The True Believer Novels & Stories

A month before the SAT exams, I was finally brought back to the Bowen family. In fear that I would take back all the love and attention, Archer Bowen, the adopted heir, pouted to his childhood sweetheart. "Keira, Zane pissed me off. Teach him a lesson. Go after him and make him fall for you. Then get photos of him naked and ruin him completely." The next day, the school queen, Keira Johnston, showed up in front of me with a huge bouquet of roses while smiling like a dream. "Zane, I like you. Be my boyfriend." At the same time, a cold mechanical voice rang out in my mind: [Target has appeared. Host, begin conquering Keira Johnston immediately.] I looked at Keira, who had once bullied me, and curled my lips into a faint smile. "Sure."

In my previous life, I am reunited with the Duran family. To protect the adopted girl, my brother, Adrian Duran, frames me for causing her illness to flare up. My parents believe him and throw me out of the house. Not long afterward, I die from illness on the streets. When I open my eyes again, I am back on the day I am brought back to the Duran residence. Adrian stands before our parents and points at me. "Mom, Dad, she's not my sister." The Durans look at me with disappointment before turning around and leaving. I stand there silently and do not take out the crystal pendant that can prove my identity. Instead, I quietly walk back to the orphanage. 20 years later, I become one of the country's leading cardiologists. The man sitting across from me hands over a medical file and speaks in a trembling voice. "Doctor, please... please save my sister." I pause when I see the name. My gaze settles on his worn and exhausted face. After staring at him for a long moment, I finally look up and say, "I won't be taking this patient."

I am Alpha Bruce’s fated mate. But for eight years, I’ve been his dirty little secret, hiding in plain sight as his Beta. When I saw him preparing the grounds for the Luna ceremony, I thought he was finally going to announce me. But on our eighth anniversary, I saw a video posted by Seraphina, the daughter of the Silvermoon Pack’s Alpha. In it, she was coyly showing off the mating mark on her neck. The caption read: [Eight years apart, eight years you waited. I'm finally going to be yours!] And the hand holding her—I knew it instantly. It was Bruce’s. Only the spot on his wrist where my name had been tattooed now read ‘Seraphina.’ I ran out, desperate to confront them, but I was attacked by rogues on the way. I called for Bruce through our mind-link, over and over. The last time, I heard his voice, low and thick with desire: “Isadora? She was just a placeholder for you. A worthless, parentless she-wolf. She wouldn’t dare make a scene even if she knew.” Lost in despair, the fragile life I carried inside me flickered and died. But they didn’t know that a month ago, my birth parents—the Alpha and Luna of the Silvermoon Pack—had found me. I am the true Alpha’s daughter of the Silvermoon Pack. Seraphina is just an impostor. After the sterile cold of the surgery, the first thing I did was call my mother. “Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’m coming home to take my place. I agree to the alliance you mentioned, but I want Seraphina exiled from the Silvermoon Pack!”

Ana is a 20 year old college student. Her only comfort from the monotonous life is books. Her mundane life dramatically changes when she meets Ethan, who is from a very different world from hers and has come to earth in search of a mate. Despite Ana’s indifference towards him, he saves her from several tribulations and inevitably falls for her peculiar persona. Only after she confesses her love for him and accepts to be one of them, does she know who she really is. As the truth is unveiled, will she forgive the great injustice done to her? Will the revelations drive her to turn her back on her true love? Will she embrace her true identity and protect others from ending up a victim for the same fate as hers?

I've always been frail by nature. Taking two consecutive steps can make me gasp for air. If I cough, there's a chance there's blood accompanying it. When I'm seven years old, a homeless man in Bronzeton tries to snatch a half-eaten piece of bread from me. I lie on the ground as I convulse like a dying fish with foam gathering at my mouth. My eyes have rolled to the back of my head as well, as though my seizure is acting up. Thinking that I've gotten infected with some sort of disease, the homeless man is so frightened that he flees from Novarra overnight. When I'm ten years old, a delinquent tries to demand protection money from me. I react by spitting dark blood at his face. The poor guy screams at the top of his lungs as he runs down the street, only to get mistaken as a murderer by a police officer who happens to pass by the area. Since then, everyone avoids me like plague on the street. They aren't scared of me—they are terrified that they might get into trouble because of me. No one knows who my parents are. I've grown up in a rundown motel, and my adoptive mother is a stripper who used to be famous. Whenever she gets drunk, she often tells me, "Your father is a mafia Don." I've always thought that she's just running her mouth purely out of drunkenness. That is, until a black limo stops in front of me on the year I turn 18 years old. Three men clad in black suits get out of the limo. The leader sinks down on one knee right in front of me, his voice quivering as he speaks. "We finally found you, Ms. Salvatore. Your father is Vittorio Salvatore, the Don of one of the biggest mafia families in Novarra." At first, I think this is just a scamming scheme. That is, until I'm taken to the estate located on Lacreth Isle that's six acres wide and sports iron gates with the Salvatore insignia carved into them. On my first day home, the fake heiress, Serena Salvatore, purposefully releases the fearsome family dog in the estate just to intimidate me. That dog keeps barking at me, frightening me to the point that I spit out blood on the spot before collapsing to the ground. My mother, Rosalina Vitelli, almost loses her mind over my collapse. But my older brother, Marco Salvatore, shouts at me angrily instead. "Why are you playing dead? You made Serena cry because of your antics!" His voice is so loud that I feel as though my eardrums are going to burst anytime soon. Even my heart feels as though an invisible hand is gripping it tightly. My eyes roll to the back of my head instantly as my body crashes on the spot. Mamma flies into a rampage and almost beats Marco to death for scaring me. Having witnessed everything, Serena kicks up a fuss by attempting to commit suicide at the estate's clock tower just so she can apologize to me. In order to prove his love to Serena, my fiance, Luca Moretti, drags me forcibly to the top of the clock tower so that Serena can do whatever she wants to me. The thing is, the winds are strong on the top of the clock tower. That's when I accidentally slip and topple over the railing. My parents, who are looking everywhere for me, happen to be around the clock tower when I crash onto the spot near them. This time, my bruised and broken body is completely drenched in blood. Shell-shocked, they remain rooted to the spot as they stare at me in bewilderment. Then, they let out blood-curdling screams.

Thanks to my dad's work, I have to transfer schools. Soon, I go to my new school to register for my enrolment. After submitting my personal information, the teacher in charge shoots me an odd look. "Is your father Mr. Chapman, the new shareholder? His child should have enrolled with us a long time ago. In fact, his daughter is half a year older than you. You're not that person at all…" Stunned, I dig out my phone and show my photo with my dad to the teacher. She glances at the photo before showing me the system window. "Mr. Chapman's daughter has been studying in this school since the first term. He even donated a library to the school recently. This is a photo the school board has taken. You can take a look yourself." In the photo, my dad and an unfamiliar student can be seen standing at the school's bulletin board. That young lady looks as old as I do. Her features are similar to my dad's. In fact, she resembles him more than I do! If they are an actual father and daughter pair, then who am I?

In the third year after my death, my mother finally remembered me. But it wasn't out of longing—it was because my younger sister's leukemia had relapsed, and she urgently needed a bone marrow transplant. Clutching a donation agreement, my mother made her way to the basement I once lived in. She kicked open the door and was met with a floor slick with blood and scattered medicine bottles. "Cassidy, what game are you playing this time? Do you really think a self-inflicted act of suffering could fool me? Why are you so selfish? Why won't you save your own sister?" Her voice roared with anger, echoing through the space. From the crowd that had gathered to watch, a ragged little boy stepped forward. "Are you talking about Cassidy Porter? She… she died three years ago of organ failure… she vomited so much blood…"

At the company celebration dinner, I had just led my team through a major project and was about to go onstage to give my report. Then someone snatched the microphone right out of my hand. Freya, the newly appointed director, strode onto the stage and claimed all the credit for herself with a single speech. “I’m the CEO’s younger sister. My brother sent me to this branch to gain some experience. “From now on, everyone here answers to me. I promise I’ll get him to give this branch more resources, and I’ll lead all of you to bigger and better things.” I was so angry I almost laughed. I asked her what proof she had. To my surprise, she actually listed several of the CEO’s private habits, things an outsider shouldn’t have known. Then she even pulled out a photo of them together. I was about to argue, but my boyfriend, Chuck, grabbed me and dragged me off the stage. “Are you insane? If she’s the CEO’s sister, then just put up with it. Don’t cause trouble for the company.” I looked at Freya, who stood onstage with a smug smile on her face. Only one thought filled my mind. Since when did my brother have another sister?

I got into a car crash with my adoptive sister. The first person to rush to the scene was my childhood sweetheart, Jay Porter—the guy I'd been secretly seeing for two years. But Jay went to her first. He didn't even look my way as I sat there, bleeding heavily on the side of the road. I grabbed his hand, desperate to tell him I was pregnant. He just shook me off. "Sorry, Emma. Julia's delicate. I have to get her to the hospital now. Just wait here for the paramedics." By the time the rescue team got me to the hospital, I was out of immediate danger. But my baby... was gone. I wanted to confront Jay, to demand an explanation. Instead, I overheard him talking to a friend. "You played Emma this whole time, just for Julia's sake. Don't you think that's going too far?" Jay's reply was cold. "So what? Julia's just the Bourne family's adopted daughter—she's never been as protected and cherished as Emma, the precious heiress. That's exactly why it has to be me. I'll protect Julia. For her, I'd do anything." So it was all a lie. Every bit of love he'd ever shown me was just an act. After I was discharged, I went straight home and called my father. "Dad, can you make it so I never existed here? Erase all my records from this country."

When I'm scouring for food in the dumpster, I get recognized and taken home by the richest man in the city, Maverick Clark. As soon as I get home, Camila Clark, the fake heiress who has taken my spot for many years, asks our parents with an aggrieved look, "Mom, Dad, now that the actual heiress is home, does that mean I have to leave now?" Upon noticing the frowns on my parents' faces, I quickly sink down on my knees and begin pleading to them pitifully. "Mom, Dad, if you don't like me, I'll just go back to the alley you found me at." Camila Clark, you stole my identity and the affection meant for me by pretending to be frail and weak in the previous life. That was how I ended up dying on the streets from starvation. This time, not only will I kick you out of the Clark family, but I'll also take back the assets and identity you've swindled from my parents by playing the pity card! Aren't you the most skilled in acting pitiful? Let's see who's better at tricking the Clarks into voluntarily giving away their assets and social standing on a silver platter!