My Gift, His Curse: A Spectral Reckoning

Sarah Miller always felt like an outsider among her Omega Alpha Chi sorority sisters, yearning for a place at the heart of their tight circle. One fateful night, after a typical bonding party, she woke to an unspeakable horror: all five of her friends lay dead, victims of acute poisoning. Sarah was the sole survivor. Instantly, the spotlight of suspicion turned to her. The police presented a chilling web of evidence: a panicked audio recording from Chloe' s phone, capturing her sisters' dying pleas, "Sarah, wake up!"; records showing Sarah's key fob used when she claimed to be sound asleep; and a disturbing handwritten note in her own script, confessing a desire for peace if "they were gone." Sarah vehemently denied everything, desperate to believe she was asleep, but her memories were a terrifying blur. How could she be involved in such a monstrous act? The pieces didn't fit, adding to her dread: a pre-death text about a "prank" targeting her, and Danielle's chilling journal entry stating, "That wasn't Sarah." Then came the devastating truth: a forgotten psychiatric history, revealing Dissociative Identity Disorder. And the final, grainy footage – "another Sarah," calmly exiting the room after the murders, a faint, chilling smile on her face. Now confined, Sarah lives in an inescapable nightmare, realizing the horrifying killer is not outside, but an integral, malevolent part of herself, waiting to re-emerge.

My quiet dorm room shattered with the phone call that ripped my ordinary life apart. The police officer's grim voice delivered the unthinkable: my father, brother, and grandmother were deceased, and my own mother, Eleanor, was apparently their killer, now vanished. I abandoned university, returning to a house haunted not by ghosts, but by the unbearable silence and the world's cruel whispers of "The Miracle Cure Murders." They painted my mother, who'd miraculously recovered from a rare disease, as a monster who slaughtered her family. But none of it made sense; I knew only love in that house, and the inexplicable violence left me desperate for answers. For three years, I obsessively replayed the security footage, consumed by the incomprehensible truth. Then, a tiny detail emerged: my mother took nothing but Grandma Rose's vintage lace wedding dress, the one meant for me. This specific dress, a coded message in the chaos, sparked a desperate plan. I would stage a public wedding, an irresistible trap, to finally lure the vanished killer back and uncover the impossible truth.

I was just a grease-stained mechanic, happily working with my adoptive dad in rural Nevada, on the cusp of starting my engineering journey at MIT on a full scholarship. Then, a sleek black Mercedes pulled up, and out stepped a woman claiming to be my biological mother, Eleanor Vance, revealing an 18-year-old hospital mix-up during a chaotic wildfire. Suddenly, I was thrust into the opulent world of the Thorne family, where my biological father, Richard, and his entitled son, Ethan, made it abundantly clear I was an unwanted outsider, doling out belittling gifts and thinly veiled insults. At their grand charity gala, Richard and Ethan orchestrated a public humiliation, aiming to shame me in front of their elite circle, leaving me burning with indignation and confusion over their blatant hostility. But what they didn't foresee was my tech-billionaire boyfriend, Sam, along with his incredibly influential parents, crashing their party, turning their calculated attack into a spectacular downfall that exposed not just their schemes, but a multi-layered, decades-long conspiracy of baby swaps and deceit far beyond a simple hospital error.

Our tenth anniversary. As I pulled up to our Hamptons estate, a small, perfectly wrapped gift in hand, I expected champagne and celebration. Instead, I found my husband, Ethan, with his executive assistant, Jessica Thorne. Not just talking. My world shattered. His response? A casual proposal for an "open marriage," laced with a sneer about my humble origins. The humiliation deepened when my own father, concerned only with a business deal with Ethan, blackmailed me with my mother's cherished apple orchard to ensure my "compliance." I was forced to play along, even delivering "documents" to Ethan's hotel suite where his mistress openly flaunted their affair. The torment escalated: Jessica, knowing my severe lily allergy, sent a massive bouquet that left me gasping for air, collapsing into anaphylactic shock. In the hospital, Ethan attempted to "cleanse" me with antiseptic, his chilling possessiveness on full display. How could my entire life, built on trust and love, crumble so cruelly? Why was I, the one who tried to hold everything together, constantly used and betrayed by everyone I loved? The injustice was suffocating. Just as Ethan, having coldly dismissed his pregnant mistress, returned to claim me as his sole "property," ready to trap me permanently, a seemingly ordinary gym owner named Mike intervened. But his kind eyes held a secret that was about to unravel Ethan' s twisted empire and rewrite the rules of my very existence.

My father' s Medal of Honor sat on my dresser, a stark reminder of sacrifice. With my mother dying and medical bills crushing us, I agreed to Eleanor Thornton's offer: marry her comatose son, Ethan, for my mother's life. Five years later, I'd raised Leo and Lily, managing the estate. Then Ethan awoke. His first words were a snarl: "She looks like a gold-digger." With his mother and ex-girlfriend Ashley, he launched a campaign of humiliation, twisting my every action. They staged a fake poisoning, making me appear malicious. My defenses fueled their accusations, confirming my supposed greed. Then came the ultimate threat: he'd gain sole custody, declaring me an unfit mother. "Ashley will be the mother to my children." That was the breaking point. I would not lose my children. I wrote to General Markwell, my father' s closest friend, invoking the honor he stood for. The sudden arrival of a JAG officer at our mansion signaled the Thornton family was about to face a power far beyond their influence.

I thought I had it all. A quiet, devoted husband David, a brilliant son Ethan heading to college, and a secret life of immense wealth, lavishing affection and luxury on my high school sweetheart Leo and his charming son, Finn. My two worlds never touched, or so I believed. Then, a frantic call from David. Ethan was gone, a hit-and-run. My careful composure fractured, but I still played the part of the grieving mother. I performed sorrow, wearing a threadbare cardigan over my expensive dress, hoping to conceal my true life. But David' s eyes, full of a pain I couldn' t counterfeit, saw through me. And then, Leo, my lover, let slip the horrifying truth: Finn, in the luxury car I' d bought him, was behind the wheel. My own son, dead, at the hands of the boy I' d chosen over him. The carefully constructed walls of my indifference crumbled. Yet, the real blow came reading Ethan' s journal: his quiet dreams, his deep love for his father, and the heartbreaking entries about my blatant neglect. "Mom seems to like Finn more than me." His words, his uncomplaining endurance, shattered me more than any physical pain. In that raw, desolate moment, surrounded by the remnants of my lies, a new, cold resolve ignited. They took my son. Now, I would make them pay. And I knew precisely how.

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."

"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."

She spent ten years chasing after the right brother, only to fall for the wrong one in one weekend. ~~~ Sloane Mercer has been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Finn Hartley, since college. For ten long years, she's stood by him, stitching him back together every time Delilah Crestfield-his toxic on-and-off girlfriend-shattered his heart. But when Delilah gets engaged to another man, Sloane thinks this might finally be her chance to have Finn for herself. She couldn't be more wrong. Heartbroken and desperate, Finn decides to crash Delilah's wedding and fight for her one last time. And he wants Sloane by his side. Reluctantly, Sloane follows him to Asheville, hoping that being close to Finn will somehow make him see her the way she's always seen him. Everything changes when she meets Knox Hartley, Finn's older brother-a man who couldn't be more different from Finn. He's dangerously magnetic. Knox sees right through Sloane and makes it his mission to pull her into his world. What starts as a game-a twisted bet between them-soon turns into something deeper. Sloane is trapped between two brothers: one who's always broken her heart and another who seems hell-bent on claiming it... no matter the cost. CONTENT WARNING: This story is strongly 18+. It delves into dark romance themes such as obsession and lust with morally complex characters. While this is a love story, reader discretion is advised.  

"I knew he was trouble the moment I walked into our shared house. The way his hands gripped my waist when no one was looking, the way his voice dipped when he said my name, it wasn't just wrong, it was dangerous. He wasn't just my stepbrother, he was my undoing." **** All Evie Hayes wanted was to finish her college degree in peace, far from the chaos of her past. But when she moves into her stepfather's house near Ravencrest University, she finds herself stuck with Ryder Kingsley, her stepbrother and the school's golden boy. Ryder is everything she's sworn to avoid, arrogant, infuriatingly handsome, and completely off-limits. When late-night arguments turn into stolen touches, their forbidden connection becomes impossible to ignore. But in a world where secrets don't stay hidden, someone's bound to uncover the truth. And when they do, Ryder and Evie will have to decide if the risk is worth the ruin.

Vengeance is hers, not God's. Andrea Campbell's world is shattered when Thane, her ruthless CEO husband, divorces her. Left with nothing, she has no family, no money, no identity. But as fate would have it, she is reunited with her billionaire birth father, Mr. Campbell. Five years later, Andrea returns as a stunning, sassy businesswoman, fueled by a burning desire for revenge. She plans to pull Thane into a high-stakes business collaboration and then destroy him. Thane, consumed by his ex-wife's transformation, will stop at nothing to reclaim her. Unaware of their hidden twin children and Andrea's secret game. He becomes increasingly obsessed. As they dance around their explosive past, Andrea struggles to keep her emotions in check. Thane's determination ignites a risky game of cat and mouse, where old feelings resurface and new flames ignite. Will Thane's all-consuming love be enough to quench Andrea's fury, or will her thirst for revenge destroy them both? Can Andrea resist Thane's relentless chase, or will she succumb to the passion that once bound them?

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!