The Masked Empire

Marry a stranger in thirty days. Stay married for one year. Inherit three billion dollars. Refuse, and lose everything. Elena Castellano is a broke art teacher in a dying Vermont mill town when a letter arrives that changes everything: she's the secret granddaughter of hotel empire matriarch Victoria Ashford. The grandmother she never knew has left her a fortune—with one impossible condition. She must marry Victoria's ruthless CEO grandson, Dominic Ashford, within thirty days. Dominic has spent fifteen years proving he deserves the Ashford legacy. He's built the empire into something even greater, sacrificed everything for the family name, and he's not about to lose it all to some small-town teacher who appeared out of nowhere. But Victoria's will is clear: marry Elena or lose everything. He'll do whatever it takes to secure his inheritance. Even if it means threatening everything Elena loves. Forced into a devil's bargain, Elena and Dominic enter a marriage that's pure warfare. She won't be bought. He won't be beaten. But as they're pulled deeper into the Ashford family's web of secrets and betrayals, the lines between enemy and ally begin to blur. Because Victoria's will wasn't just about money. It was a test. And someone in the family will do anything—including murder—to make sure they both fail. A forced marriage. A billion-dollar inheritance. And one year to survive each other.

• • • FOR ADULT READERS ONLY • • •️️ I was five years old when I decided he was mine. Standing at his wife’s graveside in the rain, I pressed my hand to his jaw and told him I would grow up and be his. He said: is that right. Not a question. So I kept my word. My father’s best friend. The man who built an empire on control. The man no one touches. The man I was never meant to want. For thirteen years, I loved him the only way I was permitted to. In silence. At a distance. Across rooms that belonged to our families — and not to what I carried. Until the night I turned eighteen. I said it out loud. He ended it in one word. Don’t. So I did. I stopped looking at him. Stopped wanting him. Stopped being the girl who built her world around a man who would never choose her. I walked away. That should have been the end. It wasn’t. Because the moment I stopped reaching for him… was the moment Adrian Keller started looking for me. Across rooms. Across tables. At midnight — staring at a name he shouldn’t want. The man who taught me control is starting to lose his. And this time— he’s not asking. And underneath the empire… underneath the discipline… underneath fifteen years of unshakable control, something is coming loose.

Ethan Banks never planned to fail. Fresh out of New York University with a degree in Computer Science, he expected to land the kind of career that would prove to his family back in Bay City, Texas, that he could stand on his own two feet. Instead, New York City chewed him up and spit him out, interview after interview leaving him rejected and exhausted. He refused to run home and let his parents—or worse, his older brother—fix everything for him. He needed to make it here. On his own. When he finally secures a position at Warner Industries the largest tech empire in the city Ethan thinks his luck has turned. Until he meets the man behind the empire. Aaron Warner. His brother’s childhood best friend. His secret ex-boyfriend. The boy who once set his heart on fire, then vanished without a word. But the Aaron he knew is gone. In his place is a billionaire CEO with a reputation as ruthless as the empire he built. Cold. Calculating. Untouchable. And when Ethan demands answers about their past, Aaron offers only one shocking ultimatum: marry me—or walk away. Caught between the success he’s dreamed of and the love that once destroyed him, Ethan must decide if he’s willing to risk everything for the one man he swore he’d never forgive.

He slammed her back on the door and hovering over her, he whispered into her ears. “Looking at you this close, you're quite tempting.” Her heart suddenly skipped, aware of the position they were in. His body was pressing hers and his warmed breath fanned her ears. Her heart was crazy. Why was it beating so loudly at this time? She hope he doesn't hear it and get the wrong impression. “W…what are you doing? Back off. We aren't done talking yet,” she retorted only to have him chuckle lightly. The low rumble of his chest sent shivers down her spine. Her hands instinctively flew to his chest to push him away but they seem to have lost their strength. “You're so beautiful. I want to kiss you.” Her eyes widened. ……… Madeline Crayon- young and beautiful, had to face bad days when her father signed a contract with a rival company just to keep his company moving. As per the contract, he would have to exchange his eldest daughter for the good of his business. The eldest daughter, ran away from home causing Madeline's father to force her into marrying the son of the Johan family, Elias. Rumors had it that he was always masked in public for a reason best known to him. Elias Johan- the infamous God of the underworld. He decided to get married to either of the Crayon daughters to fulfill his thirst for revenge. A dark secret which he held for almost all his life that could destroy a lot of lives. Will Madeline be able to free herself from being trapped in the oblivion of a written marriage where she suffered different trials every day, or perseverance would be her best friend?

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS BOOK MAY CONTAIN THEMES LIKE DARK AND SPICY ROMANCE, STEAMY AND SEXUAL CONTENT, VIOLENCE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND FORCED SEX WHICH IS STRICTLY NOT FOR KIDS UNDER +18 READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED. . "If I should take you tonight Sierra, your body belongs to me and only I will be able to touch and do to you as I please, do you understand?" He asked with a smug grin on his face while he waited for her response. "I don't care who the fuck you are but you can't hold me captive. I will run away from here. That I promise you!" She swore vehemently. "The thing is..." He tugged at the collar around her neck, pulling her forward with a sinister smile on his face. "You can run Piccola but you can't hide. I'd tumble the whole world upside down to find you if I have to. You belong to me and only me!" *.*.* . Twenty year old Sierra Delavine has a one night stand with a masked stranger at a hotel who turns out to be Diavolo Castillo, the most dangerous Italian Mafia and drug lord right after receiving the heartbreaking and devastating news of her sister's medical condition. Diavolo who is the sworn enemy of the former senator who happens to be her father, offers her a deal to become his sex slave in exchange of her sister's life. She would have to live with him for three months and take him. All of him whenever and however he wanted it. As their worlds collided, they found themselves caught in a web of lies, betrayal, and danger. Will Ciara accept Diavolo's offer and will she find solace in the heart of the ruthless Italian mafia?

The Silver CEO’s Bound Lunar In a world where shadows hunt and power is the ultimate currency, one secret could destroy a billion-dollar empire—or unite two souls destined by the moon. MAYA THORNE is a sharp-witted private investigator who doesn't believe in fairy tales, let alone monsters. When she’s hired to recover the "Silver Moonstone," a stolen relic from the private vault of the world’s most reclusive tycoon, she thinks it’s just another corporate heist. She doesn’t expect to be cornered by a man whose presence feels like a thunderstorm and whose eyes flash with a predatory gold. CILLIAN VANE is the "Silver-Backed" Alpha of the North Ridge Pack and the billionaire CEO of Vane Global. For years, he has used his fortune to keep his kind’s existence a myth. But when a human investigator tracks down the very stone that anchors his pack’s power, his world begins to crumble. The moment Cillian catches Maya’s scent—rain-soaked cedar and wild mint—his inner wolf roars one word: Mate. Maya has the evidence to expose him. Cillian has the power to silence her. As rival packs emerge from the dark to claim the stone, Cillian must decide: will he protect his empire by getting rid of the woman he is biologically driven to claim, or will he sacrifice everything to make her his Luna? The hunt is on. The moon is rising. And this time, there is no escape.

When 22-year-old Aria, an art student struggling to keep her life afloat, signs a surrogacy contract for the powerful and notoriously private billionaire Luca De Rossi, she expects a simple transaction not a story that will change everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself. But what begins as an arrangement soon blurs into something deeper. Luca isn’t the cold man the headlines describe; behind his control and empire lies a heart scarred by loss and trust built on careful walls. And Aria…gentle, stubborn, disarmingly honest starts breaking those walls without meaning to. When a single photograph exposes their secret to the world, the contract becomes a scandal, and Aria becomes the headline: The Mistress, the Billionaire, and the Baby. With the media frenzy threatening everything Luca built and Aria’s pregnancy advancing under relentless pressure, both must decide whether to hide behind duty or fight for a love neither expected. As betrayals surface in the boardroom and Luca’s empire trembles under corporate fire, Aria finds herself caught between the life she left behind and the dangerous world she’s come to belong to. Every choice she makes echoes louder for her child, for her heart, and for the man who swore to protect both. Set against the breathtaking Italian Riviera, this is a story of forbidden love, fierce loyalty, and the courage to stand tall when the world wants you to fall. A romance that begins with a contract… and ends with a fight for forever.

Alora was called the Ice Princess in school due to her cold and distant personality. She is the youngest daughter of the Smith's, one of the richest family in the country. She was rumored to be the next heiress of the Hoseki Empire, the largest jewelry manufacturing company in Japan, US and Europe. Luke is the richest and the most popular guy in school. He's cheerful, friendly and enjoys being around with people. At the age of 17, he already have his own company making him the youngest CEO of the year. His goal is to build an empire by himself without his father's help. Luke and Alora were not socially close. But unknown to everyone, they were childhood lovers and was already engaged when they were young. But a tragic incident made Alora completely forgot about Luke. What will happen if they were given a second chance? Can this young couple overcome their differences? What will Luke do if he found out he's engage with a person with multiple personality? What's the secret behind Alora's mental illness? "I will love you no matter what. Even if you forget about me, I will keep on loving you because you're the only one for me." - Luke "Forgetting you was the biggest sin I've committed. My mind doesn't remember you but my heart and soul will always be yours. - Alora If you're into mystery-romance this is definitely for you! **Book cover is not mine. Credit to the rightful owner.**

A Fallen Angel. A Demon on the Throne. A Desire that will Set the World Ablaze. "On the sixtieth floor, sin isn't confessed... it's committed." Carter isn’t your typical executive assistant. He’s a celestial guardian on a sacred mission: to protect the soul of Dorian Thorne, the brilliant yet arrogant CEO of the Thorne Empire, whose life took a nosedive after a tragic accident. But Heaven has its rules, and Carter broke the biggest one: he fell in love with the mortal he was meant to watch over. When a desperate act of black magic miraculously heals Dorian’s legs, it comes with a hellish catch. Dorian is no longer the man Carter adored; his body has become the vessel for Astaroth, a Demon King with an unquenchable thirst for chaos and a twisted obsession for the angel guarding him. Caught in a tangled web of corporate ambition, family secrets, and an electric attraction that defies the laws of the universe, Carter faces a tough choice: Will he stick to his duty and exorcise the demon, even if it means destroying Dorian’s body in the process? Or will he give in to the seductive allure of a monster who knows his deepest desires better than God Himself? As Dorian’s father pulls the strings of power and a scorned fiancée seeks revenge, Carter will learn that in the battle between Heaven and Hell, the most dangerous place isn’t the abyss... it’s the office on the sixtieth floor. Welcome to the Thorne Empire! Where saints fall, and demons rule.

Once destined to lead his family’s empire, Liam Harrington’s life shattered after a car accident left him in a wheelchair. Abandoned by friends, mocked by society, and betrayed by those closest to him, his bitterness grew as he faced enemies who sought to exploit his weakness. Ava Bennett, the overlooked daughter of her family, dreamed of escaping her oppressive home. But forced into a contract marriage with Liam, she found herself battling not only her family’s cruelty but also those who wished to see her husband fail.