Years ago, Leah Madden's parents were murdered by the De Luca Mafia family. Leah has made it her life's mission to destroy those who took her family from her and she gets her chance when she goes undercover as a maid in the household. But Dante is like no other man she has met. He's dark, handsome, mysterious and his appeal is far too potent for her. Torn between a man she is quickly falling for and her need to avenge her parents, will Leah be able to make the right choice? Or will she be able to discover that she's caught in a web of lies and secrets that runs far deeper than she can fathom.
LEAH POINT OF VIEW
"The housekeeper will be with you shortly," the uniformed maid said, then gave me a small smile and walked away.
I looked around the sitting room I'd been left to wait in awe. The whole house looked more like a castle than a house. It was truly something out of a fairytale. I'd always had an eye for architecture and I liked to think I'd inherited it from one of my birth givers.
"Good evening, Lisa," a woman's cool voice said.
I looked over my shoulders to see a woman walking into the room. She had ash blonde hair pinned back in a severe bun.
"Good evening, you must be Mrs. Charles."
She nodded sharply, "sorry for the delay. If you could follow me, I'll show you around the house and point out what type of duties you'd be doing in the house."
I stood up, "the house is beautiful."
Her smile became stiff, "Yes, it is."
I followed her out of the room, curious about her reaction. I let it sit at the back of my mind and tried to concentrate on my instructions. If I was going to succeed as a maid here, I needed to adhere to instructions and make sure my conduct remained faultless.
I couldn't afford to be fired. I didn't just want this job, I needed it.
"This is the east wing," she said, motioning. Here, you can find guest rooms and sitting rooms. Whenever the master has guests, you have to stay out of their way as much as possible. As servants, we should always be some degree of eternally in reach but not seen."
That sounded horrible but I nodded in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at me and continued down the hall.
"These are the staff quarters. The house has eight staff members at the moment. You'll be the ninth. There's me, my husband, who is the groundskeeper, a cook, his valet and the four maids."
Then she continued the tour. At the end of it, she came to a row of rooms. "This is the west wing, the master's wing. You shouldn't be seen here under any circumstances. This area isn't part of your job description, and you'll be fired immediately if you're caught there."
Not if you don't catch me, I thought snidely.
"The master is a very private man and he doesn't tolerate curiosity. Just do your job, keep your head down and your mouth shut." She said sternly. "Whatever happens in this house, stays in this house."
I blinked at her innocently, "are we keeping some sort of secret?"
The look she sent me would have had a less woman scurrying away in fright. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't afraid of her.
"Asking stupid questions like that will get you in trouble. Do as I say, or you'll be gotten rid of," she said, "and the hassle of finding new help is starting to be too much."
"Yes ma'am," I replied.
She narrowed her eyes at me before continuing "Your area is the kitchen and the east wing. Stick to it."
"Yes, ma'am." I replied obediently.
She nodded, "I'll leave you to settle into your room for now, but you'll join Ana for the dinner preparations shortly."
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
Then she walked away.
I eyed the doors of the master's quarters behind me. I was definitely going to have to go in there. But not today. For now, all I had to do was report to my superiors that I had gotten in.
I hurried to my room and into the bathroom, then sent an innocent "hey," to a number saved as DAD.
A moment later, I got back a "hey"
In reality, the person I had just informed codely that I was in the position and the operation was underway was my boss. I was a part of the law enforcement special forces group in charge of digging into the activity of the Mafia in Chicago.
I was one of the best assets in the team and the only one good enough to pull off this charade effectively.
At five feet six with big blue eyes and honey blonde hair, I didn't look the least bit threatening. So many had looked down on me on the special forces team, and I was banking on that to get me through this mission.
I knew the risks, of course. If I was caught here, I'd die a slow and painful death. That was why I didn't intend on getting caught. I was going to bring down the De Luca Mafia family and end their reign of terror in Chicago.
This was the first we had been able to do in years and we had everything riding on this. I couldn't afford to fuck it up.
The Mafia had killed my parents and made me an orphan. They were evil bastards, each one of them, and I wasn't going to stop till they were all rotting behind bars.
I hid the burner phone back in the hidden zip of my suitcase then made my way to the kitchen. I was a bit confused by the layout, but I had confidence in my ability to find my way around.
That confidence dwindled to nothing as I met yet another dead end. In my defense, the house was freakishly large with far too many doors and hallways.
I realized too late that I was in the master's wing, and I had to get out of here, pronto. I looked around, confused by which door had led me here. Seemed I was going to have to try all the doors and hope one didn't lead into a torture chamber in active use.
Just as I reached for one door, I was suddenly yanked into a hard body, one hand in my ponytail, keeping my head up and something cold was pressed under my jaw.
"Who are you? Correct answers only or the servants will be picking pieces of your skull off the carpets for the rest of the day," a man's voice said with deceptive calm.
Holy shit.
After witnessing the death of her sister and supposed husband, Julian is forced ti raise her sister's only child by her self and she vowed to do everything within her means to keep the child away from that world. Locked and protected from the dangers of the outside world by her mother, Sophia is made to live like a prisoner for more than ten years, until the day she clocked eighteen. She's granted the freedom to head out with her mother for the first time ever. There she comes face to face with Clara, who instigates her to sneak from home and join a forest party. Clara _due to her desire for adventure_ sneaks and joins the midnight party. The party is disrupted by a mighty werewolf that sends everyone running for their dear lives. Sophia is pushed aside by Clara and pounced on by the werewolf. When she thought all hope was lost... "Mate." She heard the werewolf call her.
Making friends had never been easy for Jerry. Having three parents, made her the butt of many jokes throughout her life. She loved her unusual family, and they were unbreakable. Or so she thought. As her parent's relationship starts to crumble, Jerry finds herself fascinated with the mysterious man with secrets for days who have just moved into the street. When curiosity turns to attraction and then obsession, what started as a lesson in passion quickly turns into a dangerous game that is bound to leave their hearts in tatters and destruction in their wake.
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!
"Is it considered betrayal to develop feelings for your best friend's boyfriend? What about when fate intervenes, and he turns out to be your destined mate? You might think it's luck and thank the moon goddess for such a twist of fate. That's what I believed until the love of my life uttered those dreaded words: 'I want a divorce!' As I stared at the pregnancy test in my hands, I realized it was better to keep my secret to myself. My name is Violet, and this is my story."
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.