Almost Gone (The Au Pair—Book One)
Blake Pierce
87.3k Words / Completed
49
Hot
498
Views
Add to Library
Add to Library
49
Hot
498
Views
Download 36 Chapters of <Almost Gone (The Au Pair—Book One)> in App
DOWNLOADFREE
Introduction
“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. 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) ALMOST GONE is book #1 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. When 23 year old Cassandra Vale accepts her first job as an au pair, she finds herself placed with a wealthy family in a rural estate outside of Paris, and all seems too good to be true. But she soon discovers that behind the gilded gates lies a dysfunctional family, a twisted marriage, troubled children, and secrets too dark to air. Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it. A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 and #3--ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!
Read More
About Author
Blake Pierce
Latest Chapters
#36 Chapter 36
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:21#35 Chapter 35
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:16#34 Chapter 34
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:21#33 Chapter 33
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:15#32 Chapter 32
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:21#31 Chapter 31
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:20#30 Chapter 30
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:21#29 Chapter 29
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:15#28 Chapter 28
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:16#27 Chapter 27
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:16
Comments
No comments yet.
You Might Like 😍
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf
1.6m Views · Completed · Lily
"White wolf! Kill that monster!"
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.
To protect what’s mine
1.8m Views · Completed · Winter Rowe
Amalie is more special than she ever thought possible. Why would the twenty-two-year-old think any different after she has been told she’s nothing for her whole life by her family? Adoptive mother of a three-year-old, Ama has been locked up by her family for the past seven years. But everything changes when her old friends, the Alpha twins, Markus and Calyx, take over the Moonstone pack. Finding out that the twins are her mates, she is a white wolf, and has a connection to the Moon Goddess, is just icing on the cake of her life is a huge mess. Ama just wants a normal life with her mates and protecting her pup, but life rarely gives us what we want. She is thrust into world that she no longer remembers and has forgotten her. Amalie is charged with protecting those closest to her. But she has her own past to overcome as she heals and attempts to move forward. Will she come out alive or lose herself along the way? After all, someone has to be pulling the strings, why not pull her along for the ride?
His Lethal Obsession
2.4k Views · Ongoing · Olivia Chigozie
"Big Kai?"
He didn't respond but moved his eyes around the room, scanning the place.
"Wha...what are you doing here?"
His icy blue eyes returned to me, sending shivers down my spine. Then further dropped to my dress and then back to my eyes.
"The shit going on downstairs, what does it mean?" he asked, making my legs as weak as they are eager to flee.
"It's....it my wedding,"
He scoffed darkly. "Excuse me?"
I swallowed. "I am......getting married,"
He let out a humorless laugh, looking away and giving me lesser comfort. He looked at me with a demonic frown.
Terror washed me.
"Every single motherfucker/human being here, be it adult or child, including you, will burn before that happens,"
〽️〽️〽️
The quiet but pathetic life of Twenty-year-old Mia Jefferson changed the night she found a few months old interracial baby boy abandoned in a dumpster on her way home. She saved him and kept him in her care for almost a month until she was taken by a deadly gang who accused her of abduction. She thought it was it for her until the ruthless gang leader, Nathaniel Kincaid, known on the streets as Big Kai and the father of the baby appeared and added to her punishment. At the point when Mia is about to give up, Nathaniel makes her his baby's nanny as the only way to convince him that she is not the abductor. As she picked up her care for the baby, Nathaniel watched her every move consistently, placing his heart in a dark and passionate risk.
He didn't respond but moved his eyes around the room, scanning the place.
"Wha...what are you doing here?"
His icy blue eyes returned to me, sending shivers down my spine. Then further dropped to my dress and then back to my eyes.
"The shit going on downstairs, what does it mean?" he asked, making my legs as weak as they are eager to flee.
"It's....it my wedding,"
He scoffed darkly. "Excuse me?"
I swallowed. "I am......getting married,"
He let out a humorless laugh, looking away and giving me lesser comfort. He looked at me with a demonic frown.
Terror washed me.
"Every single motherfucker/human being here, be it adult or child, including you, will burn before that happens,"
〽️〽️〽️
The quiet but pathetic life of Twenty-year-old Mia Jefferson changed the night she found a few months old interracial baby boy abandoned in a dumpster on her way home. She saved him and kept him in her care for almost a month until she was taken by a deadly gang who accused her of abduction. She thought it was it for her until the ruthless gang leader, Nathaniel Kincaid, known on the streets as Big Kai and the father of the baby appeared and added to her punishment. At the point when Mia is about to give up, Nathaniel makes her his baby's nanny as the only way to convince him that she is not the abductor. As she picked up her care for the baby, Nathaniel watched her every move consistently, placing his heart in a dark and passionate risk.
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride
101.1k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
As a wolfless orphan, Joanne had been abused by Alpha Anthony ever since she was a child. She devoted her entire life to surviving in his pack—until one day, she returned home to find an injured vampire lying in her house, his whole existence luring her in. Taking the risk of bringing him in, Joanne never expected Alpha Anthony to discover it the very next day and finally seize the chance to kill her. Just as Joanne was about to be executed, the vampire she had saved arrived, with his army. And Joanne realized that he was the Prince Alexander, heir to the vampire throne…..
Bound By Power, Torn By Love
3.8k Views · Ongoing · Cynthia Adama
She is the only daughter of a notorious mafia boss, but she is forced by her father to marry a hateful bastard in a contract marriage. To avenge her father, she has a one-night stand with a charming man, but unexpectedly falls into the trap of another terrible man, who is her father's enemy and another mafia boss. His mission is to make her father disappear.
She regards him as her only salvation, but he regards her as a pawn for revenge. When two enemies dance on the sharp knife, what will be the final outcome?
She regards him as her only salvation, but he regards her as a pawn for revenge. When two enemies dance on the sharp knife, what will be the final outcome?
LOVING MY BILLIONAIRE STEPSON
1.4k Views · Completed · Michael UDE
Before meeting Elliot Winter, Michelle’s life was a routine of beatings from her drunk dad to juggling part-time jobs. He was handsome, loaded, and had a smile that could melt ice.
There was also a twenty-year age gap between them, Michelle didn't care because their relationship was the only ray of sunshine in her rather bleak world. And when he popped the question she was more than happy to say yes. Michelle thought she had found her happily ever after, but she couldn't have been more wrong. With each year that passed Elliot became more of a stranger and less of the man she had fallen for, neglecting her and looking the other way when his mother treated her poorly, that was until the day their 5th anniversary rolled around, she caught him in bed with her sister.
Her love is replaced by hate, a swooning affection now burning rage. Well, two could play that game. That night, she dials her stepson's number with a single text that will change their lives forever.
‘I need you tonight’
There was also a twenty-year age gap between them, Michelle didn't care because their relationship was the only ray of sunshine in her rather bleak world. And when he popped the question she was more than happy to say yes. Michelle thought she had found her happily ever after, but she couldn't have been more wrong. With each year that passed Elliot became more of a stranger and less of the man she had fallen for, neglecting her and looking the other way when his mother treated her poorly, that was until the day their 5th anniversary rolled around, she caught him in bed with her sister.
Her love is replaced by hate, a swooning affection now burning rage. Well, two could play that game. That night, she dials her stepson's number with a single text that will change their lives forever.
‘I need you tonight’
Where The Ice Gives Way
632.2k Views · Ongoing · Sheridan Hartin
Charlotte Pierce is used to surviving in motion. New towns, new schools, the same old house on the edge of nowhere, and the same rule that keeps her standing. Keep her twin brother, Charlie safe. Keep his hockey dream alive. Keep her own needs quiet. She works too much, sleeps too little, and saves the one thing that still feels like hers for the middle of the night, when she can lace up her worn skates and carve freedom into dangerous frozen ice. Charlotte and Charlie shifted once, years ago, and never understood what it meant. They had no pack, no guidance and no protection. Just two twins clinging to each other and pretending the voice in their heads was stress, imagination, or loneliness. Then they move to Wellington.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)
Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)
Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Tempted By The Enemy
66.9k Views · Completed · rituparna darolia
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every is in a dilemma. Her close friend, Sienna, is marrying billionaire, Lucas Donnelly who, along with his brothers, happens to be her older brother, Alex's sworn enemy.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice
8k Views · Ongoing · Nafisatuu
When Lyla's fated mate is revealed as Alpha Kaiden—her sister's ruthless ex-husband—the only thing he offers her is public humiliation and a brutal rejection. Heartbroken and branded as unworthy, she flees her pack, determined to uncover the truth behind her sister's mysterious disappearance.
Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.
As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.
With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.
As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.
With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
Reborn To Rule: I Will Seize The Throne!
6k Views · Ongoing · Khira
"Aveline Ashkaar." Rhaedon's voice was low as his golden eyes held mine. "The moment you offered yourself to become my Luna, everything about you became mine. Your life, your obedience, your blood... including the abilities that flow through it."
He paused, his gaze never leaving mine.
"And I don't share what's mine."
☆
I died on my son's death anniversary, betrayed by the man I'd devoted my entire life to, and the woman who stood by, smiling as I took my last breath… was my very own sister.
When I opened my eyes again, I was five years in the past—before the betrayal, before my death and before the beginning of it all.
This time, I refused to marry the man who destroyed me.
Instead, I walked straight into the arms of the only man the entire Empire feared—Crown Prince Alpha Rhaedon Ashkaar.
Rhaedon was everything Lucien wasn't.
Dangerous. Competent. Powerful.
And the perfect weapon for my revenge.
He wanted the throne. I wanted vengeance.
It should have been the perfect alliance, but revenge was never that simple.
With every step I took toward my revenge, another secret from my first life came to light. The deeper I dug, the more I realized I wasn't the only one playing this game.
And by the time I uncovered the truth...
Walking away from Rhaedon Ashkaar was no longer an option.
He paused, his gaze never leaving mine.
"And I don't share what's mine."
☆
I died on my son's death anniversary, betrayed by the man I'd devoted my entire life to, and the woman who stood by, smiling as I took my last breath… was my very own sister.
When I opened my eyes again, I was five years in the past—before the betrayal, before my death and before the beginning of it all.
This time, I refused to marry the man who destroyed me.
Instead, I walked straight into the arms of the only man the entire Empire feared—Crown Prince Alpha Rhaedon Ashkaar.
Rhaedon was everything Lucien wasn't.
Dangerous. Competent. Powerful.
And the perfect weapon for my revenge.
He wanted the throne. I wanted vengeance.
It should have been the perfect alliance, but revenge was never that simple.
With every step I took toward my revenge, another secret from my first life came to light. The deeper I dug, the more I realized I wasn't the only one playing this game.
And by the time I uncovered the truth...
Walking away from Rhaedon Ashkaar was no longer an option.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
92.1k Views · Completed · Cherie Frost
"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
The Dragon's Last Fae Queen
15k Views · Ongoing · Sylvia Sylvester
Hidden all her life in the slums of Emberveil, Aerith has one rule: never let the dragons see her eyes. Fae are extinct, hunted, burned, and erased from the kingdom. Or so everyone believes. But on the night of her eighteenth birthday, when her forbidden magic stirs awake and her grandmother falls deathly ill, Aerith breaks the one rule meant to keep her safe. She enters the royal dragon pharmacy… and collides with a werewolf princess who drags her straight to the dungeon. There, in the deepest shadows of the palace, the youngest dragon prince sees her glowing eyes and instantly knows what she is. A fae. A secret the entire kingdom would kill for. What would be her fate? Another dead Fae? Or the Last Dragon's Fae Queen?
“Prince? Dickhead? Asshole? Or stalker?” A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should show you the one title I want you to use.” Before I could react, his hand closed around my chin, tilting my face up. His lips crashed into mine, hard, claiming, breath-stealing. When he finally pulled back, his voice was a rough whisper against my lips. “You could call me yours… because you are mine.”
“Prince? Dickhead? Asshole? Or stalker?” A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should show you the one title I want you to use.” Before I could react, his hand closed around my chin, tilting my face up. His lips crashed into mine, hard, claiming, breath-stealing. When he finally pulled back, his voice was a rough whisper against my lips. “You could call me yours… because you are mine.”
About Author
Blake Pierce
Take you Fall into Fantasy.
Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.
