1842 Book(s) Related to ceo of happy dad

Five years ago, I was drugged by my stepsister. Given the necessity to cover my tuition, I ultimately accepted the situation. I felt his scalding breath against my ear, his rough fingers grazing my inner thighs, igniting a numb, electric ache. His hard cock pressed against my soaked pussy, driving my heartbeat wild, my body instinctively arching, craving deeper thrust.
After that reckless night, I left in disgrace, only to find myself pregnant with triplets.
Five years later, I returned as a shining new talent in the medical field, ready to take revenge on my stepmother, stepsister and father.
Then Harrison Frost appeared, gazing at the tiny versions of himself, urging them to call him "Dad."
He peeled off his shirt, grinning. "Hey, wanna relive that night's heat?"

（There is a lot of sexual and stimulating content, minors are not allowed to read!!!）
After one wild night, she became the CEO's secret lover.
To pay off her debt and redeem herself, she signed a contract with the CEO.
They agreed it would be just physical—no emotions involved.
But in reality...
The little assistant was spoiled rotten by the CEO, who spent lavishly just to make her smile.
Yet she packed her bags and fled in the middle of the night, "If I don't run now, I'll die in that bed!"

Years into my marriage, it wasn't until my IVF succeeded that I finally saw my husband for who he truly was.
He had been after one of my kidneys all along. And the eggs had been swapped...
I had been turned into a surrogate for him and his ex-lover without ever knowing it.
But fate had a twisted sense of humor—it was the sperm that got switched, not the eggs.
Even so, I couldn't stomach a marriage built entirely on lies. I was nothing but a tool to him.
I want a divorce.
And I'm going to find the biological father of the child growing inside me.

I'm Layla.

I thought Seth was my world, but his betrayals shattered three years of devotion.

I was done. Divorce, no looking back.Then he panicked. Started chasing me, refusing to let go.

So what am I to you, Seth? You didn't want me when I loved you. Now that I'm over you, you won't leave me alone?

Too late.

I am ANNABEL DRAKE, a woman who has spent her entire life in the shadows of others. A forgotten girl child, and also an underestimated employee, in fact I am everything you can think of because I have been through a lot .
It started after my father was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. My family lost everything: our fortune, our home, and most painfully, our dignity. My mother fell ill under the weight of disgrace, and I became the sole provider, fighting every day just to keep us alive.

When an unexpected job opportunity lands in my lap, I see it as an opening way out of poverty and struggle. Working as an executive assistant for Carson Clair, the almighty billionaire CEO of Sonclair Enterprises, isn’t easy. He’s rude, and unnecessarily leading over everyone in a bad manner, and I can tell you unapologetically that he's everything I despise in a man. But the paycheck is good, and I need it.

Then, the unimaginable happens after a few months. Carson makes me an offer I can't refuse because it is such a juicy offer. It was a contract marriage.

He needs a wife to secure a billion-dollar deal, and in exchange, he promises to clear my father’s name, pay off my mother’s medical bills, and set me up for life. It sounds like a dream… until I realize I’m falling for him.

Just as I start to believe that maybe, just maybe, this arrangement could turn into something real, my world shatters again. I discovered a secret which was actually the truth and it changed everything. Carson isn’t who I thought he was. And neither is the man I’ve been secretly confiding in... Fred Mark.

"Marriage? What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean, Madeline?" I exclaimed incredulously. "How could you sell me out to an old man in his sixties with a potbelly and a bald head?" I threw the questions at my stepmom, Madeline, but she only grinned in response.
"You want to know how much he offered, huh?" she taunted. "He just paid us $75,000 in return to marry you. I mean, where would you ever find somebody who would do that for you? Are you even worth it? Don't you notice that scar on your face, big and disgusting?" Madeline's words burrowed through, her insults making me speechless and breaking me inside.
"How could you sell me out for just $75,000? Don't I have a life to live? Would you give your daughter, Anna, to him for that amount?" I asked.
"Of course not, my dearest Anna is beautiful, compared to who you are. Have you seen any scars on her face?" She smiled at me, and words were cut with a more profound insult by the comment.


Camilla is sold into marriage to an elderly man due to her stepmother Madeline's greed and disdain. Her life seems mercilessly controlled, and her resistance feels futile until she meets Aria, an innocent little girl who brings warmth into Camilla's life and helps her discover her inner strength. As Camilla's relationship with Aria's father, Archie, develops, she finds herself caught in a complex emotional whirlwind. Archie, a wealthy yet emotionally closed-off man, begins to transform with Camilla's presence in his life.
Just as Camilla starts to feel the warmth of a family from Archie and Aria, her past shadows her. Her stepmother Madeline and stepsister Anna constantly remind her of her dark history. Camilla must confront her fears, overcome familial pressures, and navigate her growing affections for Archie.

Elliot leaned closer, his eyes dark with frustration and something deeper. Something desperate.
"Tell me what to do, Audrey." His voice cracked. "Tell me how to stop feeling this."
She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
His gaze dropped to her lips. Lingered.
The world narrowed to just the two of them.


Their attraction was a fire that could burn down both their careers.

Elliot Harrington, the formidable CEO, built his empire on control.
Audrey Clarke, his brilliant secretary, built her life on professionalism.

Every lingering glance and accidental touch is a dangerous spark in the corporate powder keg.

But in a world of strict boundaries and forbidden desires, the greatest tension isn't in the fall. It's in the agonizing, breathtaking, slow-burn wait.

How long can they resist the one thing that could destroy everything they've worked for?

Can they forget the heated night that changed everything? Or will one taste of temptation destroy the professional walls they've built?

"She's so pathetic. Imagine marrying at twenty-two—to a crippled, mute loser!"
Dorothy was forced to marry Stefan Everest, the man known as "the crippled mute." Everyone thought her life was over, especially as she endured the mockery and whispers. But one night, everything changes.
At a lavish event, Stefan proves he is far from what people believed. Looking at Dorothy, his words are simple: "You stood by me when no one else did. Now, it's my turn to spoil you."

BLURB

Dorothy was forced to marry Stefan Everest, the man known as “the crippled mute.” Everyone thought her life was over, especially as she endured the mockery and whispers. But one night, everything changes. At a lavish event, Stefan proves he is far from what people believed.

Looking at Dorothy, his words are simple: “You stood by me when no one else did. Now, it’s my turn to spoil you.”

Danica wakes up beside a strange man in the morning. The next day, she finds herself becoming the surrogate to a mysterious man, in the bid to save her twin sister Daniella from a ruthless mafia boss. But what she doesn't understand is, why did he change the rules? He wants her body once every month till she conceives yet; she can't see him face to face...

Sneak peak;
The moment he took a step, Danica recalled his promise and yelled, "Wait!" He halted but didn't turn his head in her direction. "Hmmm," he hummed.

Danica couldn't continue to live in anticipation of a faceless man coming to her room 4 times a week. She gathered her last courage and said, "you promised to let me see your face." Loney stiffened for a few seconds. He was a man of his words therefore, he had to face the unexpected. No matter what, it was bound to happen.

Danica wakes up beside a strange man in the morning. The next day, she finds herself becoming the surrogate to a mysterious man, in the bid to save her twin sister Daniella from a ruthless mafia boss. But what she doesn't understand is, why did he change the rules? He wants her body once every month till she conceives yet; she can't see him face to face...

Sneak peak;

The moment he took a step, Danica recalled his promise and yelled, "Wait!" He halted but didn't turn his head in her direction. "Hmmm," he hummed.
Danica couldn't continue to live in anticipation of a faceless man coming to her room 4 times a week. She gathered her last courage and said, "you promised to let me see your face." Loney stiffened for a few seconds. He was a man of his words therefore, he had to face the unexpected. No matter what, it was bound to happen.

I was drugged with an aphrodisiac, and by a twist of fate, I ended up in bed with the man I loved. He thought I had schemed against him and hated me deeply!
My mother was also burned to death in an arson attack!
I hated the world and left this city in deep sorrow.
Unexpectedly, I became pregnant. I gave birth to a pair of twins and raised them on my own.
Three years later, I returned to this city. I wanted revenge. The people who had plotted against me and caused my mother’s death — I would make them pay!
However, just as I was carrying out my plan for revenge, the father of my children found me…

After three years, he came back with his mistress, and I heard him talking about divorce. He did not say anything despite taking my innocence before leaving. I was deeply hurt. He never gave me a chance to be an effective wife to him, and yet he wanted to divorce me. It's not that I love him; it's just that I thought I had been loyal to him while he enjoyed himself with his mistress. Yet he dares to complain as if I had him on his neck.

I was furious. I would ensure that he and his mistress had difficulty convincing me of the divorce. But why was he acting differently?

Elena Wiltshire's dreams were on the precipice of coming true; she just got accepted into Harvard without the sway of the Wiltshire name! But when her twin sister's engagement to Sebastian Dumont, the wealthiest CEO in the UK, falls through due to her sister's shameless deeds, Elena is forced to take her place to avoid a scandal.
Will Elena crack the surface of the jaded and heartbroken CEO, or live a wedded life of misery?

A one-night stand was supposed to stay in the past.
But when billionaire CEO Alexander Blackwood hires a new bodyguard, the last person he expects to see is Ethan Pierce, the man whose touch still haunts him.

Bound by duty, desire, and dangerous secrets, the two men are thrown into a game of loyalty and lies. When enemies close in, Ethan’s mission turns personal… and Alex must decide if he can trust the man who might destroy him,or save him.
Passion. Power. Protection.
In a world of danger and deception, love might be the most dangerous secret of all

Warning! Mature scene explicit [R+18]

When the time I had nowhere to go because I had lost everything, he came. He showed me and made me feel the things I missed early on. He gave me the ones I had never tried and experienced.

But the person I thought I could trust completely was just another poison slowly spreading through my body. Someone who did all that to forget the tragedy that befell my sister.
How can I resist the love that, in the first place, should not have begun? How can I forgive myself for something I do not know?

We have hundred days to pretend that we are a happy couple.

But the secret they had kept for so long was revealing.

A surprise baby from a passionate night with a billionaire? Check. Six years of silence? Check. But now, he's back in my life, not as a lover but as my boss and fake husband.
Axel, the walking distress signal, is a brooding, controlling billionaire who's married to his restaurants.
Reconnecting with him has plunged me into a world of chaos, but the real bombshell is that I have to play his wife to save his empire.
As I linger in his embrace, it's becoming harder to resist the allure. However, with every stolen moment, the risk of losing everything I've fought to protect grows. Will I give in to temptation, or will my secrets bring about our downfall?

It is a betrayal, torture to love, secret baby book that has a billionaire CEO and a young not so rich lady working for him. Betrayal comes to the least you expect in the book.

“Marry me! He demanded. “I’ll handle your grandmother’s hospital bills and your brother's court case, otherwise be prepared to face assault charges for hitting me and a potential jail time!” I stared in shock.

…….

A contract marriage with Alexander Rutherfurd, or a threat of imprisonment?

Sofia was caught in between marrying the rich arrogant man she had slapped on their first encounter or ending up in jail. She chooses to marry him but what happens when they find themselves in a deal that they never thought they would be a part of and they soon start to develop feelings for each other and an ex who Alex can't seem to get over comes into the picture again?

He can't love, he shouldn't love because he's a dangerous man. But this girl has got some type of hold on him.

Regina George is taken away as recompense for her father's betrayal of Gray Lane, a wealthy CEO but a dangerous Mafia boss. He decides to be lenient and keep her alive. But this isn't easy, as he finds himself drawn to her. He's further moved when he discovers she's never been really cared for, ever since her father's remarriage. Regina is terrified of his attitude towards her but finds herself falling in love with him. Her tender heart finds the human in him and she decides to stay, hoping that he will change.

Their mercy on each other turns into a dangerous love affair. But somehow, he manages to protect her with his life and someday, their love prevails over all oppositions.

At our seventh wedding anniversary dinner, my husband Nathan audaciously discussed the name of the child his mistress Victoria was carrying, speaking in Spanish right in front of me.
They presumed I could not understand. Yet, not only did I comprehend every word, but I had also long ago uncovered evidence of their affair—including those passionate videos filmed in his car...
But when I vanished completely, he went into a frenzy.
When the news of the 'plane crash' broke, he spent fifty million dollars, deploying twelve rescue helicopters to search relentlessly through the storm for seven days and nights.
When the rescue team informed him that 'there were no survivors,' this once indomitable man knelt on the deck, weeping inconsolably like a child who has lost his mother.
Little did he know, there was no trace of me on that 'lost' plane.
And now, it was my turn to make him experience the true meaning of loss.

Megan Corteza fell in love with the school’s football quarterback, Ashton Pritzgold. She has a simple beauty, but she is the number one all over senior high school students, but she lacked with one thing, and that is money which matters in their school to become famous that is why she was never on Ashton’s radar.

Ashton Priztgold is the most popular guy on campus because he got it all, intelligent, hot, handsome, and the football prodigy, and most of all, son of the filthy rich business tycoon in the country.

Megan always kept away from the rich, but one day she was shocked when Ashton approached her, and she became the envy of all the girls on campus, and her once peaceful life became chaotic because of him.

For Ashton, Megan was way out of his league because hot cheerleaders and rich girls will always chase him around, but he was on a mission to know her and couldn’t stop himself from falling in love with her. And he didn’t foresee the big mistake he had made will hurt her whole being and shattered not only her heart but her entire future.

Megan was broken-hearted and left no choice but to left her home after her high school graduation and promised herself never to forgive Ashton for what he had done to her.

Ashton is now the CEO of Pritzgold International Shipping Lines, Incorporated. After eight years, he meets Megan again, and he realized he was such a fool for hurting her because, after so many years, he realized Megan was still his one great love.

======
Excerpt:

”What are you doing here, Ashton?” Megan asked angrily, and she hated herself because even if she was angry with him she can't deny he has still the same effect on her.

”To win back your heart, and claim what is rightfully mine.” He replied, and his intense gaze is driving her crazy.

"You have nothing to claim because you lose your chance eight years ago." She answered coldly.

My husband broke my leg, and I was even sued by him and thrown into prison.

Three years later, when I was finally released, I thought the nightmare was over.

But Dante was waiting for me at the prison gates. "Welcome back to hell, Elena."

He forced me to work as a lowly cleaner in his company, while my former friends and his lover Sofia trampled my remaining dignity into the dirt.

They thought they had broken me.

They thought I would just kneel and accept my fate.

But they were wrong.

I will endure this hell, and I will make everyone who destroyed my life regret the day they crossed me.

Married for three years, she had never once laid eyes on her husband, Matilda Beaufort, yet she was bound by a heir-bearing contract for the sake of her family.

Desperate to reclaim her late mother’s keepsakes, she took a risky gamble. She set her sights on a drunken Thomas Stewart at an exclusive club and spent a passionate night with him.

She thought it was nothing more than a one-night deal, little knowing the man had already etched her into his heart forever.

She later crossed paths with him as his business partner, under the alias Annie.

Never did he expect the bold, provocative woman who kept challenging him to be his very own wife.

A divorce agreement lay on the table—until an unexpected pregnancy turned everything upside down.

What began as a calculated arrangement…

Who was the first to fall hopelessly in love?

I’m Olivia. My dad sold me to the wealthy Howard family for money—my groom didn’t even show up at our wedding; all I got was a phone call.
Then I was drugged and ended up sleeping with a stranger… who turned out to be Matthew Howard, my “ugly, impotent” husband!
Now I’m fighting back against my terrible family and the Howards’ arrogance.
Curious how this messy marriage unfolds?

Gabriella was a poor and innocent girl. She lived alone in a house that's inherited from her parents. Until one day, the house was destroyed by the Quebracha Company. When she met with the CEO to protest, an incident occurred.

"You, lecherous man! Are you not satisfied with destroying my house? So, you took my virginity?"

"Confess it! You purposely held your house to block our project, then now you're tricking me to sleep with you. What's your real intention, huh? Who paid you?"

Max Evans, the successful and handsome young CEO, accused her of being a messenger woman.

What happened next? Could Gabriella earn the CEO's trust? Or even his heart and love? Would those people realize that they were both framed?

Kind Lena was framed and forced to be separated from her lover Raphael by misunderstanding. In order to revenge Lena, Raphael deliberately approached Lena and designed a plot, but they fell in love with each other again and their love never disappeared. But there is more than one conspiracy, the betrayal of friends and families ...... In order to protect each other, they cooperate, eventually built a happy family under many obstacles.

Isabella would never have imagined that being betrayed by her fiance would be the ticket to her revenge on her fiance, stepsister and her family.

“ I’ll help you get revenge if you marry me,” the mystery man she had met in the club proposed and without hesitating she accepted his proposal.

Everything sounded perfect, with revenge at hand and a marriage that could blossom into something more. All was well until a devastating incident thwarted her road to her happy ending.

Oh, how she wished she hadn't accepted that proposal so quickly. However, there is no cure for regret.

Now, Isabella is back to square one. A failed marriage and a failed revenge. Will she ever have a chance at love, again? Will she be able to focus on the goals and readiness to face difficulties, challenges she found herself into.

At twenty-four, Annelise de Valois has the world at her feet.
She’s the CEO of a rapidly expanding empire. Old money flows through her veins—the kind that makes new money look like spare change. She lives in a heavily guarded château that no one can breach—no rivals, no suitors, not even paparazzi with drones. Her grandfather, a business legend, backs her. Other titans of industry admire her. Her enemies? They either grovel or disappear.
Whatever she wants, she gets.
A company? Snapped up.
A competitor? Obliterated.
A scandal? Buried before it even sees the light of day.
She has everything.
Except him.
Leander Grimaldi.
He’s too young, too trusting, too fucking pure for someone like her.
A five-year age gap isn’t much, and the decades-old alliance between their families shouldn’t even matter. The real problem is him. Leander has never known betrayal, never played the cutthroat games of high society, never learned to second-guess every word or every smile.
Meanwhile, Annelise lives and breathes that world. She doesn’t just play the game—she is the game. While he wanders through life unguarded, she calculates every move ten steps ahead. While he sees the best in people, she sees their weaknesses and exploits them.
She should stay away. She should let him think of her as nothing more than a family friend—a big sister who looks out for him, protects him.
But she doesn’t.
She lets herself get too close.
She wants him too much.
And she always gets what she wants.
Even if, this time, taking it means destroying the one thing she can never buy back—his trust.

I stroked my dick with her wetness as lubrication, giving her a break and a little bit of space to breathe. I pulled her panty out of her mouth and threw it to the ground, “Are you okay?” She nodded, barely able to keep eye contact, slowly I ran my dick against her clit and slapped her clit with my dick with just a little force, just so I would be sure that she’s responding, “Can you please slide it in?” She made her request in one breath.

“Your wish is my command…” slowly I slid it in once more, feeling hot breath escape from her lips and fan my shoulders. “I … char-“

“I can’t understand you if you don’t use your words…” I said, digging in nonstop.

“I’m about to …” she breathed again.

“I’m not stopping till you squirt for me, okay?” She dug her fingers deep into my flesh. I noticed a drop of tear slid down her face, I was too distracted by that when fluid came squirting out of her and splashing everywhere.

She kept jerking till it stopped, “Good girl.” I commended her and planted a kiss on her forehead. She beamed a smile at me, “C’mon, let’s clean you up.”

…

Charles Montclair, the CEO of Montclair group has for a long time, been plotting on how to bring down an old time business rival and business mogul to take his place as the top business owner in the state. After Charles discovers that Kade Langford was about to be awarded with a position superior to his, it charged him with the need to work faster and smarter towards bringing him down or ruining his plans at least.

He decides to wound Kade by emotionally dismantling his magnificent daughter Isadora .

Olivia's mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and needed urgent operation. Two days before the operation, she hadn't gathered enough money for her operation. She turned to her father for help, but he chased her out, colluding with his mistress.

Disheartened and helpless she left the house, but before she could reach the hospital she was caught in an accident.

Two days after the accident Olivia woke up to an unfamiliar yet classic and Luxurious room, but how did she end up here ? Who brought her here?


"He's only a friend"

"You're my woman and mine alone, I Don't want any other man close to you!” Morgan half yelled, closing the distance between them.

“W-what are you doing ?” Olivia asked, arching her brows in confusion.

Before she could understand what he was about to do, he pulled her waist to him, roughly claiming her lips.

Reyna's eyes closed uncertainly. She bit her lower lip as the man crushed and sucked on the top of her breasts.
Her boyfriend had never done it before. This was a foreign feeling for her, but the sensation was extraordinary for Reyna.
Seeing that his opponent was aroused, Aryan began to do foreplay casually. Reyna moaned as the kiss moved down to her waist.


“Of all the women I've tried, why is this the only woman who can make me feel the pleasure of heaven on earth?” It was the first time for Aryan to reach orgasm after having sex with paid women. He also didn't believe it and he looked for Reyna by any means. Aryan then found Reyna on campus by kidnapping her and then she was taken to Aryan's house Aryan, who was crazy about having sex with Reyna, then decided to lock Reyna up as a prisoner Reyna's father looked everywhere but couldn't find her. Reyna also never came to campus Aryan said that Reyna had to marry him. That's what can guarantee Reyna can return to campus Reyna also agreed to marry the CEO. That's where Aryan and Reyna's relationship began and their journey becomes increasingly complicated......

KYLE'S POV
“Kyle…” She whined again, voice ascending, and I groaned. “Fuck, angel, do you have any idea how crazy you’re making me?”

Silvie, a struggling college dropout from Bayview City, never expected her luck to turn around—until she lands the coveted position as personal assistant to Kyle Blackwell, the city’s most eligible bachelor and youngest billionaire.

But her dream job quickly becomes a nightmare when the rumors prove true: Kyle is an infuriatingly difficult boss with zero patience and a knack for making her life hell. To make matters worse, he’s also the ridiculously attractive stranger she had an unforgettable (and deeply embarrassing) encounter with at a club—one that involved kissing, falling hard, and an unfortunate bout of nausea.

Add a tangled web of questionable arrangements, meddling exes, and a very public fake engagement, and Silvie finds herself swept into a whirlwind romance she’s not sure she’s ready for—or even believes is real.

She Thought He Was a Paid Escort. Now He Signs Her Paycheck.

After a reckless night, she left cash and ran. Her only mistake? The stunning stranger was her company's new CEO.

Forced to become his secretary, she navigates his icy commands while hiding their scandalous secret. But he's determined to find the woman from that night—and he's convinced it's her scheming best friend.

Trapped between his suspicion and her friend's betrayal, how far will she go to keep the truth from the man who holds her career—and her past—in his hands?

Kelsey Lieven, a beautiful accountant at Lazardo, was forced to marry the son of her father's friend, Weylin Malachy, a super cold CEO of Malachy Hotel. 

Unfortunately, before the wedding was held, Kelsey suddenly disappeared. What really happened to Kelsey? And why was Weylin grateful that his future wife had disappeared? 

And what will they do if they are reunited after six years?

"Chloe's,Do you know that Ethan is getting married too? His wedding is on the same day as yours," Evelyn said as her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

A frozen smile appeared on the corner of Chloe's mouth in an instant. In the end, she shook her head and looked out the window.

The green light came on, and the car started moving. Evelyn looked ahead, unable to help but recall the past.

"Back in school, you two were so high-profile. Everyone said that if you two ever separated, neither of you would survive it," she slowly said. "But who would have thought that you would actually break up."

"People grow up..." Chloe lowered her eyes, her voice barely audible.

Listening to this, Evelyn didn't bring up the topic again.

On the way, Chloe opened her mouth several times, wanting to ask who Ethan was marrying, but in the end, she never uttered the question.

At the bridal shop, she went to the fitting room to try on wedding dresses, while Evelyn sat on the sofa waiting.

Suddenly, a familiar male voice echoed in her ears. "This one will do." The man's tone was casual, his deep and charming voice resonating. Evelyn's expression changed, instantly recognizing the man by his voice. The man was Ethan Blackwood!

In Chicago, the Belinni name is not spoken—it is feared.

Dan Belinni was raised inside violence, trained in the blood-soaked discipline of the Outfit until he became its sharpest weapon. At nineteen, he is already known for illegal fights, brutal enforcement, and a temperament that turns any challenge into punishment. He doesn’t believe in mercy. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control.

Milena Lima has spent her life surviving, not living. An undocumented immigrant in Chicago, she works herself to exhaustion just to stay afloat and protect the only stability she has left—her friend María. But when she loses her job and her visa expires, Milena becomes invisible to the law and vulnerable in ways she never imagined.

Desperate, she steps into a Belinni-owned nightclub, hoping to earn enough to survive another week. One stage. One performance. One decision.

That is all it takes for her to cross paths with Dan Belinni.

He is not a man who lets go.
And she is not a woman who submits.

But beneath survival and violence lies a truth neither of them is ready for—Milena is tied to a mafia legacy she never chose, one that makes her both a target and a claim in a world where women are never just women.

When their worlds collide, obsession replaces restraint, and a single night changes everything.

Because in Dan’s world, love is not given.

It is taken.

“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. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone) ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. After the disastrous fallout from her last placement in England, all 23-year-old Cassandra Vale wants is a chance to pick up the pieces. A high-society, divorced mother in sunny Italy seems to be the answer. But is she? With a new family come new children, new rules, and new expectations. Cassandra’s determined to make this one last - until a horrifying discovery pushes her to a breaking point. And when the unimaginable occurs, will it be too late to pull herself back from the brink? Who, she wonders, is she becoming?A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #4 in the series will be available soon.

I was seventeen when I fell desperately in love with Orion Blake. He didn’t see the Holt heiress or the fortune. He saw me. Our love was forbidden, fierce, and all-consuming. In his arms, I believed forever was real. Until the night my father caught us and a gunshot that shattered my world. They broke me that night,my body and soul. But from the ashes of my pain, a vow was born: I would destroy the Holt family from the inside. Slowly. Painfully. Completely.
For years I played the perfect daughter. The cold, brilliant CEO. The obedient heiress. All while sabotaging everything my family held dear. Then my father forced me to marry Roman Kade, the ruthless CEO of KA Global, the man single-handedly dismantling my family’s empire. A man who looked at me with dark hunger and barely contained fury. A man whose touch sets my skin on fire even as he seems determined to break me. But Roman Kade has secrets of his own. Dangerous ones. The way he watches me… the familiar intensity in his eyes… it feels too personal. Too knowing. He thinks he’s the one in control. He thinks he can ruin me, but he has no idea I’ve been planning my revenge for years and he has no idea how deep my devotion runs… or how far I’m willing to go for Orion and for the child we lost. This forced marriage was supposed to be my prison but Instead, it’s becoming a battlefield where love, hate, and buried secrets collide. Because some loves refuse to die and some vows were never meant to be broken. When I had promised forever, i really meant forever. It was all for him. No one could have me, if i couldn't have Orion Blake.

I died on the day my fiancé Song Jinnian got engaged to his white moonlight, Shen Zhiyi.

Shen Zhiyi wore the evening dress designed by Song Jinnian himself, smiling sweetly as she linked her arm through his, accepting blessings from every guest in the hall.

I was at the scene of a car crash on Highway 23, half a steel rebar piercing straight through my chest. Warm blood trickled down the cold metal, pooling into a stark, glaring red pool beneath me.

I called Song Jinnian seventeen times.

He hung up instantly on the first sixteen.

On the seventeenth ring, he finally answered.

The melodic music of the banquet hall hummed in the background. His voice was low, laced with unbridled impatience: “What’s your problem now? How many times do I have to say it—marrying Zhiyi is just a formality. Can’t you act your age and quit this nonsense?”

I tried to speak, but blood froth surged up my throat, stealing my ability to form a full sentence. All I heard was the busy tone as he hung up without a second thought, echoing in the empty car, one beep at a time, shattering my last shred of hope.

Song Jinnian would never know that the girl he dismissed as a spoiled, tantrum-throwing lady was pinned to the driver’s seat by that steel rebar.

Beneath my slightly bulging abdomen lay our two-month-old unborn child.

Trembling, I let go of the phone soaked in blood. With my final ounce of strength, I dialed the funeral home.

“Hello. Near Highway 23… please come collect a body from a car crash.”

A pause came from the other end, followed by the routine question:

“Who are you to the deceased?”

All around me, only the rain hammered against the car windows, and my breath grew fainter and fainter. I forced out my last words:

“I am… the deceased herself.”

Ryan loves me deeply—at least that's what everyone says. Seven years together, we look like the perfect couple to outsiders. But only I know he's betrayed me three times.

The first time was three years ago. His brother died saving him, leaving behind his widow Sophia—Ryan's unforgettable first love. He married her behind my back. When I found out, I completely fell apart. I have dignity. I refuse to be the other woman. I wanted to leave, but he begged on his knees. "This is just to take care of my sister-in-law. Once I find the truth about my brother's death, I'll divorce her. Then we can get married."

I believed him. I forgot that a man never lets go of a lost love he's gotten back.

The second time was at last year's company anniversary. In front of everyone, he introduced Sophia as his wife. I watched them on stage, a knife through my heart. That night he explained, "It's just for show. Once everything's over, we can be together."

I believed him again.

The third time was two weeks ago. Surveillance footage showed Ryan with Sophia entering a hotel room. I rushed to confront him, but heard her voice outside his office. "Ryan, I'm pregnant. It's your baby."

Through the crack in the door, I see him hesitate. In that instant I understand.

He's going to keep her.

He spots me and rushes out in a panic. "It was an accident! Let me explain! After she has the baby, I'll give her money and make her leave. She won't be in our lives anymore!"

In that moment, I finally wake up. There will be no future for us.

The mafia boss chose me as his decoy—a body double for the woman he loves.

Eight years. Three bullets, one car crash, one explosion. The doctor said ten more minutes and I would've died on that operating table when they took my kidney. I gave him a son. He let me play "the boss's wife" in public.

Until he cleared every obstacle for her and decided to marry her.

Her wedding photos replaced mine in the master bedroom. He has her initials tattooed on his arm. When I questioned him, he had his men slap me at a charity gala, forced me to admit "I'm just a stand-in." When I touched her, he took away my custody, declared she was "the true lady of this house."

The punishments got worse. When he threatened to cancel my mother's insurance, I finally learned to shut up.

He pulls me close, whispers in my ear: "She gave up everything for me. Not like you—you were born to take bullets for me."

"Deal with it. She's not replacing you. This is her house now."

Even my son took her side.

"Stop being dramatic! Natalie actually loves us! You're nothing!"

But their pure, innocent Natalie? She unplugged my mother's ventilator while I was locked in the basement. Let his enemies slip poison into my drink during the last job.

When Grayson found me, all he said was: "She's pregnant and emotional. Go rearrange the flowers at the wedding venue."

I wipe the black blood from my lips. Look at him quietly.

"I'm dying."

My stepsister and I tumbled down the stairs together. As someone with a blood clotting disorder, my spleen ruptured—I was bleeding internally, desperate for surgery to stop it.
But my mother—the renowned chief of surgery—pulled every specialist from the ER. To consult on my stepsister's condition.
All she had was a sprained ankle. Not even a scratch. Yet mom insisted on running every test in the book. And me? Left alone on that cold floor, bleeding out, half my body already soaked in blood.
I clutched at her pants, begging her to save me. But she kicked my hand away and looked at me with pure disgust.
"Lily, are you really so desperate for a man's attention that you'd pull a cheap stunt like this? Your sister's foot is swollen—and you have the nerve to fake your death here?"
In the end, I died alone in a corner of that ignored ER.
But when they wheeled my cold body out of the morgue—and they finally learned about my clotting disorder—
That mother who claimed to hate me completely lost her mind.

I was just on the phone with my husband. He was stuck in traffic, apologizing for being late to our anniversary dinner. Forty minutes later, detectives are at my door, claiming he died in a crash three days ago. If Silas is dead, who just sent me a text?

On the night of the charity gallery opening, I caught Lucas and Lila tangled together in the storage closet.
He pulled the girl tight against his chest and sneered, “Stella, you’re eight whole years older than me. You’ve controlled my life for five years—when are you gonna realize you can never hold onto me?”
Lila giggled, snuggling deeper into his arms. “You’re past your prime, ma’am. Why cling to someone who was never yours to begin with?”
Snickers and mocking laughter rippled through the onlookers.
I gave a slow, hollow smile.
For five years, I single-handedly kept Scott Enterprises afloat, mopped up every mess he made, and buried every scandal spawned by his endless string of flings.
Still, he hopped from one girl to the next, weaponizing our age gap to mock and hurt me, over and over again.
Then he shoved me hard. I crumpled to the floor in a pool of my own blood, watching him bolt out with another woman in his arms, not a single glance thrown back my way.
I knew right then the baby was gone.
Everyone whispered how pathetically I’d bent over backward for love.
No one ever learned the truth: I endured everything only because his face mirrored my late fiancé, Elias.

All nobles mocked me for rejecting the talented common mage and picking a brutal gladiator with no magic as my escort. They called him a filthy hound unworthy of serving an Oberlin lady. But only I remember—this scarred man died twice for me in my past life. Reborn before my family’s ruin, I swear bloody vengeance on Cedric and Liliana, who poisoned my father and stripped my skin. I endure searing magic backlash, fight bloody death matches, and burn all traitors alive. The shadow they sneer at will become the indestructible shield of my reign.

Every night, dragging noises come from the floor above.
The neighbor claims he just can’t sleep, yet he stares at my window and grins in the dead of night.
Later, he dies.
But at two in the morning, I still get a text message from him.
Someone else warns me: Don’t go to the sixth floor.
The police say this building doesn’t even have a sixth floor.
Yet I’ve seen people go up there with my own eyes.
Where exactly does this so-called sixth floor lead?
Who really died?
And who on earth is the one texting me?

My husband bought a necklace for the woman who killed my mother.

When I saw my foster sister Rebecca Rebecca wearing that emerald necklace with Aaron at the party, I knew history would repeat itself. Seven years ago, my mother lost everything the same way—her husband, her dignity, and finally her life.

I wouldn't follow in her footsteps.

So after slapping Rebecca across the face, I told everyone I was divorcing him and walked out with my suitcase.

Rebecca thought she'd won again. Aaron thought I was just being hysterical.

Neither of them saw it coming—

This time, I'd make them pay.

Blake's keeping me locked up in a villa outside the city, with a dozen bodyguards watching me around the clock. They won't let me step foot outside my room.

He once promised Vanessa, the woman he never got over, that he'd give her company shares and his estate. Now she's back after her divorce, pregnant, crying to Blake that I threatened her, told her to give up what he promised, and that I wanted to hurt her and her baby.

Blake believed her.

He's convinced I'm evil and gold-digging. He locked me up here while he stays at the hospital, never leaving Vanessa's side.

I'm going into sudden labor, crying and begging him to let me go to a hospital. I swear I never wanted those things, never hurt her.

Blake just sneers. "You're such a liar. I don't believe a single word from someone as vicious as you. After Vanessa delivers, I'll get you a doctor. Stop trying to fool me."

But when he finally sees my body, he completely falls apart.

I died. At my sister's eighteenth birthday party, the moment the champagne tower came crashing down.

While she stood under the crystal chandelier in her gown, soaking up congratulations from three hundred guests, I was tied up in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. The wound in my stomach was still bleeding.

I called my family. Only my brother picked up, sounding pissed off and disgusted. "What's your problem now? This is her big day. You better not ruin it."

I tried to explain. He hung up.

That was the ninety-ninth time they'd hung up on me.

Also the last.

They thought I was throwing a tantrum, deliberately skipping my sister's special moment. Called me ungrateful, said they regretted bringing me back from that backwater town two years ago.

Well, now they're off the hook.

Problem solved.