly and the real traitor emerges from the shadows, I realize that Julian isn't the monster I memorized. He’s a victim of the same conspiracy that crushed my family. ​In a world of blood and binary, the line between revenge and desire is razor-thin. I was the 'Ghost' in his machine, but now, I’m the only one who can keep us both alive. The hunt is on, and this time, we’re taking no prisoners.

To save her sister from dying—and herself from going to prison—brilliant but desperate hacker Layla “Lyx” Costov must do the unthinkable: seduce and betray Micheal Wade, the ruthless tech billionaire from her past and Atlanta’s most untouchable bachelor. Her mission is simple and deadly—slip into his life, earn his trust, and steal the incriminating evidence that will destroy his empire. But the man she remembers isn’t the man she meets. Beneath Micheal’s cold power and fortune is a lonely genius who’s drawn to her fire, her defiance, her refusal to bow to him. The more she pushes him away, the deeper his obsession burrows. And the closer she gets to his secrets, the more tangled she becomes in his arms… and his world. Every touch she shares with him is a lie. Every kiss is a trap she set for herself. And every moment she falls harder. As the clock races against her deception, she must decide: save her sister, or shatter the heart of the only man who has ever seen her—the man she’s sworn to ruin, and the man she’s terrified to love. But everything changes when she uncovers a darker truth: her dead, brilliant mother may have been murdered… by Micheal’s father. Now the line between love and survival blurs. Will Layla protect her sister and expose the powerful man she loves—soon to be a father in law? Or face the monstrous truth about her own blood… and her illegitimate father? One betrayal will destroy an empire. Another will destroy her heart. And only one will save the people she loves.

I accidentally recover my memories. I can't wait to tell my wife, Krystal Merrill, about the good news. But that's when I overhear her conversation with the doctor. "Ms. Merrill, are you sure you want to transform Mr. Stuart into a merman? That surgery only has a 0.01% survival rate. You've already mixed his family's ashes with his medication and made him swallow everything. Even if you're doing this to protect Theo, there's no need to go this far!" Krystal replies icily, "No way! Randy must become a merman! If not, what will happen to Theo? All Theo did was hit and kill Randy's parents by accident! I'm doing this just in case something happens to Theo! "Besides, once Randy becomes a merman, he will be able to fulfill the perverted clients' desires even more!" I can only tremble uncontrollably as I stand at the doorway. I can't believe that the woman I love the most is actually the culprit behind my parents' tragic death as well as my amnesia and disability. Since this is Krystal's choice, I should let her have her way, then.

When my mother first told me about the arranged marriage, Noah Parker lowered his head and kissed me, pulling me closer as we became tangled together. After a haze of passion, he carried me into the bathroom. Warm water streamed over my skin, but his words sent a chill straight through me, as if I'd fallen into an icy pit. "Go home. And don't come looking for me here again." I thought he'd seen the text and was jealous, so I quickly clung to him and swore, "I won't marry anyone else—" His smile stayed, but the heat in his eyes cooled into something distant. "But I'm getting married." He brushed back my messy hair, ignoring how my body trembled under his touch. "My fiancée is gentle and kind—nothing like you. She’d never throw herself at her foster brother like that. We've already set a date. If you keep clinging to me like this, she'll be upset with me."

To attract more potential customers, my wife decided to join the cycling community. During the two months I was away on a business trip, she posted new cycling routes every single day on the map and became a well-known cycling socialite in the local scene. A neighbor suddenly sent me a video. The location tag pointed straight to my backyard. [Dude, your wife is something else. Already found herself a riding partner? Looks like the bike’s not the only thing getting ridden.] In the video, an unfamiliar lace panties hung on the handlebars of the bicycle. The lush grass swayed rhythmically, with an undulating figure occasionally peeking from behind it. I dialed her number. “What are you doing?” She squealed, “I’m out for a ride, honey. I’ve been landing a lot of high-quality clients lately. I’m working really hard to make money!” “Oh?” I smiled. “With your body?” I tightened my grip on the phone and enunciated each word, “It’s pretty dark in the backyard. Want me to turn on the lights for the two of you?

If you were born again in a world with true gods and magic, what would you do? Earn wealth and become a rich man on the continent? Become a noble and take what you want in your fiefdom? Become a mage and gain powerful strength and knowledge? Travel across the continent and get up close and personal with legendary figures? Become a true god and become an eternal being. Children make choices, but all time travellers have to. Kristen Stewart, Dragon Vein Warlock, Genius Mage, Hereditary Noble of the Kingdom of France, No. 1 on the Continent

Descended from two lines of assassins, Alina Istrati is one of the most prolific assassins in the world. Always taking pride in her work, the cold nature of her crimes paired with her modus operandi earned her the alias, Blackheart. A new contract that should have been a simple job proves to be more than she bargained for when she finds herself the target of the person who hired her. On top of that, she's stuck babysitting her former target, who intrigues her at every turn. Alina will be put to the test as she fights to uncover diabolical plots and uphold obligations in the assassin underworld while trying to maintain her Blackheart status around the man she was assigned to kill. Follow ADB_Stories on IG for series updates. Codename: Blackheart is the first book in the Codename trilogy.

I refused to donate one of my kidneys to my younger sister, Ella. As a result, my parents forced me to marry a wealthy man in Pinetown. People said Johnson kept his distance from everyone else. His first love had never truly left his heart. Everyone waited to watch my miserable ending. Unexpectedly, Johnson actually deeply doted on me. During the three years of our marriage, regardless of the place, he never seemed able to keep his hands off me. Even when I went to the washroom, he followed me and pressed me against the sink. We never took any contraceptive measures. Yet, I never got pregnant. One day, when I thought I was finally expecting, we went to the hospital for a checkup. There, I accidentally overheard his conversation with a doctor. “Johnson, three years ago, you asked me to secretly transplant Amber’s kidney to Ella. Today, you want me to lie to her that she’s naturally sterile. How could you be so cruel to a woman who loves you?” “There’s no other way. Ella’s health is weak. If she can’t bear a child, she’ll suffer in her husband’s family. Only Amber’s kidney is a match for her.” The voice I knew so well sounded so cold that it felt unfamiliar. The love and salvation I had basked in so comfortably turned out to be nothing but a lie. If that was the truth, all that was left for me to do was to leave him.