The Fourteenth Target

"I don't play games, Miss Moretti. I end them." Celine Moretti has a plan after catching her boyfriend with the new beautiful transfer student. It’s simple, really. Step one: Don't cry. Get even. Step two: Seduce the transfer student’s uncle—the icy, terrifyingly handsome Professor Reed—and destroy his niece’s perfect little life. It was supposed to be a game. A little revenge to soothe a broken heart. Celine thought she was the player. She thought Professor Reed was just a target, a rigid academic with a god complex and a stick up his ass. She was wrong. Professor Reed isn't just a teacher. He is Caelum Morano, the ruthlessly efficient Don of the Morano Crime Family. A man who hides in the halls of academia to hunt the shadow organization that butchered his fiancée. He has spent years perfecting his mask of indifference, living a life of cold solitude, surrounded by a loving but dangerous family he keeps at arm's length. Until Celine walks in. She is chaos in red lipstick. She is defiance wrapped in a short skirt. And she looks exactly like the ghost haunting his dreams. He tries to reject her. He tries to scare her away. "You’re playing with fire, little star," Caelum warned, his hand closing around her throat, not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough to own. "And I burned down the world a long time ago." "Then burn me," Celine whispered, trembling not with fear, but with a dark, twisted need. "I’d rather burn with you than freeze alone."

Emma Scott has always had it all—wealth, beauty, and power. As the privileged daughter of a business tycoon, she ruled her university years with confidence, arrogance, and an undeniable presence. But beneath her sharp tongue and ruthless attitude was an obsession she never dared to name—Killian Thomas, the one man who never bowed to her. Killian, a hardworking scholarship student from a middle-class background, despised Emma for the torment she put him through. She was cruel, entitled, and always seemed to have a target on his back. But when one heated argument after class turns into something far more physical, their hatred transforms into an addiction neither of them can resist. What starts as secret, no-strings-attached encounters after lectures spirals into something far more dangerous. They become study partners, but their breaks are filled with untamed passion. One night, they get locked inside the library and spend the entire night indulging in their darkest desires. Their obsession only grows stronger. Upon graduation, Killian is offered a job at Emma’s father’s company, the very place where Emma works. Their sinful rendezvous continue in secret—stolen moments in offices, forbidden trysts during business trips. They think they’re careful, but when Emma’s father catches them in a compromising position overseas, their affair is exposed. Faced with an ultimatum, Emma refuses to back down. She confesses that her bullying was always a twisted way of masking her love for Killian. She threatens to leave everything behind if her father dares to fire him. Forced to confront their true feelings, Emma and Killian finally make their relationship official. But even after marriage, their hunger for each other remains insatiable—whether at home, at work, or in places they should never be. Their passion is reckless. Their love is ruthless. And their temptation?

*Excerpt* My gaze met Sergio's. He didn't look away. I couldn't look away either. It felt like there was an invisible magnet pulling us towards each other. He looked away, breaking us from the trance. "Are you sure you're okay, Nicole?" "Come inside." He shook his head. "I was worried, and—" "Come inside, let's talk." He shook his head again, unyieldingly. "We're already talking." "Are you scared?" I asked in a challenging voice, my gazed fixed on him. "What are you so scared of?" "Nicole..." "To answer your question, no, Sergio, I'm not okay." "What's bothering you?" The vulnerability in his eyes towards me was palpable. It was my chance to act. I couldn't afford to waste it. "You," I replied, my gaze still boring into his. "And your fiancee. I couldn't bear watching you together." Sergio swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I was jealous, Sergio." • *Blurb* In a turn of events, Juliana bears witness to the brutal murder of her father—a sight she never thought she'd witness. Amidst the turmoil, she finds out she's their next target, but somehow, she manages to evade them. Determined to seek closure and justice for what happened to her father, Juliana takes on a new identity as Nicole and embarks on a quest for vengeance against the masterminds. With a heart hardened by grief, she takes on the journey. A journey that would test her limits and push her to do unthinkable things. Will she succeed? Follow her on this journey as she confronts the demon of her past.

Valeria Romano was nineteen when her father was murdered. For five years she trained, sacrificed and bled ... building her entire life around one name. Lorenzo De Luca. The mafia king she believed gave the order. When she finally gets her shot at him, he doesn't run. He sits her down and shows her a photograph. The man responsible for her father's death was never Lorenzo. It was her uncle Marco. The man who handed her the wrong name the morning after the murder and watched her chase the wrong target for five years while he rebuilt his empire on her father's grave. Lorenzo proposes a contract marriage ... a strategic alliance that puts them both inside striking distance of Marco before he buries the truth permanently. Valeria agrees. Not because she trusts him. Because Marco Romano just became her real target. What follows is a race against a closing window. Spies inside the estate. A bought witness. A dead man who turns out to be very much alive. Two people who came together as enemies slowly building something neither of them has a name for. And a summit where Valeria must stand before the five ruling families with five years of truth ... and finally make it count. Marco goes to a cell. The war ends. But war leaves marks. The real question driving this story is never whether Valeria can destroy the man who killed her father. It is whether she can survive who she became in the process ... and whether the man she married to win a war is the same man worth staying for when it is over. Some revenge stories end with justice. This one is just getting started.

Ella James has spent years mastering one simple rule: stay invisible. At school, she’s the easy target—the girl in oversized clothes, the one people laugh at, the one no one defends. Keeping her head down is the only way she knows how to survive. But everything changes the day she finally talks back to Beckett Cross. Beckett is everything Ella is not—confident, admired, untouchable. The golden boy who moves through life like the world was built for him. He’s also been one of her biggest tormentors. So when he unexpectedly asks for her help in secret, Ella is forced to confront a painful truth: to him, she’s only worth something when no one else is looking. Then life takes a cruel turn. When Ella’s mother leaves town for two weeks, she’s sent to stay next door—with Beckett and his family. Trapped in his world with no escape, Ella must navigate the same boy who humiliates her at school but watches her a little too closely when no one else is around. As Ella begins to question her worth—and take small, terrifying steps toward change—Beckett finds himself unsettled by a version of her he doesn’t understand. One who doesn’t shrink. One who doesn’t say yes. One who forces him to choose between the image he’s built and the truth he’s been avoiding. In a story about identity, courage, and the power of being seen, Ella must decide if she’s ready to stop hiding—even if it means risking everything. Because this time… She’s not playing her part.

“Nothing could stop me, no one could, Kamilah, and I know that you know that. But unless you say no, then I’ll quit right here and there.” He said, his dark brown eyes melting my own. I avoided his heavy gaze, "Just leave, Magnus." He gritted his teeth, gold hues circling around his eyes, “No, let’s fight together. Me and you. Having you by my side gives me peace, Kamilah.” **** It’s a taboo to have a female alpha, but what more when the alpha queen gets together with the unwanted hybrid? Chaos. Kamilah Ziraili was born as an omega, and been obsessed with the son of the Alpha, Darian. But when the most feared Alpha Magnus, suddenly took an interest to her, things took a turn. Kamilah broke the werewolf rules, gaining her own power an making her the target for enemies for disrupting the balance. Finding out that her mate is Alpha Magnus himself, and what more, a hybrid, who offers to help her, chaos erupted in the world, along with her heart. And with her past love coming back into life, she’s forced what to choose. Her past, identity, or her own pack? “You can’t lead, you’re a female who can’t have her own pack.” He said, and I gave him a smirk. “No one loves a female who could lead. They want someone who would be willing to submit and don't expect me to do that. I won’t kneel down before any man no matter what." Book 1 of Destined Series (can be read as standalone)

On our seventh mating anniversary, my Alpha mate, Ronan Thorne, abandons me once again for his secretary, Evelyn Stone's sake. This time, I don't kick up a fuss at all. Instead, I calmly draw out a silver dagger in hopes of ending my life. The moment the tip of the dagger is pressed against my neck, I feel someone grab my wrist all of a sudden. "Why are you hurting yourself? Who broke your heart?" I looked up in a daze, only to see the 18-year-old version of Ronan. He's so anxious that his eyes have gone red. At the same time, he keeps trying to embrace me. "Tell me who that bastard is! I'll make him pay!" I don't explain anything at all. Instead, I merely utter his name softly. After that, the current Ronan personally locks me up in the dungeon. He claims that I need to reflect on myself—that I shouldn't target Evelyn out of jealousy. Just then, the younger Ronan appears again. He stares at the older and cold-looking Ronan outside the silver bars, then turns back to look at me with disbelief written all over his eyes. I just nod in response. He clenches his fists tightly. Soon, a furious roar escapes his throat. "He's not worthy of being your mate! I'll kill anyone who wants to hurt you, regardless of who they are!" As opposed to the 28-year-old Ronan, the 18-year-old version of him loves me more than anything else in the world. Naturally, he will definitely stick to the promises he has made to me.

Five years ago, my junior made a mistake in the experiment, resulting in an explosion in the lab. In an effort to save my childhood friend, Andrew, I suffered severe burns to one side of my face and was falsely accused as the culprit. Just like that, I became the target of everyone's anger. Only Andrew stood by me, promising, "I love you for who you are, not your appearance. I'll always be there to protect you." But on our wedding day, he vanished without a trace. My mother, suffering from heart disease and barely clinging to life, wanted to see Andrew. When I asked him to come, he replied impatiently, "Are you using such a lame excuse to meet me? Don't you have any shame? Every time I look at your face, I feel disgusting." I pleaded desperately, but he calmly hung up. "Do you think I'm your servant? You can't just summon me whenever you want. Just because you saved me once doesn't mean you can blackmail me for life." My mother died without peace. The junior who slandered me back then later posted a photo on social media, showing a man lifting her effortlessly. Their poses were intimate, highlighting the underlying affection. Her captions read: [It's all his fault for tiring me out during the day. I almost missed out on this beautiful ocean. When you're in love, all is clear to see. I mentioned wanting to go to Belmar Island, and he flew me around the world for it.] I was utterly heartbroken, so I texted him: [Let's break up…]

Summer Molina doesn't know how many times her mother told them the story about the island who abandoned them, many years ago. Even she doesn't know the entire story behind that, that story opened her mind that the world was made very cruel. At her young age, she chose to leave their city to find a job somewhere, where she can earn higher salary, until it brings her to the island of El Salvador. An island far from civilization that hides a very beautiful town. All she thought that she will find there a job-but she is wrong. The white sand shore, clear blue water, the sunset, everything in the island make her realize one thing—she was on the island that she thought that only exists in her mother's story. Works as a secretary of Lucius Salvador the ceo of the El Salvador's chain of hotels and restaurants. A great business man and leader in the age of twenty-two. But behind of his greatness, he is undeniably cold to anyone. No girlfriend, no flings, his life is for nothing but for business. He seems like a snowman in the middle of fiery summer. After several months of work with Lucius, summer discovered some secrets lying behind them, and one of those is the reason of their bitter fate. Driven by anger, summer wants to revenge against the Salvador. She believes that every man's weakness is a woman's beauty. So, she decided to use hers. She will play him like a puppet under her strings of beauty, while taking them down little by little. But she is wrong. Igniting her cold target is not a great idea. Once he burns, his flames will claim and destroy her… inch by inch.  

Tiana Greene arrives on Lycan Isle with nothing but a suitcase, a scarred past, and a desperate need for work. When she is hired as a maid in the sprawling cliff-side mansion of Ross Lycan – the island’s reclusive billionaire – she expects long hours, strict rules, and silence. What she does not expect is the man himself: cold as the steel in his voice, brutally private, and carrying a shadow in his gaze that keeps everyone at arm’s length. Rumours whisper through the island of former staff fleeing in fear, of Ross’s cruelty, and of the mysteriously vanished brother whose memory haunts the mansion halls. Tiana tries to keep her distance, but every forbidden glance and accidental touch tightens the invisible thread pulling them together. When a near-fatal accident on the cliffs pushes Ross into her life more violently than either of them intended, the dynamic shifts. Ross grows protective yet distant, drawn to Tiana in ways he cannot accept – while she fights her own confusion over the man beneath the frost. As the annual island festival approaches, tensions rise. Tiana becomes a target for the island’s elite women, whose humiliation of her sparks a dangerous, possessive reaction in Ross. Social pressure thickens, rumours spread, and the boundaries of employer and servant begin to blur into something darker, deeper, and irresistibly intimate. But everything changes the night Tiana slips into a forbidden study and uncovers the truth about Ross’s past – a past woven with loss, guilt, and secrets buried beneath the island’s stormy surface. Now she must decide. Can she love a man built from shadows? And can Ross love someone brave enough to walk into the darkness he’s spent years trying to hide?