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For three years, Althea lived in the shadow of an arranged marriage with Damian Crowe, a billionaire as ruthless as they are insistent, known for his dark things and his absolute control over the elite. This marriage, designed by their families to unite two dynasties by the decline, quickly turned into a nightmare. Ignored by Damian, and closely monitored by his allies, Althea has discovered a world of unavowable secrets and questionable transactions. One night, she comes across compromising information that could ruin Damian and her whole family. Realizing that she is only a pawn in their game, she disappears without warning, leaving behind an empire in danger and a man plagued by her own demons. When Althea resurfaces three years later, she was unrecognizable: independent, formidable and armed with a infallible strategy to undermine the power of Damian. In parallel, it becomes the target of the rivals of the latter, who see in it the key to destroy the reign of the Crowe. But Damian did not say his last word. Torn between his desire to reconquer and the fear of the truths that Althea could reveal, he embarks on a battle where love and destruction are intertwined. Does Althea play a vengeance game, or is it about to overthrow a world that she has sworn to never suffer?
Althea shivered as the frigid air filtered through the city streets. Her hand tightened on the strap of her bag, as if this simple gesture could give her the strength to contain the flood of emotions rising within her. Three years. Three whole years of fleeing, rebuilding, planning his return. She hadn't anticipated how strangely familiar everything would be, or how seeing those illuminated skyscrapers would bring back memories she'd tried to bury.
A taxi had dropped her off at the corner of a street she knew well. The building stood before her, imposing and cold, like a monument both attractive and intimidating. The last few meters seemed to last forever. She took a deep breath, adjusted her coat, then walked through the large glass doors. The hall, sumptuous and dazzling, greeted him in an almost oppressive silence, disturbed only by the clicking of his heels on the marble floor.
The doorman, a middle-aged man with an impassive face, greeted her with calculated deference.
- Good evening, Mrs. Laurent, he said, using the pseudonym she had given to rent the apartment.
She just nodded, controlling the worry that threatened to break through her mask of calm. Every detail mattered, every movement had to feel natural, even if his heart was beating wildly. She crossed the hall, entered the elevator and pressed the button for the thirty-second floor. When the doors closed, she finally let out a sigh, her hands trembling slightly.
Arriving on her floor, Althea opened the door to a luxuriously furnished, refined and functional apartment. She stopped in the middle of the living room, her eyes scanning the area. Everything was perfect, too perfect, as if this place had been designed for someone else. She placed her bag on the glass table and walked towards the bay window. The view overlooked the entire city, a sea of sparkling lights that seemed to stretch on forever.
She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number she knew by heart. The voice that answered on the other end of the line was calm, almost clinical.
- Are you up?
- Yes, she replied, looking at the city lights. Everything is ready.
The call was brief, but enough to remind him that this return was not an impulse, but a carefully planned mission. Her heart had hardened over the years, and every step she took now was calculated with icy precision.
A few miles away, Damian Crowe stood in his office, a glass of whiskey in his hand. His intense blue eyes stared at the crackling fire in the fireplace. The report on his desk contained information that should have satisfied him. Yet he felt a tension he hadn't felt in a long time.
- She's back, confirmed Marcus, her loyal right-hand man, as he entered the room.
Damian didn't answer immediately, his fingers playing with the glass he held. He finally got up, walking around his desk to stand facing the window. The city spread out before his eyes, vibrant and alive, but his mind was elsewhere.
- Where is she? he finally asked, his voice cold and sharp.
- In an apartment in the city center. She uses the name Laurent. No suspicious movements at the moment.
Damian nodded, but his thoughts were swirling. Althea. Just saying her name in his mind brought back memories he would have preferred to forget. Their last confrontation, three years earlier, remained etched in his memory like a wound that refused to heal.
He saw himself again in his office, facing her. She had thrown a file onto her desk, her eyes gleaming with anger and determination.
- I know what you're doing, Damian.
He had feigned indifference, but the contents of the file were impossible to ignore: evidence of his illegal activities, questionable banking transactions, clandestine deals. He had tried to dissuade her, to explain to her that the world in which he lived was much more complex than she imagined, but she had not wanted to hear anything.
That evening she had left, but not before giving him one last look, a mixture of defiance and pain. Since then, he had wondered if she would ever come back. Now that she was here, he had to understand why.
- Continue surveillance, he ordered Marcus. If she moves, I want to know immediately.
Marcus nodded before leaving the room, leaving Damian alone with his thoughts. He knew that this return was not trivial. Althea was not the type to do things randomly. She had a plan, and he had to find out what it was before she put his empire in danger.
Back in her apartment, Althea opened a file that she had carefully kept during her years in exile. The photos, the readings, the evidence... Everything was there, intact, ready to be used. But this time, she wouldn't just brandish this evidence as a threat. She would destroy Damian piece by piece, methodically, mercilessly.
She placed the file on the table and headed to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. The tension in her shoulders didn't ease, but she refused to give in to worry. Every move she had made for three years had led to this moment. There was no room for doubts.
A noise at the door startled her. She put down her glass and walked slowly towards the entrance. When she opened it, she found a package lying on the floor, with no sender. Suspicious, she picked it up and placed it on the table before carefully opening it. Inside was a simple piece of paper, folded in half. When she unfolded it, her heart skipped a beat.
**"Welcome home. »**
The message, although brief, was heavy with innuendo. Damian knew she was there.
Althea clenched the paper between her fingers, her eyes hardening. If he thought that a simple message would be enough to destabilize her, he was sorely mistaken. She was ready for this game, and this time, she intended to win.
She returned to the bay window, her gaze fixed on the city that stretched out beneath her feet. This return was only the beginning. Damian Crowe didn't yet know what awaited him.
Under the gaze of a fallen mafia, Elvie, a young woman with a troubled past and victim of a brutal ex, seeks to rebuild her life. Working as an assistant in the villa of the Corleone, an influential crime family, she tries to avoid conflict with the three Corleone brothers, all as dangerous as each other. But everything changes when Adriano, the eldest brother and heir, breaks his arranged engagement to embrace the war between enemy families and must quickly remarry. Cold and calculating, he sees Elvie as a simple piece in his game. For her, he is just another nightmare to flee. But as they interact, appearances crumble and unexpected bonds are forged. As her ex resurfaces, Elvie will have to choose between her new life, her secrets and the growing violence that threatens everything she has rebuilt.
Alice's life has been devastated by the betrayal of those she believed to be her allies. Five years ago, her fiancé, in the grip of a professional failure, convinced her to sacrifice her dreams to help him get back on his feet. But her best friend, hungry for glory and power, made a decision that would change their friendship forever, by secretly becoming a surrogate mother. When Alice's fiancé, now at the top of his career, left her, claiming that she no longer met his expectations, Alice, broken, accepted the proposal of the mysterious billionaire, Gabriel Hartman. Known for his coldness and indifference, Gabriel seemed to offer Alice an escape. What she didn't know was that he was the one who had orchestrated her best friend's request for maternity... But what if everything she thought she knew was just a decoy? What if, deep down, the price of her redemption is much higher than she imagined? Can the truth really mend broken hearts, or will secrets destroy everything in their path?
Zoe's dreams of marriage are shattered when she catches her fiance in a compromising situation with his best friend. Devastated, she seeks to recover what she has lost. That's when an enigmatic man, a warm billionaire named Maxime Delacroix, offers her an unexpected solution: a loveless marriage, a contractual alliance with the aim of destroying his ex's career. Although reluctant, Zoe accepts, ready to do anything to get revenge. But as their relationship grows, Zoe realizes that the stakes are more complex than she imagined. Between revenge and a budding passion for this distant man, she finds herself torn between her desire for justice and her budding feelings. How far will she be willing to go to get revenge without losing everything in the process?
Lily thought she had a simple life, surrounded by her adoptive parents in a small town. But everything changed the day she learned that her real parents were industrial tycoons and that she had a twin brother, heir to a family empire. Welcomed into a world of luxury, she found herself facing a reality very different from the one she knew. Her brother, a cold and ambitious man, had always hated her. "You're just an intruder, Lily," he told her. But another secret resurfaced: a mysterious businessman claimed that Lily was the rightful heir to a huge hidden fortune. "It's time you knew the truth," he told her. Between betrayals and revelations, Lily must choose between wealth and family loyalty.
Lara Sanders and Ethan Cole had been together for five years, but Lara had never been his priority. Ethan, obsessed with his work, did not see the soul of the woman he had married. Lara had tried to rekindle the flame, but in vain. She had had enough. One day, she left everything: the house, the promises, and Ethan. Years later, Lara reappears. She has become a successful entrepreneur, an icon of the business world, and no one recognizes her anymore as the fragile young woman she once was. Far from the shy and discreet Lara, she is now a queen of industry, admired and respected. At a public event, a journalist asks her: "Lara, you are the most influential businesswoman of the moment. What is the key to your success?" Lara, with a mysterious smile, answers: "Never let a man define you. Take charge of your life. » The next day, to everyone's surprise, Ethan appears at Lara's door. The man she thought had been forgotten, who had let her go without a glance, returns with a surprising proposition: "Lara, I made a mistake. Can we start all over again... Together?"
Luca Moretti, an influential businessman, is forced to marry Amélie Lefevre, a woman he considers a simple family obligation. Already in love with another, he vows to make Amélie's life hell so that she will ask for a divorce. However, he does not know that Amélie is hiding a secret that could change his life forever. Behind her calm facade, Amélie is much more determined and intelligent than he thinks. What will happen when Luca finds himself caught in his own game? Will he succeed in breaking their union or will he succumb to the hidden truth?
Anabel found out she was pregnant and dialed her husband's number to share the good news to him. They have been married for two years without a child. Desmond's mother had been accusing her of being barren and unproductive. When the call was picked, she was flabbergasted and broken. She was hearing a loud moan of feminine voice. "Ohh! Yeah! Don't stop fucking me! Fuck me harder baby!" accompanied with sound of skins slapping against the other. She went home to confront her husband and end up receiving a divorce paper. Desmond divorced him for a lady his mother was rooting. Few months later when he found out that his ex-wife is a billionaire heiress and she is pregnant with twins, he went crazy!
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
Lucille was one of the most skilled female assassins, and on the previous night, she embarked on a top-secret mission. However, the mission's details were leaked, leading to her untimely demise at the hands of a traitorous companion. She never discovered the identity of the person who betrayed her before her death. But by some miracle, she was granted a new life, and was reborn as a girl with the same name. Determined to uncover the truth and seek revenge for her family, Lucille seized her second chance at life. She planned to avenge her loved ones. However, her plans were complicated by Joseph, an apparently frail man who was actually skilled in martial arts. And he seemed to fall for her deeply, now this newfound knowledge only added to the complications of Lucille's revenge plan...
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."
“Drive this woman out!” "Throw this woman into the sea!” When he doesn’t know Debbie Nelson’s true identity, Carlos Hilton cold-shoulders her. “Mr. Hilton, she is your wife,” Carlos’ secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?” From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.
Three years ago, Cecilia was left battered and alone by the man she loved most, Alston, yet she bravely completed the wedding ceremony while pregnant. Three years later, although they were married, they grew apart over time. Cecilia focused on her career, no longer foolishly believing in love. But her transformation instantly threw Alston into a panic... And what is the secret from 11 years ago that Cecilia has always been reluctant to reveal? *** "She went to a law firm, met with a lawyer..." A lawyer? Is Cecilia suing someone? Who? Is there any recent litigation against the company? Alston suddenly chuckled coldly, "Who could she sue? I'm the CEO of this company. How come such a matter doesn't come to me first?" The assistant swallowed nervously, speaking softly, "Sir, there's no litigation against the company. She met with... a divorce lawyer."