A Genius's Desperate Play

My life as Jocelyn Fuller, the oil heiress, ended the day my father went to prison and my sister Molly fell gravely ill, leaving me desperate. My ex-fiancé, Ethan Scott, a DC power player, promised Molly the best medical care money could buy if I agreed to a "deal." That deal turned into a nightmare: I was sold to Caleb Duncan, a ruthless West Texas rancher, becoming his captive and plaything, suffering unimaginable abuse and even a miscarriage. After three years, Ethan reappeared, claiming Molly was alive and well, offering me freedom and a new life. But I knew his game. I was done being a pawn in their brutal power struggles. So, I jumped off a cliff, faked my death, and became Stella, a ghost hidden away in a small Colorado mountain town, vowing to live free. Then, one by one, they showed up; first Caleb, then Ethan, both determined to drag me back into their twisted worlds. But I wasn't Jocelyn anymore. I was Stella, and this time, I was fighting back.

I woke up with the familiar scent of burnt coffee, seeing my charming boyfriend, Ethan Scott, across from me in our town's diner. He was pitching a blueprint for his "ultimate survivalist influencer retreat," that smile on his face the same one that made everyone swoon. But then, it all crashed back: the blueprint, the diner, the date. Ten days until the solar flare. Ten days until the end. I' d lived this before. In my previous life, I poured my family's everything into building this exact bunker for him. He promised payment, sponsorship. It never came. When the sky turned green and the grid failed, he locked us out-my parents and me, begging at the reinforced window of the shelter we built. He laughed as we died in the chaos. Now, as he spoke, his voice a smooth river of lies, another voice echoed in my head, sharp and clear: his real, sickening thoughts. This wasn't a dream. It was a second chance, and with it, a terrifying new ability to hear the betrayal lurking beneath his words. He took everything from us then. This time, I'm taking it all back. And I' m starting with his ultimate retreat.

My life was perfect. I had a loving husband, Andrew, and our bright, energetic five-year-old son, Caleb. We lived happily in Chicago, a normal American family. Then, in a screech of tires and a thunderous crash, a low-slung, obscenely yellow Lamborghini, driven by rich kid Barney Hughes, stole them from me. One moment they were alive, the next, crumpled on the asphalt. But the nightmare didn' t end there. Barney' s father, a powerful real estate magnate, bought off the police, made surveillance footage vanish, and had my family' s bodies illegally cremated. Every lawyer I approached laughed me out of their office, warning of "professional suicide" against the Hughes empire. I lost my job, and then Barney sued me for harassment. My world crumbled. One night, Barney and his thugs broke into my home, beat me mercilessly, shattered every photo of my family, then committed the ultimate desecration: they opened the box of ashes, the stolen remains of my husband and son, and dumped them over my head. "Buy yourself a new kid or something. Get over it," he sneered, before urinating on the floor beside me. How could this happen in America? How could a family of heroes, dedicated to service, be murdered and then have their memory so brutally insulted by a corrupt system? Lying broken on the floor, covered in dust and urine, I suddenly remembered two Medal of Honor recipients and an old promise: "The United States Army does not forget its own." I packed the medals and made a silent vow. My fight had just begun.

My twin brother, Ethan, was always the golden child, adored by our parents, effortlessly charming. I was the "difficult" one, often overlooked, watching from the porch as two smiling women lured Ethan with a rare comic book. Then, a sudden, blinding change. One moment I was an observer, the next I was in the back of their van, the world a dizzying blur, Ethan smirking from where I had stood. They sold me. For ten years, I was a ghost in a life not my own, trapped with a clan of survivalists in the Appalachian mountains, enduring abuse and forced labor. When I was finally found, broken and scarred, Ethan pulled his final trick. He swapped us back, instantly spinning a tale of how I, out of jealousy, had orchestrated his abduction. My own parents, without a shred of hesitation, believed him, seeing only a damaged stranger. They decided to commit me to a psychiatric hospital. How could my family, my own twin, betray me so utterly? Why was I always the one discarded, the one forgotten? But then I woke up, the smell of bacon filling the air, back in my childhood bed. It was the same day. This time, I wouldn't just watch.

It was my wedding night in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the air thick with the hum of my guitar and the sweet promise of a new life with Jennifer. Everyone called me a prodigy, especially when I poured my essence into the "Soul Chord," a gift that felt like pure magic flowing through my fingers. Then, the juke joint doors burst open, and a biker gang stormed in, dragging me off stage. They held me down, and their leader, with a ball-peen hammer, systematically crushed the bones in my left hand, the one that played my Soul Chord. Through a haze of blinding pain, I saw Jennifer, shielding Caleb, watching without a word, her eyes cold and distant. Later, in the clinic, drugged but awake, I heard their whispers: Jennifer, Sabrina, and Caleb. They had planned it all, drugged me, orchestrated the attack to steal my music for Caleb' s album. My deepest secret, a dormant Soul Chord in my right hand, was brought up. And then, Jennifer quietly, methodically, severed the tendons in my right wrist, destroying my last hope, my last chance to play. They framed me as a violent gang affiliate, spread lies, and announced Jennifer and Caleb' s engagement, built on my ruin. My own adopted mother, Sabrina, then ordered my legs broken, leaving me a helpless, shattered mess. Thrown into a swamp to die, betrayed by everyone I loved, a cold rage ignited in me. They destroyed my body, my spirit, my life, but they made one fatal mistake: they left me breathing. Now, all that pain, all that fury, has become something more. And I' m coming back for every single one of them.

The charity gala was suffocating, a gilded cage where I, Jocelyn Duncan, watched my husband, Andrew, openly parade his mistress Maria, making my irrelevance a public spectacle. Our five-year-old twin sons, Caleb and Jayden, in an innocent accident, spilled chocolate mousse on Maria, provoking Andrew to condemn them to a brutal desert "behavioral correction camp." I begged, humiliated myself, but he was unmoved; my babies were ripped from my arms, their screams echoing as Andrew watched with chilling indifference. Hours later, driving through the arid landscape to rescue them with my sister-in-law Molly, my phone buzzed with an Instagram notification: Andrew' s sonogram announcement with Maria, "A new chapter begins." At that exact moment, police officers emerged from the camp gates and delivered a horrifying truth: my sons, Caleb and Jayden, had died from dehydration and heatstroke. My world shattered, but Andrew, when I called, laughed and accused me of melodramatic lies, dismissing their deaths as a tactic for attention. How could he deny them, our own children, who had just died from his callous cruelty, while he celebrated a new life that would never know theirs? I had nothing left but an unbearable, burning agony, and a single, unyielding resolve: I would leave the shattered remains of my life with him, taking my sons' memory and only my unbreakable will to survive.

Caught in a web of betrayal, Nicole's life shatters in a single evening when her mother-in-law, Veronica, sets her up in an elaborate scheme. Blindsided, Nicole faces her husband Taylor's cold rage as he casts her out of his life and home, accusing her of infidelity and theft. As she tries to defend herself, her best friend, Sarah, adds another blow by denying their loyalty. "Please, Taylor, you have to believe me!" Nicole pleads, her voice breaking, but his icy response is a dagger to her heart. "I don't hate you, Nicole," he sneers. "I despise you." When Nicole reveals she's pregnant, she hopes for compassion, but it only fuels Veronica's determination to rid the family of her. After signing the divorce papers, a dejected Nicole wanders alone, where a brutal attack leaves her bleeding, helpless, and desperate to protect her unborn child. Six years later, Nicole returns from the ashes to inflict seven times the pains upon those who humiliated her and left her to die. "I'll make them pay so dearly that they'd regret ever been born!" She declares. This is a story of romance and revenge you don't want to miss!

On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."

Brenna lived with her adoptive parents for twenty years, enduring their exploitation. When their real daughter appeared, they sent Brenna back to her true parents, thinking they were broke. In reality, her birth parents belonged to a top circle that her adoptive family could never reach. Hoping Brenna would fail, they gasped at her status: a global finance expert, a gifted engineer, the fastest racer... Was there any end to the identities she kept hidden? After her fiancé ended their engagement, Brenna met his twin brother. Unexpectedly, her ex-fiancé showed up, confessing his love...

Aria Wilson agrees to her step- sister offers to have a one night stand with an old man interchange for large amounts. It will be use for his brother's operation. What they don't know is the man she had sex with is turned out to be Jake Thomson! The most powerful man in Golden City, a multi-billionaire. Her step- sister Ayah, pretended that she is the one he was with that night so she is the on who gained wealth. Aria got pregnant and walked away but after five years she came back and her children...

Ashley is burned alive by her half-sister, but she gets a second chance to undo all of her past. She was reborn ten years ago, and this time she is determined to find a strong backer for herself to take revenge. "I'll take revenge for everything you've done, and I'll make you all suffer!" Author's Note: This story was originally published under the same title on another platform. This version has been fully revised to improve grammar, clarity, and overall reading flow, but the plot remains unchanged. It is now released under a non-exclusive contract. Thank you for reading and supporting this refined edition!

To fund her father's medical bills, Helena stepped in for her half‑sister and wed the city's notorious deaf heir. On their wedding night, as she bared herself, he dismissed her hope with, "This is strictly business." Living beneath the weight of his unpredictable moods, she learned to fear every moment. When everyone bet on her ruin, he became her fiercest protector. But as their contract expired and she gathered her things, tears shimmered in his eyes. "Please… don't leave me."