In the glittering shadows of New York City, Adriano Greco, the youngest heir of Italy's most feared Mafia dynasty-is determined to carve his mark on American soil. Ruthless, untamed, and dangerously charming, he leads his crew with a golden serpent coiled around his arm and a fire in his blood. When a high-stakes heist rockets his name into the media and law enforcement crosshairs, the last thing he expects is to find himself drawn to a fiery new obsession-a stripper with secrets deeper than her eyes. Diamond Fontaine is beautiful, sharp-tongued, and off-limits. Adriano knows she's trouble. He just doesn't care. He was supposed to conquer America. She was supposed to destroy him. Neither of them planned on falling for the enemy. But when obsession turns into something far more dangerous, and his older brothers begin to fall in love with her too, everything the Grecos built teeters on the edge of destruction. In the world of kings and serpents, even love is a weapon. As enemies circle and old wars bleed into new ones, alliances will be tested, blood will be spilled, and forbidden passions will ignite-along with deadly rivalries. But in a world where loyalty is everything and betrayal lurks behind every kiss... Who can you really trust? Welcome to a dark, decadent underworld-where love is a dangerous game and survival comes with a deadly price.
In the center of the room, three men knelt on the cracked concrete floor, gagged, bound hand and foot, trembling under the muzzles of gleaming pistols as they were surrounded by Adriano's men.
Adriano sat cross legged at the center of the room, his green eyes gleaming with dark amusement. He slid the golden ring around his finger idly. With a lazy flick of his hand, and two soldiers moved forward, yanking the gags from the men's mouths. Whimpering, sobbing, but too terrified to speak, the three captives shivered like leaves in a storm.
Adriano tilted his head, studying them like a bored predator.
He smiled, slow and chilling. "Where's my fucking money?"
The men began to stammer, desperate, pitiful words tumbling from their cracked lips. "P-please... Signore Greco... j-just a little more time-"
Adriano leaned back, exhaling a long, theatrical sigh. He rolled his eyes at Luca, who smirked behind him.
"More time?" Adriano echoed, voice dripping with disbelief. "I gave you three extra months. Three! And now here you are... empty-handed?!"
He uncrossed his legs and stood, smoothing the front of his shirt with precise, almost obsessive movements. Then, without warning he delivered a savage kick to the first man's gut.
The man crumpled instantly, gagging and writhing on the floor, the ropes cutting into his flesh as he tried uselessly to shield himself.
Adriano followed up with two more kicks, each more vicious than the last, until the man's moans were little more than wet gasps.
Adriano dusted off his hands and turned to Marco, who already had a briefcase in hand. Marco popped it open with a knowing grin, revealing an arsenal of nasty tools gleaming under the dim light.
Adriano's smile widened. "Let's play a game, shall we?"
He hovered his hand above the tools, fingers dancing dramatically. "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo..."
His hand landed on the spiked brass knuckles. He slid them onto his right hand, flexing his fingers as if savoring the weight of violence.
Then he crouched beside the first man.
The man whimpered, tears streaming down his battered face.
Adriano drew back his arm and punched him square in the face, the brutal metal spikes tearing flesh from bone with a sickening crack.
Again.
Again.
And again.
Blood sprayed the concrete, the man's face quickly transforming into a grotesque, swollen mask. He screamed, sobbed, and finally slumped unconscious, blood oozing from his shattered mouth and nose.
Adriano stood and glanced down at his shirt. A small splatter of blood stained the clean black fabric. He snarled under his breath.
"Fucking great. My favorite shirt."
Luca snickered behind him. "That's what you get for wearing your Sunday best to a murder party, boss."
Adriano shot him a murderous glare, then turned back to Marco.He dropped the brass knuckles back into the case with a casual clink.
"Again," he said. "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo..."
This time, his hand landed on a plier. He whistled lowly in approval.
Approaching the second man, Adriano twirled the pliers like a toy.
The man's eyes widened in terror. He shuffled backward on his knees, babbling incoherently.
"No, no, please-no! PLEASE! I'll get you the money! I swear! I SWEAR!"
Adriano didn't even blink. "Hold him."
Two soldiers grabbed the man roughly. A third pried open his mouth, fingers digging into his cheeks.
Adriano sat down, leveled his gaze with the man's panicked, pleading eyes...and latched the pliers onto a tooth.
Adriano tugged on the tooth, then he twisted, then he pulled it out of the man's mouth.
The man's shrieks echoed through the warehouse, raw and primal. Blood and spit splattered the floor.
Adriano removed one tooth. Then another. Then a third, taking his time, humming a nameless tune under his breath.
When the man sagged in his captors' grip, Adriano stood, wiping a fleck of blood off his cheek with a handkerchief.
He returned to Marco and played the game once more. "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo."
His hand landed on a hammer.
He grinned, flipping it from hand to hand like a boy with a new toy.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun."
He stalked toward the third man.
But something caught his eye-a movement too subtle for the others to notice.
The third man had been cutting through his bindings. A small knife, slick with sweat, flashed in the dim light.
Adriano's eyes widened-
But before he could react, it was already too late.
The third man sprang up, drove his elbow into a soldier's nose with a sickening crack, snatched the fallen gun, and shot the soldier point-blank in the head.
The warehouse exploded into chaos.
Gunfire echoed off the concrete walls. Adriano and his men ducked for cover, bullets zipping past like angry hornets.
The third man sprinted through the haze of gunpowder smoke, weaving wildly.
Adriano roared above the noise. "Don't let him get away!"
But he was already gone, swallowed by the night outside.
Adriano stormed out. Marco, Luca, Enzo, and the rest of his men, on his heels.
The night was thick and black, the distant city lights barely reaching the broken asphalt and weed-choked alleys surrounding the warehouse compound.
Adriano barked rapid orders. "Half stay back. Guard the other two. Everyone else-spread out! Find that son of a bitch!"
Guns drawn, they fanned out through the maze of crumbling buildings.
Adriano moved like a ghost, his eyes sharp, ears straining for the slightest sound. The cool metal of his pistol was a familiar comfort in his hand.
He crept forward, his heart pounding, his breath low.
A distant crunch of gravel then-
A whisper of movement came from behind him but before he could turn.
CLICK.
The cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of Adriano's skull.
In their three years of marriage, Chelsea had been a dutiful wife to Edmund. She used to think that her love and care would someday melt Edmund's cold heart, but she was wrong. Finally, she couldn't take the disappointment any longer and chose to end the marriage. Edmund had always thought that his wife was just boring and dull. So it was shocking when Chelsea suddenly threw divorce papers at his face in front of everyone at the Nelson Group's anniversary party. How humiliating! After that, everyone thought that the formerly-married couple would never see each other again, even Chelsea. Once again, she thought wrong. Sometime later, at an award ceremony, Chelsea went onstage to accept the award for best screenplay. Her ex-husband, Edmund, was the one presenting the award to her. As he handed her the trophy, he suddenly reached for her hand and pleaded humbly in front of the audience, "Chelsea, I'm sorry I didn't cherish you before. Could you please give me another chance?" Chelsea looked at him indifferently. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson. My only concern now is my business." Edmund's heart was shattered into a million pieces. "Chelsea, I really can't live without you." But his ex-wife just walked away. Wasn't it better for her to just concentrate on her career? Men would only distract her—especially her ex-husband.
"I, Erika Blackwood, stand before you, Alexander Robertson, with a heavy heart. I hereby reject you as my mate. The bond we once shared has grown fragile, and my soul yearns for a different path. May you find solace in the love of another, and may we both find the happiness we seek." Alexander didn't say a word and looked at me. But he refused to accept. *********** Erika Blackwood is the next Alpha in line of the Ironclaw Pack. She hides her identity and gets mated to the Alpha of the Moonforest Pack, Alexander Robertson. Three years passed, but Alexander is still unwilling to let go of his childhood sweetheart. Erika is mistreated and eventually framed by the same childhood sweetheart. Now she leaves with that humiliation, and goes back to her pack, swearing vengeance on those who hurt her. They all waited for her to return and beg, but what happens when they realize that the famous Ironclaw Pack that was going to help in the rogue war, was ruled by a woman named, Erika Blackwood. Now her Ex mates want her back. Other Alphas want this woman.. But will she accept any of them? Or will she stay independent forever?...
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
A twist of fate bound Allison to Derek in marriage-she, a powerful heiress with countless hidden identities; he, the city's most admired man, now lying silent in a coma. For three years, Allison used her unmatched medical skills to heal him, all while quietly falling in love. But when Derek's long-lost love returned from abroad, he handed Allison divorce papers without a second thought. Resolved to stop chasing shadows, Allison signed the papers and turned her back on love-rising to fame as a dazzling force in business, medicine, and more. Only when she stood high above the world did Derek finally see her worth. He knelt before her, eyes brimming with regret. "Will you take me back?" he whispered.
Julia and Evan were the perfect couple-or so she thought. But everything changed when Evan abruptly ended their relationship, leaving her heartbroken and unable to tell him she was carrying his child. Years later, Julia has built a life for herself and her son, Andy, while Evan has risen to unimaginable wealth and success. Their paths cross again at a chance meeting, but Julia soon discovers Evan has moved on with someone else. Julia is done with the pain. She's fought battles alone, raising a son who deserves the truth about his father, even if Evan doesn't deserve her forgiveness. When Julia told Evan years ago she had something to say, he didn't listen. Now, it's time for him to listen. But is it too late to reclaim what he lost? "We should break up," he'd said, the words cutting through her like glass. The pregnancy test in her pocket stayed hidden, just like the child they would never share. Now, it's Evan's turn to hear the truth-and to face his deepest regret.
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"