Cold Silence
/1/128979/coverbig.jpg?v=5bf4e279145ddbf553c5a9ad20bbd40e)
The Rejected Jinx Is A Billionaire Heiress
For eighteen years, I was the Tucker family's adopted punching bag, while their biological daughter, Jessica, was treated like royalty. The moment I graduated college, they kicked me out. Brenda Tucker sneered, calling me a jinx who was bankrupting their company. But I knew the truth. They were erasing me to ensure I wouldn't ruin Jessica's chances of seducing Beckett Sinclair, a billionaire hockey heir, at an upcoming high-society banquet. She threw a fifty-thousand-dollar check at my feet like I was a beggar, ordering me to never claim I knew them. My adoptive father, who had ruined his own company with terrible investments, actually grabbed my arm and demanded I beg the Sinclairs for a bailout on my way out. When I refused, they cursed me, screaming that I was destined to rot in some backwater town forever. I walked into the cold New York night with my two scuffed suitcases, feeling completely hollow. I thought I was just a discarded orphan, thrown away by the only family I had ever known. But then, an older man pulled up to the corner. He handed me a faded photograph of a woman who looked exactly like me. "Miss Chloe, I am here to take you home." That was how I found out I wasn't an abandoned orphan. I was maliciously switched at birth, and my real parents-the billionaire owners of the New York Monarchs-had been searching for me for twenty-two years.
Chapter 1
Chloe POV:
"Get out of this house, Chloe! As of today, the Tucker family has no ungrateful wretch of a daughter like you!"
Brenda Tucker—the woman who had lorded over my existence for twenty-two years—shrieked across the tiled entrance hall of the suburban estate. She stood beneath the polished brass chandelier, pointing a trembling, manicured finger toward the heavy wooden double doors.
"Twenty—two years ago, Robert and I must have been out of our minds to claim you as our own flesh and blood!" Brenda sneered, her chest heaving against her silk blouse, her voice trembling with frantic, superstitious rage. "We gave you our name, fed you, and kept you in plain sight to avoid any questions! And what did your bad luck bring us in return? The exact week our company faces federal audits and bankruptcy, you stand there completely indifferent! You were born a walking jinx, a curse on this family! Now that you're an adult, I don't have to pretend to be your mother for the authorities anymore. Get out!"
I stood in the center of the hall, flanked by two worn canvas duffel bags containing the few garments I owned.
I didn't blink. I didn't flinch.
My nominal father, Robert Tucker, had just lost forty million dollars to his own reckless, illicit offshore gambles. But in the Tucker household, self—reflection did not exist. It was always far more convenient for Brenda to blame the eldest daughter they had so "generously" raised.
They thought I had endured their psychological abuse all these years out of helpless gratitude.
They had no idea that I had stayed by choice.
To the outside world, the Tuckers fiercely maintained I was their biological eldest daughter—a calculated public facade to keep anyone from questioning the true origins of my birth. But behind closed doors, I was their unpaid servant, forced to scrub floors and eat cold leftovers while their younger daughter, Jessica, played high society.
Two years ago, while repairing the corrupted firmware on Robert's study server, I cracked a hidden partition containing a fire—damaged Manhattan maternity intake manifest. The names were blurred, but my infant code pointed to a dark, deliberate anomaly in my birth records. That was the day I realized my entire life in this house was built on a lie, and that Robert Tucker was desperately concealing where I truly came from.
For two years, I stayed in this cage, quietly hunting for the missing pieces of my true bloodline while securing a full—ride scholarship to medical school—stripping my "parents" of any financial leverage over me.
Now, my medical degree was in hand, and my digital scrapers had finally picked up a faint, encrypted signal pointing toward the state's most secure DNA archives.
The measured click of stilettos drifted down the curved staircase as Jessica Tucker—my younger sister and the spoiled darling of the household—glided into the foyer.
She looked like the picture of untouched privilege in a bespoke rose-gold silk gown paired with pearl drops hanging from her ears. In her hands, she held a dark blue, embossed leather binder.
"Thank you so much for the folder, Chloe," Jessica whispered, her voice dripping with condescension as she stepped down the final marble riser. "The general manager of the New York Monarchs went wild over the clinical projections. He swore to introduce me directly to Beckett Sinclair tonight because of my brilliant medical mind."
On the cover of that blue leather binder—the culmination of three months of my grueling labor titled Advanced Neural Therapy for Sports Injuries—my name had been meticulously scraped away with a razor.
Stamped across the leather in fresh gold leaf was a single name: Jessica Tucker.
Jessica tossed her salon—sculpted blonde waves with cruel amusement. "Face it, Chloe—you are nothing but a drudge who spent her life cleaning up after me. You could never even breathe the same air as Beckett Sinclair. But in my hands? Tonight, this research paper makes me his bride. You should fall to your knees and thank me for letting your pathetic little scribbles finally serve a high-born purpose."
Brenda stepped up beside her daughter, her gaze softening into adoration as she smoothed Jessica's collar. "Don't waste your breath on this ungrateful child, Jessica. A man of Beckett Sinclair's pedigree was carved out for a high-born jewel like you."
Then, Brenda's eyes dropped to the canvas bag slung over my shoulder, her expression twisting from cold disdain into greedy suspicion. "What's in that bag? Hand over your purse."
Brenda lunged forward, ripping the canvas bag from my shoulder and unzipping it violently. Her fingers tore through my notebooks until she fished out my green debit card.
"A debit card?" Brenda sneered, holding the plastic card up to the light with a vicious cackle. "The earnings from your little hospital shifts, no doubt! You think you can walk out of my house with money tucked away in secret? Every single cent you managed to scrape together belongs to us as compensation before you cross that threshold!"
She slid my card into her designer clutch, triumphant and gleeful.
I watched her in silence, letting a ghost of a smile touch the inside of my lips.
I hadn't forgotten to empty that account. I had left that exact sum sitting there on purpose—a tiny crumb tossed to a pair of starving rats to feed their greed right until the end. My real wealth, secured behind impenetrable offshore cryptographic trusts, was something Brenda Tucker could never fathom.
Suddenly, a secure, high-priority notification broke through my phone screen:
[Medical Licensure Registry: DNA Match Verified (99.99%). Family Escort Dispatched. Stand by.]
My pulse thudded against my ribs. The state's most secure DNA archives had finally processed my license credentials.
Robert stepped out from his study, his designer tie loosened, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. His hands shook as he adjusted his watch, his phone buzzing incessantly in his palm with urgent alerts from his bankers.
"Stop screeching, Brenda," Robert muttered hoarsely, his face pale as chalk. "The styling convoy is waiting outside. Just get her out. Now."
I knelt down to secure the side pouch of my duffel bag. As I pulled the zipper, a small, heavy leather pouch slipped from my inner jacket pocket, rolling across the floor until it bumped gently against Jessica's heel.
It was the solitary relic left to me by my late mentor—the master who had taken me under his wing during my darkest years in this house and taught me the forbidden arts of neural manipulation.
Jessica's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ugh! What is that trash?!"
Before I could reach forward, Jessica lifted her silver heel and brought it down hard right across the leather pouch, twisting the metal tip into the worn surface.
"Trash belongs under my stilettos, Chloe," Jessica giggled. "Right where you've been for twenty-two years."
A cold silence dropped over my consciousness.
I looked up. The temperature in my eyes was so utterly devoid of warmth that Jessica's smirk instantly froze. Her breath caught, and an involuntary shudder ran down her spine as she took a panicked step backward.
I reached out, shoved her shoe aside with unyielding force, and lifted the leather pouch from the floor. My thumb pressed firmly through the snap fastening, checking the interior.
The antique silver casing and my mentor's six silver acupuncture needles inside were completely intact. The intricate family crest etched into the metal case—a mark of his legacy—gleamed faintly under the foyer lights.
I wiped the dust from the pouch, slid it securely into the reinforced breast pocket of my coat directly over my heart, and rose to my full height.
Brenda pointed toward the open night. "Now get out! If you ever breathe a word against the Tucker name to a living soul, we will call the precinct and report you for grand larceny!"
I met Brenda's eyes, then shifted my gaze to Jessica's pale face.
A calm, razor—sharp smile touched my lips.
"Keep the card, Brenda. Keep my research paper, Jessica," I said, my voice smooth and carrying the quiet weight of a prophecy. "But remember this: everything you have stolen from me will turn into lethal poison the second you try to swallow it."
I swung my duffel bags over my shoulders, the weight of them feeling lighter than air.
"Have a wonderful evening at the Sinclair Centennial Gala, Jessica," I added calmly. "I truly hope Beckett Sinclair gives you every single thing you have earned."
I turned on my heel, pushed past the heavy wooden doors, and stepped out into the dark, rain-swept night.
/0/32146/coverbig.jpg?v=be0098cc32198b19178fb8bf219eaa4a)
My First One Night Stand with My Boss
Tessa Jones just graduated college. She was excited to get an interview with a top tech company. On a night of celebration of her new job, she was almost r***d by a creep in an alley. An unknown man saved her just before her life would have been changed forever. Tessa ended up having her first one night stand with this man. The next morning she started her new job as a third assistant to the CEO. When she met her new boss she was shocked......
/0/34668/coverbig.jpg?v=61bc85c210bebddbe04d53b57144bc18)
The Rejected Luna: Daddy, Where is Mommy?
Calvin Logan Haysbert became a father over a night when someone dropped a newborn pup at his pack entrance stating the pup was the result of his casanova nature. His life turned upside down because of the pup's arrival, his daughter, to be exact. He got so busy raising his daughter alone as a single father that he didn’t get time to look for the mother of his daughter until she started questioning it. “Daddy, Where is Mommy?” * Book 3: The Rejected Luna: Daddy, Where is Mommy? Book 1: Billionaire’s Ex-Wife & His Hidden Babies (Completed) Book 2: My Mate is a Witch (Completed) *** Follow me on social media. Search ‘sprachi12’
/0/33164/coverbig.jpg?v=73d470060c764d6811d91e8d7fa0900c)
Alpha's Beloved Virgin Wife
She was a diamond covered by ashes.... King Dakota was known as the most Powerful Alpha King of all times - more powerful than any other King that had ruled from his lineage. He was cold hearted, introverted and dangerous in anger. Cursed by the Moon goddess, King Dakota had to get married to three wives all in search of a male child that would become his heir, but it was impossible as the curse would only let his wives bear she -wolves. But on a different day, the King meets a lady who offends him and as a punishment, he took her home as his fourth wife. Her name was Shilah. Shilah was a powerless wolf and as a result, was disregarded and intimidated by all. But, when she begins to do things that the King had never felt for years, he began to wonder who she really was. Slowly, she crawled her way into his icy heart and turned out to be something nobody ever expected - a storm.
/1/111382/coverbig.jpg?v=7909992c27afcbdfa8b60e0337046fa1)
Fragments Beneath His Silence
Two years ago, Amaya Bennett witnessed a murder. A powerful man was killed in cold blood, right in front of her. She should have died that night too. Instead, she woke up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. No faces, no names and no clues. Just fragments, blurred images that slip through
/0/16421/coverbig.jpg?v=3295d83b567072425ef2fdb09847a31d)
/0/80939/coverbig.jpg?v=407191ff96baf99ea26d3539f9902be9)
The Silence That Screamed
My life was a perpetual grind, a blur of diner shifts and endless cleaning jobs. Every ache, every sleepless night was for him, for Mike, and the "debt" he owed to the terrifying Desert Scorpions motorcycle gang. Fifty thousand dollars, he said, or they'd kill him. I sold my mother's locket, pray
/0/90018/coverbig.jpg?v=65d19d6cc8fd19ff0990ac7a6a74b941)
Silence And Sin
Silence & Sin *Genre:* Dark Romance / Mafia Romance *Synopsis:* Modern-day New York & Naples She was invisible. He owned the shadows. *Elena Rivers*, a shy literature student with a quiet life and a heart full of poetry, never imagined that bumping into a stranger on
/0/19893/coverbig.jpg?v=f8da27ebeea98a0d1f99e3af6ff8713a)
Whisper of The Silence
Born to meet. Fated to love. "Listen to the silence. And you shall find the answer to your heart." When Clover Hon sensed somebody turning on the black van she was hiding beside, she immediately slid in sneakily without giving it much a thought. The only thing she knew was that she gotta escape.
/0/4762/coverbig.jpg?v=86ff0b7e0b144947b1ccce84c1a2d155)
/1/108429/coverbig.jpg?v=b577c3489f75556d82a0887eb9d5d75e)
THE SILENCE BETWEEN FLOORS
THE SILENCE BETWEEN FLOORS In a glass tower that touches the clouds, secrets fall faster than stocks. Mara Vale is invisible by design-an executive assistant who moves through Crowe Dynamics unnoticed, memorizing schedules, smoothing crises, and keeping powerful men comfortable. Until the night her
/0/82848/coverbig.jpg?v=5f07724325191f1794552c8a0aed02d2)
Their Secret, His Silence
My wife, Isabella, spoon-fed me, helped me dress, and assured everyone my hands were useless after the accident. They didn't know I' d secretly regained full strength weeks ago, my dexterity sharper than ever. And they certainly didn' t know I was stone-cold awake that night as Isabella brought Li
/0/87353/coverbig.jpg?v=c6936c330c5605b6500a65c5d7f9ea69)
Between Silence and storm
After parting ways with Nolan, Ariana is haunted by doubt-should she tell Dwayne the truth about her father, Lennox, and risk reigniting the Rickshaws' long-standing hatred for her family? Torn between honesty and fear of rejection, she hesitates. When she realizes Dwayne has been away for days, li
/0/59570/coverbig.jpg?v=8b4b45c4256a3909fdff42028a17234a)
In The Silence Between
Gabrielle had always felt an inseparable connection to her twin brother, Samuel. They were like two halves completing each other. They shared a bond that was stronger than any other relationship. But one day, Gabby's world was shattered when Samuel was found dead in a burnt building. Heartbroken a
/0/8506/coverbig.jpg?v=59892c884ad04f3ba45a911bb2260341)
The Slave of Silence
Fans of golden-era mysteries will relish Fred M. White's The Slave of Silence. Beautiful Beatrice Darryll is betrothed and in the final stages of her pre-wedding preparations when she suddenly finds herself thrust into a beguiling—and potentially dangerous—imbroglio.
/1/106684/coverbig.jpg?v=0f2271e5a768304367de4c371fe9b855)
Signed In Silence
Tara signed hospital papers she believed would save a stranger's life. Weeks later, she learns the truth, she is legally married to him. Ethan Hale needed a wife to protect his sister. Tara never agreed to be one. They have six months to undo the marriage. Living together was never part of the plan.
/0/25836/coverbig.jpg?v=2f853abb076766bd52a3d6bde5c71203)
Dying in silence.
⛸️Dying in silence⛸️ (My savior) Story written by Ajayi Esther. Prologue Are you the lousy type?👄 Or💗 Are you the silent type?🤐 If you're the silent type then you not alone, Fontana is with you. Meet Fontana - an eighteen years old girl. Despite all mistreatment f
/0/8428/coverbig.jpg?v=d2801fb3bb8c6a2fe7f9344951552074)
The Pools of Silence
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not
/0/5164/coverbig.jpg?v=78f2bc039a507b55672bb82874a64467)
The Shield of Silence
In a land where nearly all the solid substance is rock -- not stone, mind you -- The Rock held a peculiar position. It dominated the landscape and the imagination of Silver Gap, and the superstition as well. It was a huge, greenish-white mass, a mile to the east of Thunder Peak, and over its smooth
/0/84035/coverbig.jpg?v=4584c34146b0b156b43e8c1f55d9f9f6)
Unraveling Fifty Years of Silence
At seventy, my body failed, but my mind was sharp with the bitterness of a fifty-year marriage to a woman I was certain never loved me back. My final words, a rasping confession of lifelong regret, were, "If I could do it all over again, I would never love you." Then, darkness, a profound silence,
/1/108510/coverbig.jpg?v=b5ae571188e3ce7852d9f93a6e1bde00)
The Silence Before Her Storm
My husband and son were pathologically obsessed with me, constantly testing my love by showering attention on another woman, Kassandra. My jealousy and misery were their proof of my devotion. Then came the car accident. My hand, the one that wrote award-winning film scores, was severely crushed. Bu
/0/75281/coverbig.jpg?v=e42760d7d860587b20708bb163e463fe)
Blackwell House: The Silence Beneath
Seventeen year old Lydia Morrow arrives at Blackwell House Academy with two things: a name buried in scandal and a brother who vanished without a trace. Her father is dead. Her mother disappeared years ago, and her only remaining family,Uncle Marcus , is a man with too many secrets and too much powe
/0/24932/coverbig.jpg?v=20260518172622)
Cold attraction
Jax and Tatiana as never seen eye to eye, their hate for each other is proven to be a cold attraction, a deadly desire and the ultimate price for love.
