When Jasmine Thompson's sister is brutally murdered, revenge becomes her sole purpose. Her target: Hayden Russell, a powerful and enigmatic tech billionaire she believes is responsible. To destroy him, she enters his world through a calculated contract marriage, determined to bring him to his knees. But as passion ignites and buried truths come to light, Jasmine discovers she may have targeted the wrong man. Bound by love and lies, she must untangle a web of deceit before it consumes them both. In a game of vengeance and redemption, can Jasmine uncover the truth-or will her obsession destroy the only man capable of healing her shattered heart?
Jasmine Thompson sat alone in her modest apartment, the glow of her laptop casting shadows across the room. In her hand was the grainy photograph she'd spent the last two weeks staring at-a man's face, sharp-jawed and dark-haired, caught by a security camera outside an alley. It wasn't the clearest image, but it was enough.
Enough to know that this was the face of the man who had stolen her sister, Miranda, from her.
Her breath hitched as she thought of that terrible day two years ago. The day her life splintered into a before and after.
She had been at the law firm, neck-deep in court filings, when the call came. At first, she'd let it go to voicemail, assuming it was just another client. But the same number called again. And again. By the third ring, her curiosity outweighed her frustration, and she picked up.
"Ms. Thompson?" The voice on the other end was calm, almost robotic. "This is Officer Calloway with the Metro Police Department. I'm afraid there's been an incident involving your sister, Miranda. Can you come to the city morgue immediately?"
The words didn't make sense. "Incident?" Jasmine repeated, gripping the edge of her desk. "What do you mean? What's happened to Miranda?"
"I'm sorry," the officer said, his voice tinged with the kind of sympathy that made Jasmine's stomach drop. "It's better if we speak in person."
She barely remembered the drive to the morgue. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it over the hum of traffic. Every worst-case scenario played through her mind, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth.
The cold, sterile room smelled like disinfectant. The coroner pulled back the sheet, and there she was-Miranda. Jasmine's vibrant, free-spirited younger sister, now pale and lifeless. Her hazel eyes, so much like Jasmine's, were closed, and bruises marred her once-radiant skin.
"The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head," the coroner explained clinically. "It appears to have been a robbery gone wrong."
Jasmine couldn't process the words. Her vibrant, artistic, loving sister-who had just the day before been gushing about an art exhibit she was planning to attend-was gone. Just like that.
A robbery. That's what they called it. A random, senseless act of violence in a city teeming with crime.
But Jasmine knew better. Miranda was cautious, always aware of her surroundings. She wouldn't have wandered into a dangerous area without a reason. And the police's explanation-that she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time-felt like a lazy conclusion rather than the truth.
For months, Jasmine begged the detectives to dig deeper. She followed up on every lead, called every day for updates, but each time, the answer was the same: no progress.
Eventually, they stopped returning her calls. Miranda's case became just another unsolved crime.
But Jasmine couldn't let it go.
Every spare moment she had outside of her demanding job at the law firm, she spent poring over the evidence herself. She read the reports so many times she could recite them from memory. She replayed the last voicemail Miranda left her-the one about the art exhibit she was so excited to attend-until it was burned into her brain.
And then, a breakthrough.
The photograph had been buried deep in the police's case file, dismissed as inconclusive. But to Jasmine, it was everything. The man in the image was walking out of the alley where Miranda was found, just minutes before her estimated time of death. He wasn't some shadowy figure in the background. He was there, front and center, as if daring someone to find him.
But who was he?
Jasmine had no name to go with the face. Her attempts to match him to public records or criminal databases came up empty. He didn't have a record-or, if he did, it was buried deep, protected by someone with power.
She couldn't go to the police again. They'd already written off Miranda's case, and she knew they'd dismiss this photo just as easily. To them, the grainy image wasn't evidence. It was speculation.
But Jasmine wasn't speculating. She knew in her gut this man had answers.
Her fingers hovered over her laptop keyboard, scrolling through her latest search results. Tonight, she'd stumbled upon something new. A society blog had posted photos from last year's high-profile tech gala-a glamorous charity event hosted by the city's elite. And there, in one of the pictures, was the same man from the alley.
The caption didn't name him, but the event was exclusive enough to give Jasmine a starting point.
Her heart pounded as she stared at the screen. The gala was happening again next week.
If this man was there last year, chances were he would attend again.
She leaned back in her chair, her jaw tightening. This was her opportunity to get close to him, to figure out who he was and what role he played in Miranda's death. She didn't know what she'd say to him or how she'd even approach him, but she would figure it out.
For now, the thought of being in the same room as him-of confronting the man who might have murdered her sister-was enough to keep her going.
Her phone buzzed on the table, pulling her from her thoughts. The screen displayed an unknown number.
Frowning, she answered. "Hello?"
There was a pause, then a low, distorted voice spoke.
"Stop digging," the voice warned, cold and flat. "This isn't something you want to uncover."
Jasmine's pulse quickened. "Who is this? How do you-"
The line went dead.
She stared at the phone, her heart hammering in her chest. Someone knew what she was doing. Someone was watching her.
But instead of scaring her off, the call only solidified her resolve. Whoever this man was, he thought he could intimidate her into giving up.
He was wrong.
Jasmine's grip on the photograph tightened as her hazel eyes burned with determination.
"Whoever you are," she muttered under her breath, "you messed with the wrong sister."
Olivia Carter wakes up in a luxurious penthouse with a pounding headache, a diamond ring on her finger, and a marriage certificate bearing her name next to that of Adrian Blackwood, a billionaire she doesn't remember meeting. She was supposed to be engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Ethan. She was supposed to be celebrating a major career victory. Instead, she's trapped in a marriage she never agreed to, with no memory of how it happened. Adrian is cold, puzzling, and frustratingly possessive. He refuses to let her walk away, hinting that their marriage is no accident, that she just doesn't remember why. Every attempt to annul the marriage is blocked, every answer she seeks leads to more questions. And when flashes of a forgotten past start creeping into her mind, Olivia realizes the truth may be something she did not expect. Her life. Her career. Her heart. Everything is at risk. Can she escape the vows she never meant to take? Or will she fall for the man who holds the key to her lost memories and the truth behind what really happened that fateful night?
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
"Mr. Evans, please maintain some dignity. Don't forget I'm your brother's wife!" Having caught her husband and best friend together in the bed, Elena wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the people she once called family. She refused to be a pitiful divorcee and vowed to make everyone who had once looked down on her beg for forgiveness. And to start with her newfound freedom, Elena indulges in a one-night stand with a stranger. However, what was meant to be a fleeting escape turns into a nightmare when she learns that the stranger is none other than her husband's older brother! Would Elena be free from the shackles of her marriage? Or would the mysterious stranger make her life a living hell since he seemed to have a personal vendetta against his family? [The story is 18+ and involves mature content.]
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
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.
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.