The Cage Summary

In Catania, beneath the shadow of Mount Etna, the mafia rules with fire and blood. No name carries more fear than the Valerios and no one is more protected than Lucy Valerio, the youngest and only daughter of the ruthless boss, Salvatore. Sheltered by her brothers, especially Vince, the heir to the Valerio name, Lucy lives in a gilded cage where freedom is only a dream. Until one reckless night changes everything. At The Velvet Room, the city’s most dangerous nightclub, Lucy meets Angelo, dark, magnetic, and scarred by secrets. Their chemistry is undeniable, but their love is forbidden. For Angelo is no ordinary man: he is the prodigal son of Giovanni Mancini, Salvatore’s sworn rival. A man who once abandoned the mafia life, only to be pulled back into its shadows. As passion ignites between them, the past resurfaces. Old betrayals, family feuds, and the reappearance of Angelo’s first love turn their bond into a deadly gamble. In a city where love is weakness and betrayal is currency, Lucy must choose: loyalty to her family… or the man who could destroy it.

“Are you here to save me?” I asked bitterly, thinking of the look in my father’s eyes as he tried to wring the life out of me. “Or are you just here to bring me gifts and false hope?”The stranger didn’t answer, but I could feel his presence as he approached. Still, I didn’t turn to face him, even when I felt a warm, gentle hand squeeze my shoulder.Abused. Neglected. Caged. That’s how Princess Ember, the daughter of the Alpha King of Allusia, has spent her young life. Sold like chattel to another Alpha in exchange for the promise of warriors for her father against an uprising, Ember’s life feels like it might be over. But a stranger comes to her in the night, her only refuge from the daily attacks from her father. Will he be her savior? Or will she just find herself in another gilded cage?An Alpha for the Stolen Princess is created by Claire Wilkins, an eGlobal Creative Publishing author.

After Noah's death, what greeted him was an AI system calling itself Black, offering him a job working for the World and Soul Management Bureau.  He has to travel to many different worlds, taking over an identity of some unfortunate soon-to-be-dead dude, and live out the remainder of his new life there however he wanted. Easy-peasy! ...Right? ...Ok, sure, there are a few small kinks here and there... like terrorist attacks, murder plots, zombie apocalypses, and the like... but one should always look at the bright side! Noah: "...Blackie, is it just me, or is this good brother of mine looking at me like a hungry wolf seeing a juicy piece of meat?" (°△°|||) Black: "Don't worry, host. He is just a bit excited due to nearly losing his life back there. You know, adrenaline." (¬‿¬) Noah: "…are you sure that's what's really going on here?" (っ °Д °;)っ Black: "Absolutely!" (≖‿≖) … ~ Many worlds later ~ Noah: "This secret mission that you can't tell me about… it can't possibly be to get fucked by the least appropriate target?!" (°ㅂ°╬) Black: "Of-of course not! Ho-how could that possibly be, eh?" (; ﾟ 3ﾟ )~♪ ML: Right, right, that's just a very (not so) coincidental bonus. Ψ(╹ڡ╹ )Ψ 💠 Author Note 💠 * SSC has long arcs. Each world is a fully-fledged novel on its own. * Don't let the summary (or the cover) fool you! While SSC does have an occasional explicit smut, it is primarily a fluffy and hilarious romance! * Pairings are one-on-one and taboo-ish. (E.g. hired assassin and his target, monster tamer and his tamed beast, master and disciple, siblings, brothers-in-law, etc.) * More info in the info chapter Author website: lucypandora.com Support the author on ko-fi: ko-fi.com/lucypandora Discord: lucypandora.com/discord

I don't inform Hunter Nabb when I'm bitten by a rabid dog in the late stages of my pregnancy. Instead, I call the police. Why? Because he got into an accident when he hurried to me in my past life. It killed his junior. He was depressed for a day but quickly bounced back. He cared for me until I recovered. I thought the rumors of amorosity between him and his junior was just a figment of my imagination. However, the day I gave birth, he locked me in a cage, allowing a rabid dog to attack me and the baby. He looked down at me imperiously, his tone cold and ruthless. "You can trick everyone, but not me. Would a dog have bitten you if you hadn't provoked it? Do you know you killed Willow with your dirty tricks? She was pregnant with my child when she died!" When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to when the rabid dog bites me.

Tardrain Brooklyn was the golden son of the Brooklyn empire—until a suspicious accident left him crippled and rottened in a darkened room. Now a prisoner of his own bitterness, he trusts no one and hates the world. Enter Ivana: the woman forced to become his wife. To the Brooklyn family, she was a hired executioner, tasked with finishing what the accident started. To Ivana, this marriage is a cage built by blackmail and desperation. Their orders were clear: infiltrate his room, earn his trust, and serve him a slow, silent death. But Tardrain isn’t as helpless as he seemed and Ivana isn't as cold as she needed to be. As she broke his rules and invaded his solitude, she discovered the man behind the monster. And as Tardrain watched his new bride, he couldn't help but wonder if she was his most dangerous enemy—or his only hope for survival. In a house filled with secrets and lies, the ultimate betrayal was falling in love with your victim. Ivana has a choice: fulfill her deadly contract, or risk everything to save a man who has already been marked for death.

​"I’ll do whatever it takes," I whispered, desperate to save my dying father and our family’s legacy. ​"Whatever it takes?" Damian Thorne’s voice matched the ice in his eyes. "Then marry me for one year—no strings, no feelings. Just a contract, signed in blood." ​Aara Vance has a heart of gold and a life crumbling into ashes. Damian Thorne is the "Vulture of Wall Street," the man who destroyed her father’s business without a second thought. Now, to save the man she loves, Aara must trade one prison for another: a golden cage with the man she hates most. ​She expected a cold bed and a silent husband. She didn't expect the fire that ignites between them, nor the dark, dangerous secrets Damian hides behind his billionaire mask. ​The rules of the game are simple: don't fall in love. ​But Damian Thorne doesn't follow the rules. And Aara is about to discover that the debt she owes might cost her more than just her freedom. It could cost her everything.

Abandoned as a child, Andrea’s life was a script of hardship. Her mother, once an aspiring actress, left her poor father for a wealthy man, erasing them from her glamorous new life. Raised by a loving stepmother, Andrea harbors a burning desire to conquer the acting world and surpass her mother’s success. Now her world is shattered: her stepmother's cancer is in its third stage, her acting career crumbles due to a false accusation, and her boyfriend's betrayal leaves her heartbroken. A drunken night leads to an unexpected encounter with Niklas, a wealthy but arrogant heir. Desperate to save her family from financial ruin, Andrea reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience. However, this marriage intended as a lifeline, becomes a battlefield as Niklas's lover returns, threatening to destroy Andrea's already fragile existence. When a heartbreaking miscarriage leaves her reeling, she must confront a crucial decision: will she remain in the shadow of others, or break free from her gilded cage to reclaim her dreams and identity?

Because of my negligence, Leo's precious darling Sophia had choked on a mouthful of seawater. He flew into a rage and locked me in the dark water dungeon. "Catherine, whatever Sophia suffered, you'll repay double!" The instinct to survive forced me to shift into wolf form. I slammed my head against the iron cage again and again, begging for his mercy. But Leo bound my limbs with iron chains and ordered his subordinates to keep flooding the chamber. "A jealous wretch like you will only learn obedience through suffering." "Stay in there and repent for what you've done." He sealed the iron door of the water dungeon himself and forbade anyone from coming near. Over and over, I craned my neck to gulp in the thin air, howling in desperation. But the rising ice water swallowed me whole. I kept struggling until I had no strength left. A week later, in his great mercy, he decided to end my punishment. What he didn't know was that the water snakes had already gnawed my body beyond recognition.

My best friend, Yara Campbell, got reborn back to the day she was to reunite with the richest family in town, the Waltons. She didn't want to relive her fate as the Waltons' marionette that was trapped in a gilded cage, so she refused to go home with them. That was why she didn't hesitate to push me out instead. As I gazed at Grace Robinson, whose fingers were adorned with diamond rings, and Raymond Walton, who looked like he was made of money, I instantly rushed toward them. There was no way I'd let this golden opportunity slip through my fingers, after all! Five years later, Yara shows up on the Walters' doorstep with a paternity test report in her hands. She then demands that I be cast out of the family. But she's too late. In the past five years, I'm no longer the replacement she had used on a whim back then. Now, I'm the second-in-command in Walton Group. No one in this family can possibly usurp my position from me now.

Ryan, a stripper, had spent years dreaming of revenge. The night his mother was gunned down, he swore he’d make Ricardo Covallo… a ruthless mafia boss responsible, pay in blood. When the chance came to heal Ricardo of the impotence Ryan had secretly caused, he disguised himself as a doctor and took it without hesitation. One injection, one quiet death, and justice would finally be his. But Ricardo Covallo is nothing like Ryan expected. Dangerous, yes. But also magnetic, intoxicating, and far too perceptive. A single heated night between them throws Ryan’s plan into chaos. Ricardo, drawn to something he can't quite name, refuses to let Ryan go. Trapped in a deadly game of deception and desire, Ryan finds himself torn. The man he came to kill now holds him in a cage lined with silk sheets and whispered promises. And the worst part? Ryan isn't sure he wants to escape. Because maybe revenge isn’t the only thing worth dying for.