188 Book(s) Related to mary morris murders

In a deep, rough voice, he says, "I am the one whose brother died because of you."
"Sign it… or I shoot."
My hands tremble as I take the pen, tears blurring my vision, yet I have no choice but to sign.
"From today onward, you are dead to the world."
His tone is slow, poisonous.
"Your breath belongs to me."
"Your life… your death… all in my hands."
"Everything you are… is mine."
I am trapped in a marriage I never wanted.
For him, this marriage is just a deal, a way to increase his power. For me, it is a living hell.
He is the Mafia King, ruthless, terrifying, and stone-hearted. He believes I am guilty, and for him, this marriage is not a relationship but a punishment.
A crime I never committed, yet he turns me into a criminal and takes revenge every moment for his brother's death.
This is not a marriage. It is a fate worse than death.
Every day, I live as someone who is already dead to the world. Every night, I suffer under his control for a sin that was never mine.
But as the truth slowly begins to surface, everything starts to change.
Will I escape this nightmare, or will I be destroyed by the man who controls my life?

On the day I gave birth to my daughter, Iris, my husband Hollis pushed open the hospital room door, dragging a four-year-old boy by the arm. Eyes red and welling with tears, he said, "Look who I brought home."
My mother-in-law wept tears of joy. My son, Felix—who supposedly died in the winery fire five months ago—had returned "from the dead."
The whole room was crying over this miracle, but my blood ran cold: since the second he walked through that door, Hollis hadn't spared a single glance at our newborn daughter.
I secretly collected a DNA sample from the boy and sent it for expedited testing. The results confirmed it: this wasn't my son at all. He was Hollis’s illegitimate child with another woman.
That same night, I pulled up the nursery's hidden camera footage and watched with my own eyes as this man injected poison into Iris’s breast milk. Soon after, he brazenly moved his mistress—my personal assistant—into my home.
A towering wave of hatred consumed me. I swore I would make them pay in blood...

My husband’s long-lost true love returns to our pack celebration—and she’s my twin sister.
For three years, I’ve been the unwanted replacement Luna, married to Alpha Brad after his mate Ariana supposedly died. I endured his coldness and the pack’s contempt in silence.
Then Ariana suddenly came back.
Brad abandoned me at once, doting on her and giving her my place as Luna.
My sister acts weak and hurt in public, but mocks me in private. I found another wolf’s fresh mate mark on her neck—she’s hiding a secret.
When I tried to tell the truth, she faked a fall and framed me.
Brad believed her over me. He forced me to kneel and apologize, threatening me with cruel punishment.
I realize he will never choose me. Now I’m pregnant with his child, and I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow, I will leave them all behind.

Ella has always known her place; at the very bottom. As an omega, she’s learned to stay invisible, to endure the taunts and cruelty, especially from the notorious Blackthorn twins, Lucian and Kade.

Golden, ruthless, and heirs to the Blackthorn pack, the alpha twins have made tormenting Ella their favorite pastime. To them, she’s nothing more than a reminder of weakness.

Until fate plays its cruelest trick.

When the unmistakable scent of the mate bond connects the three of them, their delicately ordered world shatters. The twins would rather reject fate than claim a weak omega, and Ella refuses to be bound to the monsters who made her life hell.

The night before the engagement, Rosaline was tricked by her cousin. She was drunk and sent to a stranger’s room. She broke free from their control, went to the next room through the window, and had a one-night stand with a mysterious man.

She didn't want to have anything to do with him, so she matched wits with him and finally escaped. The man stared at silhouette with a smile: "You will never escape from me."

It was five years later when they met again. Neither of them recognized each other, but she was stopped by him in a dramatic way,
"Sir, anything can I do for you?"
"Yes."
"So, what's the matter?"
"I need a wife." He looked at her, and his lips twitching slightly.
"Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean."
"I needed a wife, and you are just the right one for me."
"What! Why?"
"I don't like women who are too beautiful or too smart."
“...”
"I'll see you at the Bureau House at ten a.m. tomorrow."
“...”
What?Was she proposed by the richest bachelor in this City!

Detective Iris Hale has spent twelve years building an impeccable reputation—logical, relentless, untouchable. In a city where most cases involve infidelity and insurance fraud, she's the department's rising star, poised for promotion to Homicide Chief. Then the "Reaper Murders" shatter her carefully constructed world.
Seventeen bodies in three months. Each victim carved with an elegant "R" mark post-mortem, their faces frozen in expressions of euphoric terror. No DNA. No witnesses. No pattern—except the killer's obsession with perfection. The city spirals into paranoia, and the department hands Iris an ultimatum: catch the Reaper or watch her career burn.
But when Iris discovers a mark identical to the victims' carved into her own childhood diary—dated fifteen years ago—the investigation becomes horrifyingly personal. Someone has been watching her since she was seventeen. Someone who knows the darkest secret she's buried: the night she accidentally killed her abusive stepfather and made it look like suicide.
Enter Dr. Ronan Ashford, the enigmatic forensic psychologist assigned to her task force. Brilliant, unsettling, and possessing an uncanny ability to predict the killer's next move, Ronan becomes Iris's only anchor in the chaos. He sees past her professional armor to the guilt she's weaponized into ambition. Their intellectual chemistry ignites into something dangerous, something neither can afford—especially when Iris begins noticing that Ronan's theoretical profiles feel less like deduction and more like confession.
As bodies pile up and the Reaper's messages grow intimate—notes addressing her by childhood nickname, crime scenes staged at locations from her past—Iris faces an impossible truth: the killer isn't just obsessed with her. He's been crafting her into his masterpiece for over a decade. Every case she's solved, every criminal she's caught, every moral compromise she's made—all calculated steps in his grand design.

I hid my noble Mosuo family background and loved Cassian for eight years. I allowed him to have children with another woman, thinking it was just a deal. Yet he truly fell for her, and she framed me publicly. Cassian blamed me wrongly and hurt me deeply. I revealed my real status and left him. Following my clan rules, I married three loyal childhood friends and let go of this failed love.

“Do you, Alex Snow, take Jennifer Walker, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Soon to be husband looks at me with the eyes of a beast, ready to rip me apart at any second as he says tightly “I do”

Although he just vowed to take me as his wife, to hold, love, and cherish, his ‘I do’ vowed something else entirely.

It was an oath to make me suffer horribly at his hands.

As soon as the words “I do” left my mouth I was certain, I just sealed my fate by marrying Alex Snow.

And my fate was crystal clear, death is coming for me sooner rather than later.

In a small town called “Snow”, known in all of Alaska for its huge illegal smuggling business on the border of America and Canada, Alex Snow; the new leader of the Snow clan that controls and dominates the smuggling territory, forces Jennifer Walker into marrying him against her will.

After his father gets murdered at the hands of Jenny’s father, Patrick Walker, the Snow clan vows to take their revenge on the whole Walker bloodline.

But killing the responsible man sends both families into a blood feud as both clans vow to make the other one pay.

The only way to stop that bloodbath from turning into a m******e, and claiming more innocent lives was a peace offering in the form of marriage from both families.

Jennifer’s world turns upside down as she turns out to be the one Alex Snow asked to marry specifically to stop that war.

Her only thought at that moment was “He is going to make my life a living hell”

The town Snow and everything it illegally represents is real inside the world I created in this book. It’s as real as you make it to be, but It doesn’t exist in real life

In my past life, the glorious "Son of the Sun" drained my divine blood until I died a broken shell.
Reborn, my twin sister eagerly steals my fiancé, shoving me toward the exiled, "crippled" King of the Shadow Crows.
As she flaunts her stolen glory, desperate to birth the sky's future ruler, I can only smile.
She doesn't know her golden prince is functionally sterile—and the "heir" she's destroying herself to conceive will be a nightmare.
And she certainly has no idea that my featherless, outcast husband is actually the ancient Abyssal Phoenix.
Let her drown in the hell she stole. This time, I’ll let the very abyss she cursed crown me as a True God.

The bite mark on the silver chain can never be copied, and it’s the only proof separating truth from fraud. My roommate leaked my secret to her boyfriend, who wore a counterfeit chain to play my long-lost savior. They nearly drained all my money before an anonymous text alerted me to their scheme. I exposed their fraud in public, and finally reunited with the real boy who hid beside me all along.

Married for five years, my husband, Reid, constantly played the poverty card. He’d blame crashing company revenues, claiming we couldn't even afford to upgrade to a house with a small yard. His favorite excuse was that we had to subsidize his chronically ill, adopted sister, Vivienne.
Yet, he frequently went out late at night, his phone practically glued to his hand. I suspected he was having an affair, but I couldn't find a single shred of evidence.
So, for our fifth anniversary, I gifted him a custom leather belt with a micro-GPS tracker hidden inside.
At 2:00 AM, the tracker pinned him at a private suburban farm—while he claimed to be pulling an all-nighter at the office.
Furious, I drove out to the middle of nowhere, my head full of scenarios where I’d catch him in bed with another woman. But when I arrived, the entire farm was locked down by the police.
A grim-faced detective stopped me and asked coldly, "Ma'am, are you the family of the deceased?"

Five years ago, James publicly called off their engagement and personally sent Nora to prison.
On the day of her release, James dragged her to the hospital: "Evelyn was in a car accident and needs a kidney transplant. Give her your kidney."
She had congenital heart disease - donating a kidney would be a death sentence. When she refused, James used every means to force her.
On the day she entered the operating room, her heart stopped and resuscitation failed. It was said that James, who had desperately wanted her dead, cried at her grave for three days and nights.
Later, James saw Nora again at the Smith family home.
She was already married to his older brother Michael, holding a five-year-old child, having become Michael's beloved and pampered little wife.
James: "Nora, I know I was wrong."
Michael: "Get lost. This is your sister-in-law."

A wedding forged in vengeance, where love is the only risk they never planned for.
"Let's get married," Mia says, her voice trembling despite the fire in her eyes as she meets Stefan's guarded gaze. She needs this—needs him—even if he looks at her like she's just another complication.
Stefan arches a brow, unimpressed. "And why would I do that?"
"We both know what it's like to be betrayed by the men who raised us," she replies, refusing to back down. "They stole our birthrights and handed them to someone else. The only difference is… you're the illegitimate one. I'm not."
He studies her—this heiress in designer armor, hiding rage beneath polish. "So your grand plan is a wedding band as revenge?"
"No," she says, stepping closer, close enough for him to smell the jasmine and gunpowder. "It's the only weapon they won't see coming."
Their fathers built empires by manipulation and control. Now, their children are making a vow—to burn it all down.
Two shattered heirs. One dangerous alliance. A marriage built on vengeance.
Mia Meyers was born to inherit her father's empire—until he handed it to his bastard son instead. Stefan Sterling knows rejection too well, discarded by a father who only valued power. Now, these rivals-turned-co-conspirators hatch a plan: marry for revenge, crush their fathers' legacies, and take what should've always been theirs.
No love. No feelings. No divorce.
But as lines blur between strategy and obsession, the real question becomes: can two enemies survive a marriage built not on trust—but on spite?

If given the chance to live again, what would you change the most? As for Emma, she has decided not to marry Mark, a betrayer. In her previous life, she was deceived and harmed by him, leading to the tragic demise of her entire family.
Emma, devastated and tormented by Mark, suffered to the point of death. When she woke up, she found herself back five years in the past. At that time, Emma had not married Mark; instead, she had formed a connection with David, Mark's rival. Emma decides to rely on David for revenge against Mark, but little does she know that things will take unexpected turns. What surprises await her? Read on to find out!

Audrina, a powerless omega, becomes entangled in a web of deception created by her own flesh and blood. Her crafty stepsister sends her into the arms of MistyMoon Pack's Alpha, James, where she meets a guy whose icy demeanor conceals his powerful and fair character. With chiseled features and a stare that could melt steel, James is both hot and gorgeous.Their one-night affair suddenly blossoms into a lifetime commitment with the news of a kid on the way, leaving them divided between desire and danger.But behind the surface of their undeniable mate bond, there lies a hidden identity and buried truths that could ruin the spark that was just beginning to ignite.

When he was alive, Owen loved me so much he’d give his life for me. Yet, as for his death, I was as cold as a mere bystander.
At the funeral, his family slapped me, clawed at my throat, called me a man-eating black widow. Every last one of them turned on me, eyes red, demanding the same thing: Who killed Owen?
I didn't say a word.
My ten-year-old son went into cardiac arrest right there and was rushed to the ER — and still I said nothing.
Not until that voice cut through the crowd.
"I killed Owen."
I slowly raised my eyes.
After staying silent for so long… maybe it was finally time to tell the truth.

After months of being bullied at school, things got even worse—the bullies said they wanted to come to my house.
Wanted to see what kind of family a "dog" like me came from.
I begged them, sobbing, not to do it.
Because my dad is a serial killer. My mom is a twisted murderer. And my brother is a full-blown psychopath.
If they come to my house, they will die.

In an elite suburb of New York City, girls are dying. That doesn’t happen in Greenvale, with its immaculate lawns, exclusive yacht clubs and multi-million dollar mansions. But behind its perfect façade, its trimmed hedges and luxury cars, a darkness lies. Girls, dependent on Adderall, outmaneuver each other to get into top colleges, while the mothers’ need to live vicariously only makes it worse. Bella DeFranco is one of the Bronx’s top SVU detectives. At only 37, she disarms everyone with her stunning good looks, yet she is as tough as most men—and a lot smarter, too. Yet when is summoned to Greenvale, she finds herself getting lost in a case that even she can’t comprehend. She stumbles into a land of secrets, a place where husbands hide their pasts from their wives, where friends are not what they seem, and where no one wants to know too much. As she digs deeper into layers of suburban dysfunction, she comes to learn that, behind all the fake smiles, there is a subtle violence--rivaling even her crime-ridden streets of the Bronx. With a killer on the loose, time running out, and a new partner who never recovered from his washed-up alcoholic days, the odds are stacked against Bella. She is determined, though, to save these girls, whatever the cost. Yet as she gets close, the depth of psychosis she discovers shocks even her….

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, remains haunted by the abduction of her own daughter. Encouraged by the new lead that has landed, the first in years, she pursues it with all that she has, determined to find her daughter and bring her back alive.Yet Keri, at the same time, receives a phone call from a frantic husband, a famed Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, who reports that his wife has been missing for two days. A wealthy socialite with no enemies and little reason to leave her life, he fears the worst has become of his wife.Keri takes on the case, assigned a new partner whom she hates, as Ray still recovers in the hospital. Her investigation leads her deep into the elite Beverly Hills world of the idle rich, to encounters with lonely housewives, and those with shopping-addicted, empty lives. Keri, in over her head in this world, becomes increasingly puzzled by the conflicting signals: did this woman, with a stalker and a lurid, secret past, run away, or was she abducted?Or did something far more sinister happen?A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF MURDER is book #2 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #3 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

Cindy and Mattheus, finally together, prepare to take time off and live together—when a stunning upset in their relationship tears them apart. Cindy flies home to New York, resigned to never work as a detective—and never see Mattheus—again.And then a shocking phone call comes out of the blue: it is Mattheus. A new body has turned up. Cindy at first refuses—until he tells her who it is: his wife. They finally found her, on the shores of Key West. Brutally murdered, they suspect, by an abusive boyfriend.Mattheus’ world is upside down, and Cindy has no choice but to fly back down to the islands and help him uncover what really happened. Why did she turn up now, after so many years? How did she turn up in Key West, so far from where he’d last seen her? Why had she never contacted him? Who was she dating? And have the police caught the right man?Their investigation takes them deep into the underworld of Key West, a gorgeous, idyllic place where the locals gather to watch the sunset every night with an evening drink. It is an enchanting place—but as Cindy learns, it is also a place with a dark underbelly. Cindy prods deeper into the murder and her investigation takes her into the world of an abused woman’s shelter. Soon, she is convinced the police have the wrong man. She and Mattheus, thrown together again, reconsider their feelings for one another. But there may not be time: Cindy finds out too much and comes in danger herself. As the murder hits too close to home, it may be too late for them both.DEATH BY DECEIT is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2) and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3) and DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4).

DEATH BY REQUEST is Book #11 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1). It is also a standalone novel.In Death by Request (Book #11 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus are given a shocking case they have never faced before: a clear-cut case of euthanasia might turn out to be something more ominous. Tara and Owen Danden, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Jamaica, are on the water, in a boat he rented, when the weather shifts and Tara falls overboard. As Owen tries desperately to save his wife, the boat spins and hits her head—sending her into a coma. Pulled out of the water, barely alive, Tara is airlifted to an elegant hospital on the island, and remains in a coma for two months. When she finally dies, however, there becomes a question of whether she truly died of natural causes. Based on scanty evidence, Owen is taken into custody and quickly hires Cindy and Mattheus to clear his name and find out who wanted Tara dead. Cindy and Mattheus’s journey takes us through an intriguing exploration of comas, euthanasia and what happens to those in altered states. As the investigation proceeds we watch Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship ripen, and take a new turn. We also meet Tara’s crazy family, learn the secret they’ve been hiding, and see what bearing it might have on the case. As a new suspect finally comes into focus, all is not what it seems to be…

DEATH BY MARRIAGE is Book #3 in the Bestselling CARIBBEAN MURDER series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (#1) and DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2). A well-known criminal lawyer is found dead in a back alley in St. Thomas, and Cindy and Mattheus are called in to investigate by the grieving widow. The local police have pinned her for the murder, and Cindy and Mattheus are her last hope in vindication. As Cindy and Mattheus dig deeper into the victim’s past, they learn that all was not as rosy as it seemed. They discover mistresses, gambling debts, vendettas, and a number of people who had motivation to want him dead. Most shocking of all, as they dig even deeper, they discover a whole secret life that he lead, one so lurid that the people who knew him best can hardly even conceive it. As a hurricane closes in and the police are insistent, despite all evidence, to arrest the widow, Cindy and Mattheus find themselves in a race against time to find the killer. When another body turns up, all involved realize the stakes may be even higher than they seem. And as Cindy and Mattheus develop feelings for each other, each grieving from the death of their own spouse, Cindy comes to realize there is even more at stake than she thinks. Books #4--#16 in the series are now also available.

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists, and the end brings a surprising revelation. Strongly recommended for the permanent library of any reader who enjoys a very well-written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews (re Almost Gone) MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose Once Gone has over 1,500 five-star reviews.When London Rose, 33, is proposed to by her long-time boyfriend, she realizes she is facing a stable, predictable, pre-determined (and passionless) life. She freaks out and runs the other way—accepting instead a job across the Atlantic, as a tour-guide on a high-end European cruise line that travels through a country a day. London is searching for a more romantic, unscripted and exciting life that she feels sure exists out there somewhere.London is elated: the European river towns are small, historic and charming. She gets to see a new port every night, gets to sample an endless array of new cuisine and meet a stream of interesting people. It is a traveler’s dream, and it is anything but predictable.But when a wealthy, high-maintenance passenger suddenly turns up dead outside of Budapest, the cruise has become a bit too unpredictable. Even worse: as the last person to see her alive, suspicion falls on London, leaving her no choice but to solve the crime (with her new sidekick, an orphaned dog), and save her cruise line and herself.Laugh-out-loud funny, romantic, endearing, rife with new sights, culture and food, MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) offers a fun and suspenseful trip through the heart of Europe, anchored in an intriguing mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very last page.Book #2 (DEATH AND APPLE STRUDEL) and book #3 (CRIME AND LAGER) in the series are now also available.

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists, and the end brings a surprising revelation. Strongly recommended for the permanent library of any reader who enjoys a very well-written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews (re Almost Gone) A MURDER IN PARIS is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone has received 1,500 five-star reviews.Diana Hope, 55, is still adjusting to her recent separation when she discovers her ex-husband has just proposed to a woman 30 years younger. Secretly hoping they would reunite, Diana is devastated. She realizes the time has come to reimagine life without him—in fact, to reimagine her life, period.Devoting the last 30 years of her life to being a dutiful wife and mother and to climbing the corporate ladder, Diana has been relentlessly driven, and has not taken a moment to do anything for herself. Now, the time has come.Diana never forgot her first boyfriend, who begged her to join him for a year in Europe after college. She had wanted to go so badly, but it had seemed like a wild, romantic idea, and a gap year, she’d thought, would hinder her resume and career. But now, with her daughters grown, her husband gone, and her career no longer fulfilling, Diana realizes it’s time for herself—and to take that romantic year in Europe she’d always dreamed of.Diana prepares to embark on the year of her life, finally turning to her bucket list, hoping to tour the most beautiful sights and sample the most scrumptious cuisines—and maybe, even, to fall in love again. But a year in Europe may have different plans in store for her. Can A-type Diana learn to go with the flow, to be spontaneous, to let down her guard and to learn to truly enjoy life again?In A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1), Diana hopes to kick off her journey, and find new love, with an unforgettable night at the Versailles ball. But when the dramatic night takes a harrowing turn she could never expect, Diana realizes she will have to solve the crime—or else have her trip end in disaster.A YEAR IN EUROPE is a charming and laugh-out-loud cozy mystery series, packed with food and travel, with mysteries that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and with experiences that will leave you with a sense of wonder. As Diana embarks on her quixotic quest for love and meaning, you will find yourself falling in love and rooting for her. You will be in shock at the twists and turns her journey takes as she somehow finds herself at the center of a mystery, and must play amateur sleuth to solve it. Fans of books like Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun have finally found the cozy mystery series they’ve been hoping for!Book #2 (DEATH IN FLORENCE) and book #3 (VENGEANCE IN VIENNA) in the series are now also available!

DEATH BY DESIRE is Book #4 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, following the FREE book DEATH BY HONEYMOON (#1), DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2) and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (#3). In the midst of gorgeous St. Bart’s, a few days before Christmas, a Senator’s daughter is found stabbed and strangled on the beach—the day after her engagement party. While the rich and famous are pouring in to celebrate the holidays, the local police are desperate to keep it quiet and not cause an uproar. But the Senator’s family wants justice for their daughter, and they hire Cindy and Mattheus to solve the crime. As Cindy and Mattheus investigate, they meet the elite crowd surrounding the Senator’s family, an exclusive world of unimaginable wealth, of luxurious parties on yachts and private villas. They learn of all the people who may have wanted the young woman dead, all the jealousies and rivalries, the secret ex-es and affairs. They meet her devastated fiancé, her twin sister and her distraught Mom—all intent on the killer’s being found. They meet the corrupt police force, who wants them stopped, and a rich Russian mogul who controls half the island—and has his own agenda to bring down the senator. As they delve deeper, they learn the many secrets of this exclusive family and the young woman, and discover that all was not as perfect as it appeared to be. As they get close to the answers, Cindy faces personal danger, while at the same time her relationship with Mattheus grows deeper—and faces a crisis of its own. And as the two of them are about to leave the island, a sudden twist in events changes everything. Ultimately, they come to learn that on the pristine, perfect St. Bart's, everything is not always as it seems to be. Books #5--#8 in the series are now also available!

Cindy and Mattheus, still reeling from Key West, unsure where their relationship stands, prepare to take some time away from each other—when a shocking call arrives. A beautiful bride is missing, the night before her destination wedding in the magnificent Cayman Islands. The groom, the last one to see her alive during their scuba diving outing, is the prime suspect.But the groom’s family insists he is innocent, and they hire Cindy and Mattheus to find out the truth. Cindy understands the pain of an ocean accident all too well, and the case strikes uncomfortably close to home, evoking memories of Clint at every turn. Police and Coast Guard search the sea and land, but the bride, Allie is nowhere to be found. Family, wedding party and guests have all been detained at their luxury hotel to be questioned. Was it an accident? Did the bride run away? Or has someone killed her? Who could have wanted her dead?As Cindy and Mattheus investigate and interview those at the celebration, we journey into the incredible wealth and opulence of the Islands and the lifestyle of those who have come down to celebrate the wedding and vacation there. As their relationships are exposed, we see the effects of wealth, greed, and intense jealousy, and how it runs their lives. We also meet Mac, a charismatic, suave partner in the firm who develops an attachment to Cindy, and Vivien, a gorgeous guest, who no man can resist. As Vivien goes after Mattheus, and Mac pursues Cindy, we watch Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship struggle and become infected by jealousy and suspicion as well.In a shocking turn of events, Cindy finds out more about Allie than anyone knew. And as the investigation takes a deadly turn, Cindy’s life is in danger, not once but twice. Once again, we see the forces of darkness try to undermine the search for truth. Will Cindy and Mattheus untangle the web of secrets among the rich and famous before it is too late?DEATH BY JEALOUSY is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #6 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2) and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3), DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4) and DEATH BY DECEIT (Book #5).

On the rugged, wild, eastern shore of Barbados, Cindy and Clint are enjoying their dream honeymoon, when paradise quickly turns into hell. Cindy finds her newly beloved taken away from her, drowned in a freak accident in the ocean. The local police are quick to declare it an accident, to insist that he was caught in a sudden riptide. But Cindy, left all alone, is not convinced.Cindy must return to her and Clint’s now-empty home in New York and face her in-laws, who never wanted Clint to marry her, and who did everything to make her engagement and wedding hell. She must deal with all of these women’s backbiting, gossiping and unspoken accusations, while she tries to get a handle on her own grief and to get clear on what really happened to Clint.Cindy is mailed an anonymous photo of a woman she had never met, addressed to Clint. As she tries to unravel the mysterious package, as she begins to dig deeper into Clint’s emails and files, she realizes how many secrets Clint had been hiding from his past. She realizes that she didn’t really know the man she loved. And she also realizes that Clint was murdered.She digs deeper, into the depths of Clint’s massive corporation, DGB oil, and as she starts to unearth information she shouldn’t, she goes too far. Soon her own life is in peril. On the run, she realizes that the only way to get answers, and to save her own life, is to return to where it all began: Barbados. As she heads into the dark underside of the island, into the heart of the local villages, she is shocked to discover what really happened to her husband on their honeymoon.But by then, it may already be too late.Books #2--#14 in the Caribbean Murder series (DEATH BY DIVORCE) are now also available!

On the day she’s meant to marry the man she’s loved for years, Liora Reynolds’ world is ripped apart when a powerful stranger storms the ceremony and claims her as his bride.

Nikolai Volkov is ruthless, untouchable, and used to owning whatever he wants—and now, that includes Liora. Forced into a marriage she never agreed to, she’s determined to hate him, to fight him, even as the walls around her life begin to close in.

But nothing is as it seems.

The man she thought was her forever isn’t the person she believed. The one she’s been told is her enemy might be the only one who can protect her. And as dangerous truths unravel, Liora finds herself trapped between two men, two worlds, and a choice that could cost her everything.


"You should go rest," he says, eyes glinting with mischief.

"R.. rest?" I stutter.

"Yes little bride," he drawls, smiling. "You're going to need it."

"Wh.. what do you mean?"

"By night, we consummate our wedding."

The words slam into me like a physical blow. My throat closes, and I instinctively step back, but his hand shoots out, catching my chin between his fingers.

"Don’t look so pale," he murmurs, tilting my face up to his. "You’re my wife. It’s only natural."

"I.." My voice trembles. "You wouldn’t.."

"Oh, I would," his tone softens in the most chilling way. "And I will. You made your choice, Liora. Now you live with it."

My heart hammers so violently I think it might burst.

I saved my father.

But I think I’ve just sold myself to the devil.

To save my sister, my husband carved open my chest with his ice blade and ripped out my phoenix heartblood.
He doesn't know the true phoenix bloodline runs through my veins, not hers. Doesn't know I was the one who threw myself into the abyss to pull him from death's grasp.
He doesn't know I am the First Phoenix—the Fire God who descended from the celestial realm for one purpose: to survive this mortal trial.
After my body crumbles to ash, when he finally watches the truth unfold in that memory crystal, madness will consume him. He'll prostrate himself before my fading remnant and beat his head bloody against the stone.
But the divine grant no mercy to betrayers.

Three years ago, my pairs skating partner and I had a beautiful wedding surrounded by friends and family—but we never actually got around to signing the legal papers.
Over those three years, he has stood me up at City Hall exactly twenty-eight times.
One time, he stole my cab while I was burning up with a fever, leaving me shivering on the curb because his new, pampered protégée had a stomachache from drinking too much champagne.
Another time, he blew off our anniversary to rush to her side for a minor sprain.
Every single time we were supposed to finally make our marriage official, his precious junior skater somehow had a devastating emergency.
After twenty-eight broken promises, I finally stopped waiting. I dropped our partnership, shredded our application, and boarded a one-way flight to Milan.
But the moment I completely vanished from his life, the man who couldn't spare an hour to marry me suddenly lost his mind—chasing me across the globe to a city he swore he’d never return to, begging on his knees outside my door for a twenty-ninth chance.

“Jaden Skye creates a set of characters that are very well developed, and makes you cheer for our heroine on every page. The environment and the overall description of scenes are superb, making you feel the suspense in the air the whole time.”--Books and Movie Reviews (Roberto Mattos) (re No Place to Die)NO PLACE FOR MARRIAGE is book #4 in a new romantic suspense series by #1 bestselling author Jaden Skye, which begins with Book #1, NO PLACE TO DIE, a free download!When Tyron Barr, a rich, old tycoon confined to a wheelchair, is found dead at the bottom of his staircase, his stunning 32 year old wife is immediately suspect. But she protests her innocence—and calls Olivia and Wayne in to prove it.In a world where nothing is as it seems, a world of incredible wealth and charm, of intense greed and jealousy, loneliness and secrets, Olivia discovers, lurk behind the scenes. Perhaps just enough to murder someone.Is the young wife playing Olivia? Or did someone else want him dead?NO PLACE FOR MARRIAGE is book #4 in an explosive new romantic suspense series filled with love, tragedy, heartbreak, betrayal and suspense, one that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #5 will be released soon.Jaden is also author of the #1 Bestselling series MURDER IN THE CARIBBEAN, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), a free download with over 200 five star reviews!

DEATH BY TEMPTATION is Book #14 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a stand-alone novel.In DEATH BY TEMPTATION, Cindy and Mattheus arrive for a vacation at St. Lucia. The island has been recommended by Mattheus’s friend Rod, whose daughter is honeymooning there. But when Rod’s daughter, Kara, suddenly goes missing after going for a swim alone one afternoon, a frantic search grips the island. Swept up in the horror, Cindy and Mattheus immediately join in. When Kara’s overbearing father, Rod, arrives at the island, Matheus is torn away from the case to comfort his friend. And when the dead body of another young woman turns up a few days later at the same beach, Cindy is convinced the cases are connected. Alone, Cindy delves deeper into the investigation, but what she may find, is what she may never suspect…

Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

DEATH BY DEVOTION is Book #9 in the Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with the free book DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five star reviews on Amazon! Before they get engaged, Cindy urges Mattheus to meet his long-lost Caribbean daughter, whom he has never met. Sixteen years ago, after a one night stand, the woman became pregnant, and Mattheus quickly left. Mattheus’ beautiful, volatile, fifteen year old daughter, Andrea, badly needs him, and she wants him to come to Anguilla, where she lives, so they can get to know each other. One caveat, though: he has to come without Cindy. Andrea has a mother, and one mother is enough. Mattheus feels his daughter is in trouble, feels compelled to go, and abruptly leaves Cindy behind. Convinced that her relationship with Mattheus is over, Cindy returns to the States, ready to start her life again. A few days after she gets back, amidst the excitement and a wonderful job offer, she receives a startling call from Mattheus down in Anguilla: Andrea’s stepfather has been killed and Andrea was found beside him, covered in his blood. Mattheus, desperate, begs Cindy to come down and help. Not only has his daughter been taken into custody—but now he is a suspect as well. Unable to say no, Cindy returns to the Caribbean to help find the true killer and to attempt to free both Mattheus and his daughter—but she soon finds that she’s up against an underground web of danger on the island, and it may be too late to save all of them—including herself. DEATH BY DEVOTION is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder series.

DEATH BY ENGAGEMENT is Book #12 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a standalone novel.In Death by Engagement (Book #12 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus joyously head to Aruba to search for a wedding venue for their destination wedding. Thrilled, they enter the magical, romantic world of wedding planning and along the way, meet another recently engaged couple, also looking for a place to be wed. But the beauty of Cindy and Mattheus’s time together is suddenly interrupted, when they learn that the young woman they had just met has plunged to her death at a nearby cliff.Although she left a suicide note, the girl’s devastated father refuses to believe she took her own life. He begs Cindy and Mattheus to investigate and see if foul play was at work. Although Mattheus refuses, Cindy is compelled to give it a chance, a decision which causes increasing tension in Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship, and which brings out aspects of each of them never seen before.As Cindy explores the inner workings of the young woman’s life and family, many shocking surprises also take place in her relationship with Mattheus. Not only does Cindy have to remain strong and persistent in uncovering the cause of the death, she must go through many personal changes to deal with what’s happening in her own life.A surprise end on all fronts turns all expectations upside down.

DEATH BY BETRAYAL is Book #10 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a FREE download on Amazon! Cindy and Mattheus part ways, and while he stays in the Caribbean to protect his daughter and her mother, she returns home. Cindy’s sister, Ann, meets her at the airport to welcome her back to this new chapter of her life. Cindy starts to settle back in, to meet old friends and make plans to take on a new job—when a shocking call suddenly comes. It is a call Cindy never could have expected in her wildest dreams, a call that rips her world apart. Someone close to her—too close—has been found murdered in Bermuda. Cindy has no choice but to get on the next plane to Bermuda and hunt for the killer. Before long, Cindy finds herself enmeshed in an underworld of big business and crime. Beside herself, hitting dead ends, Cindy is forced to call Mattheus to help. Once again, their stormy relationship deepens and takes a new turn, as they plunge into solving this crime together. But it all may be too late….

When an old friend’s husband goes missing, she calls Cindy for help. Fresh from her own tragedy, Cindy returns to the Caribbean, this time to the gorgeous, lush island of Grenada, to find him.Cindy, still grieving her own husband’s death, stays at her friend’s incredible villa on the ocean, as she does her best to help track down her friend’s husband, Ames. As Cindy investigates, she meets the different characters on the island, some local, some fantastically rich, all of whom seem to be involved with each other, either romantically or in shady business dealings. As Cindy uncovers secret affairs, odd money dealings and drugs, she realizes there is a complex web on the island, hidden from public view. And as she digs deeper into Ames’ life, she is shocked to discover how many secrets he had been hiding from his wife—and that she never really knew the man she loved. The police at first refuse to take her seriously, but they soon gain respect for her tough intelligence, courage and determination. Cindy’s relationship with one cop in particular, Mattheus, develops in unexpected ways, as they give each other solace from their losses.But Cindy digs too deep. Soon, she finds her own life in peril, as she heads into the dark underside of the island. Startling developments in the investigation lead to a shocking ending, as a body is discovered, and Cindy alone must find out if they’ve convicted the wrong person…DEATH BY DIVORCE is Book #2 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1).Book #3 in the series--DEATH BY MARRIAGE--and Book #4 in the series--DEATH BY DESIRE--are now also available.

I don't realize how badly I've been wronged until they're strapping me to the gurney.

My name is Camille Brooks. I'm one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the city, and I have never lost a patient on my table.

My fiancé, Adrian Vance, is the golden boy of the entire hospital. We're supposed to get married next month.

It's a stormy night when he calls, telling me to get to the hospital right now. There's a patient bleeding out, and only I can save them.

I race through the rain, but I get stuck in traffic halfway there. By the time I push through the OR doors, the patient has no pulse.

The family points at me. They say I botched the procedure and killed him. And Adrian Vance, my own fiancé, takes the stand and shows up with "ironclad evidence" against me.

I have nothing to fight back with. I go to prison. My parents can't handle it. It destroys them both. They take their own lives.

It's only after I die that I learn who really held the scalpel that night: Daisy Whitman, the woman Adrian never got over.

I was just the fall guy.

Then I open my eyes.

I'm back. One hour before everything falls apart, riding through the rain toward the hospital.

This time, I'm going to survive.

And I'm going to watch both of you burn.

MURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?Book #2 in the series—DEATH AND A DOG—is also available for preorder!

On the night meant to celebrate her "perfect marriage", Tehila Blackwood discovers the cruellest truth of all, her billionaire husband never stopped loving another woman.

Three years of loyalty. Three years of sacrifice. All shattered in one garden confession.

Dalton Blackwood's former fiancée is back, beautiful, broken, and pregnant with his child. Tehila confronts her husband and is handed divorce papers instead of an apology, betrayed not only by the man she loves but by the powerful family that never wanted her. Stripped of her place, her dignity, and her future, Tehila walks away in despair with a secret of her own, she is pregnant.

Tehila walks away in despair with the secret that she is pregnant, only to accidentally discover suspicious clues about the mistress by chance.

"David Rothstein was first. She met him at a charity gala, where she was working as an event coordinator. He was forty-five, recently divorced, and lonely. She was nineteen and knew exactly how to make him feel alive again. They married six months later."

"And he died a year after that."

As the truth behind Dalton’s mistress begins to unravel, Tehila realises this isn’t just betrayal, it is a deadly game. A game where wealth hides blood, love masks obsession, and one woman has already buried men who trusted her.

As lawsuits ignite, lies multiply, and danger closes in, Tehila must choose who she will become:
The discarded wife who walks away…
Or the woman who rises, exposes the truth, and reclaims her power.

I caught my fiancé in bed with my sister, so I married his sociopath older brother to save my legacy, and now I'm his favorite toy to break.
"I should have refused." I shook my head, my eyes sweeping towards the silver eyed devil standing before me, with no ounce of guilt or remorse in his eyes. "I should have never married you."
"That hurts my feeling." That was a cruel joke, because we both know that he doesn't even have feelings to begin with.
"But there isn't any man who could love you like I do; not even Thorne."
I paused when his long, cold index finger trailed my face stopping at my lips, and his eyes met mine again. They were dark… with lust.
"Fuck you." I muttered with hate and anger dripping in my voice.
"I believe even right now, all you want is me." He mused and he wasn't wrong, because he never said I couldn't leave. Yet, I found myself staying, and hoping he would change.
"And all that completes me is you." His lips cam crashing on mine.


Eden Montclair is your everyday surgeon who tries to get by every surgery without complications, she has created high hopes for herself that she would inherit her grandmother's hospital.
She soon finds out that the hospital was dying and they might need to merger it with the biggest healthcare foundation in the country, only on the condition that her little sister, Evangeline marries the heir to the foundation. Eden's life soon falls into chaos when Evangeline ran away to avoid that fate, and now Eden is in the front line to marry the Heir of the Adler Foundation. Theron Adler. A cold-blooded and precise surgeon, who doesn't have many interests in life, and a diagnosed psychopath.
That's not all, he is also the older brother of her ex-boyfriend and they both had history together.

Everything she believed in was a lie.
Keira and Alden were Chosen Mates who built the powerful Stormfang Pack together—until she discovered their Mate Bond was a witch's illusion, and the child she raised was actually his with his true Fated Mate, the Omega Rena.
Broken and ready to leave, a secret letter reveals she is the long-lost daughter of Mooncrest Pack's Alpha, the sole heir to a legacy she never knew.
As her dormant Alpha blood awakens in rage, she vows to reclaim her birthright.
But when Kaelan, the cold and calculating Alpha King, approaches her and claims, "You are my Fated Mate," Keira is thrown into deeper confusion.
Why would he say that? And in a world built on deception, can a bond that begins as strategy ever become real… or is it just another layer of the game?

“I should have refused.” I shook my head, my eyes sweeping towards the silver eyed devil standing before me, with no ounce of guilt or remorse in his eyes. “I should have never married you.”
“That hurts my feeling.” That was a cruel joke, because we both know that he doesn’t even have feelings to begin with. “But there isn’t any man who could love you like I do; not even Thorne.”
I paused when his long, cold index finger trailed my face stopping at my lips, and his eyes met mine again.
They were dark… with lust.
“Fuck you.” I muttered with hate and anger dripping in my voice.
“I believe even right now, all you want is me.” He mused and he wasn’t wrong, because he never said I couldn’t leave. Yet, I found myself staying, and hoping he would change. “And all that completes me is you.”
I shut my eyes as he slammed his lips against mine.


Eden Montclair is your everyday surgeon who tries to get by every surgery without complications, she has created high hopes for herself that she would inherit her grandmother’s hospital.
She soon finds out that the hospital was dying and they might need to merger it with the biggest healthcare foundation in the country, only on the condition that her little sister, Evangeline marries the heir to the foundation.
Eden’s life soon falls into chaos when Evangeline ran away to avoid that fate, and now Eden is in the front line to marry the Heir of the Adler Foundation.
Theron Adler.
A cold-blooded and precise surgeon, who doesn’t have many interests in life, and a diagnosed psychopath.
That’s not all, he is also the elder brother of her ex-boyfriend and they both had history together.

When they crossed paths again after years apart, everyone thought it was fate—of course they'd get back together.
But Charisse Walton only offered a wry smile.
"Not happening. I dumped him, remember? He's probably just here to settle the score."
What she didn't know... was how many times Elliot Grant had silently protected her from the shadows.
Meanwhile, Elliot scoffed, hands buried in his pockets.
"Please. She never even liked me."
What he didn't realize... was that years ago, Charisse had risked everything—even her life—for him.
Two hearts.
Two stories full of silence, sacrifice, and everything left unsaid.
And now, after all this time, the truth is about to break through.

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS: MURDER AND BREAKFAST is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.Marie Fortune, 39, a successful dog groomer in Boston, has had enough of catering to the wealthy and their pampered dogs. Realizing it is time to make a change, she quits and heads to a small coastal town in Maine where she remembers fond summers as a kid. Marie expects to go for a brief getaway—and is shocked to learn that her great-aunt left her an inheritance: a dilapidated, historic house high up on a hill overlooking the harbor. Marie feels an instant connection. Although the locals tell her it would be folly, Marie decides to renovate and give it a second life as a B&B.But there is one thing she couldn’t have planned for: the house is haunted.Two things, actually: her great-aunt also left her a dog—and he is far from a typical dog.When an unexpected death occurs soon thereafter, solving the crime will be more than just a matter of curiosity for Marie—her very future may depend on it.A page-turning cozy, packed with mystery, love, hauntings, travel, pets and food—anchored around a small town and a B&B in need of renovation that will capture your heart—THE GHOSTLY GROUNDS is an un-putdownable cozy that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Books #2 and #3 in the series—DEATH AND BRUNCH and MALICE AND LUNCH—are now also available!

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)THE WITCHING PLACE: MURDER BY MANUSCRIPT is book #2 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own—even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.When Alexis is dispatched to scout out some books in an estate sale in a gothic mansion, she finds something she does not expect: one book is incredibly rare, the only one of its kind in existence, worth millions of dollars.She also soon finds something else she does not expect: a dead body.Thrust in the middle of the crime, will Alexis be able to clear her name?And will she discover the mystery at the heart of her very own store?A page-turning cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets and love—and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop—A CURIOUS BOOKSTORE will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you turn pages late into the night.“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)Book #3 in the series—A PERILOUS PAGE—is now also available!

Seventy-two hours before my wedding, I stood in front of the fitting mirror at a bridal shop.

My best friend sent me a social media post, and the red exclamation mark in the message box stung my eyes sharply.

The post’s title read: Guys, my boyfriend is getting married to his current partner. What should I do?

The comment section had already erupted into chaos.
“Dude, are you out of your mind? You’re the other woman here!”
“You’re the homewrecker and you dare post this to get roasted? Where’s your shame?”

The poster was firing back furiously, every word oozing unapologetic madness:
“We’ve been inseparable since we were kids! His first love, first kiss, first time—all mine!”
“He doesn’t even like that old hag; he’s only marrying her out of obligation!”
“Who’s the real mistress, anyway?”

I should have swiped past it like a silly joke, but my gaze was locked onto the poster’s profile picture.

It showed two hands laced together. Peeking out from the man’s wrist was a dark green watch dial—a Richard Mille Valentine’s Day limited edition. It was the seven-figure engagement gift I’d bought him by selling my mother’s last precious heirloom, the only one of its kind in the world.

My heart was squeezed tight by an icy hand, plummeting to the bottom in an instant.

I tapped into the account’s homepage. The second my finger swiped open the photo album, a dizzying, world-spinning sensation crashed over me.

In the photos, the man holding the girl closely was none other than Lu Yanchen—my fiancé, who was supposed to marry me in three days.

I stared at the screen. All the wedding hopes and love I’d saved up over three years shattered into nothing but dust at this moment.

I couldn’t believe it, yet I had to. The man who’d loved me for three years and sworn to protect me forever had been lying to me from start to finish.

I used to believe the most beautiful sound in the world was a baby's first cry.

Until I watched my three children die, one by one, at the hands of a woman with the sweetest smile.

Her name was Isabella, my husband's cousin. She would tenderly offer tissues after my miscarriages, frantically call for help when I fell down the stairs, thoughtfully make soup to comfort me after I lost each child.

She was such a talented actress. So convincing that even my mafia don husband said, "Isabella is more suited to be the lady of this house than you are."

But they didn't know—

A docile sheep, once it learns the wolf's rules, becomes far more dangerous than any real wolf.

When Dominick smashed Antonio's skull with the holy chalice, when Isabella screamed through her miscarriage in the basement, when blood splattered across the Virgin Mary's face...

My son was killed in a horrific car bomb assassination.

At his rain-drenched funeral, my husband, Enzo—a Mafia Don—held an umbrella over my head, only to suddenly state with icy indifference:

"Gianna is pregnant. It's my blood."

Gianna. The illegitimate daughter of the Lucchese family boss.

I stiffened, looking up in sheer disbelief.

"What the hell does that mean?"

He cast a careless glance at me, completely unbothered.

"To end the war between the Corsican and Lucchese families, I've been with her in secret for a while now. Now that she carries the Corsican bloodline, I must give her a proper title. She will be moving into the estate tonight. You will not only accept this, but you will also give her the respect she deserves as the mother of my child."