Six years ago, Elena Romano was the cherished daughter of one of the most powerful business families in New York. She had wealth, status, and the love of Killian Graves, the man who promised to stand by her forever. But everything changed the night her family was framed for embezzlement and murder, their empire burned to the ground. Betrayed, hunted, and left with nothing, Elena disappeared—presumed dead. Now, she’s back. Not as the naive heiress she once was, but as Raven Black, the mysterious self-made billionaire who built an empire from the ashes of her past. Ruthless, untouchable, and dangerous, she has only one goal: revenge. Her first target? Killian Graves—the man she once loved, and the man she believes destroyed her family. But Killian is not the same man she left behind. Cold, powerful, and feared by all, he rules the corporate world with an iron fist. When Elena crosses his path again, he sees right through her disguise. But instead of exposing her, he makes a shocking offer Forced into a high-stakes game of seduction and power, Elena plays along, waiting for the perfect moment to destroy him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes—everything she believed was a lie. ⚠️ Killian didn’t betray her—someone else did. ⚠️ The real enemy has been hiding in the shadows all along. ⚠️ And the man she swore to ruin… never stopped loving her. As hidden secrets unravel and deadly enemies close in, Elena finds herself caught between vengeance and passion, lies and truth, love and hate. But when the past comes back to finish what it started, she must decide: Will she destroy Killian once and for all? Or will she risk everything… and let him own her completely?
View MoreElena's white-knuckled grip on the doorknob, her eyes fixed on Victor DeLuca—the man everyone thought was dead all these years.His smile never wavered. Crooked. Cold. Chilling."You were to be dead," she said with a gasp and stepped back, the pounding of her heart thudding in her chest like a war drum.Victor exploded into unbidden. "You should know better than anyone—ghosts don't die."Elena slammed the door on his back, rage shaking in her voice. "What do you want?"He looked around his penthouse, whistling low. "Impressive. Graves certainly spoils his favorite pets well. Nice.""Answer the question."Victor finally looked at her, eyes flashing with something unreadable. "I'm here to bring the truth. The truth about your family. About Killian. About all of this."Her blood chilled."I watched them kill," she provoked. "I don't want a fairy tale from the murderer."Victor's expression turned cold. "You think that I murdered them? That is what you have always thought?"She stood with
The moment the second Elena entered Graves Enterprises, she felt the air change. Whispering ceased. Glaring persisted. Every single employee in the lobby glared at her as if they already knew whatever had transpired behind those penthouse doors last night. The knowledge set a burst of color racing up her neck, otherwise, she was chilled and composed.Killian had called her so many things. Emotionally. Physically. Professionally. And now—everyone could tell.She moved through the building as if it were hers. But the truth was, ownership came at a cost. And last night, she'd paid in a manner she never meant to—losing part of her heart that she'd promised to keep closed off.“Ms. Black,” James, Killian’s assistant, greeted her with an awkward smile. “Mr. Graves has a meeting scheduled in ten minutes. He asked if you’d attend.”"Did he?" Elena raised an eyebrow, taking the tablet from him. "Is Sophia Monroe invited?"James hesitated. "Yes… among others."Of course. Sophia. The woman who s
The silence between Killian and Elena was strangling. Thick. Thicker. It was not the kind that longed to be shattered—it was the kind that shrieked at everything that had not been said.Elena was curled all the way along Killian's penthouse chaise, knees tucked up to her chest, eyes distant in the distance as she gazed out floor-to-ceiling windows into twinkling city lights. The city outside was alive—horns, wailing sirens some distance off—but within the apartment, tension hung like a mist with words unspoken and crumbling deceptions.She still could sense the shape of his lips on hers from the past. Still sense tension that had simmered between them like gasoline with a spark-plug. All that was in the past, and all she had remaining was only facts that did not allow for romance.Killian moved behind her, ice and glass clinking against each other in his bourbon as he moved with calculated movement, step controlled, presence hypnotic without words."Tell me something," Elena finally w
Outside Graves Enterprises, evening air was heavy and low. Ink-black sky and blinking city lights burning far away, unaware of their storms in the streets, sightless to their chaos. Elena sat stiff in the back seat of Killian's black sports car, stiffened knuckles where she had been gripping. She could feel the tension undercurrent thrumming in the air between them, killing silence more deadly than any fight they had ever experienced.Killian sat beside her, his own face an unreadable mask of composure, but his tapping fingers on his leg in staccato—a telling indication of the hurricane seething beneath his smoothed facade. The executive who had overawed a room full of senior managers mere seconds before through icy mastery now looked as volatile as a volcano on the point of eruption."Are you going to say something?" Elena had finally spoken, her voice softer than she meant, but firm enough to shatter the silence.He didn't look at her. "Why did you lie to me?"His voice wasn't cruel
The room washeat stiflingly quiet, the only noise the measured tick of the old clock that sat atop the wall. Elena faced Killian in his opulent study over his penthouse, her ribcage pounding beneath breasts as she held the USB drive Dante'd given her a couple of hours previously.She had watched the recording twice. And both times, the pain within it increased."You deceived me," Elena whispered, the voice firm and trembling.Killian leaned against the back of his chair, the face emotionless. A pool of warm gold from the desk lamp splashed across the jagged peak of his jawline and chilling eyes. "I never deceived," he informed her, immovable as granite. "I kept things hidden. There is a difference."Elena clapped her fists to her hips, her face flushing. "You knew Victor was collaborating with Sophia all along. And you never told me.""I had to." He stood, his voice rising to hers. "If I'd spoken up, everything would have been altered. You would have gone straight to him. You would ha
The room was painfully quiet except for the distant hum of the city just beyond the towering glass windows. Elena stood with her back against the cold glass, breathing shallowly. Her pulse roaring in her ears. Killian's voice echoed, low and commanding:“You’re mine. There’s no walking away from me.”She didn’t move. Not because she was frozen in fear—but because something far more dangerous wrapped itself around her heart: confusion. Longing. A dark tether of obsession that she couldn’t seem to cut, no matter how hard she tried.“I’m not a possession,” Elena whispered. “You don’t own me.”Killian moved closer, black eyes smoldering into hers. "No, I don't own you," he said, moving another step. "But I'm the only one who gets to see all of you. Even the parts you try to hide.".She gritted her jaw and swallowed hard, trying to edge away, but he was quicker—one arm pinched between glass on either side of her head, holding her in place. He filled the space so intimately. Too close. Too
Elena standing alone in front of the huge marble bathtub, her hands sinking and emerging from the boiling water as silence wrapped itself around her like a shawl. The lamps were dimmed, their golden light shining upon her bare body, but even the warmth of the room was not enough to thaw the ice that was spreading inside her. No matter how many times she'd shut her eyes, she'd always be looking at Killian's face—that confused look when she had accused him of lying.She had pushed him again. Rode him too hard, maybe. But wasn't that what she had started?Her heart no longer listened to her plans.Her door groaned wider. She did not need to turn and recognized it would be him. That receding in the air. That bulk that proceeded him into any room. He was not even going to try to talk then—all he did was simply stand there and stare at her."quiet," she said to him, finally turning over her shoulder. "aren't going to threaten tonight. lock the other door behind you?Killian moved nearer to
The tempest raging outside had not dissipated. Neither had the one within her. Elena sat on the bed in her hotel room, fists balled, dripping wet from the rain. Her hair was stuck to her face. Her clothes dampened her cold skin. But all that was nothing in comparison to the pressure building in her chest. Killian's silence. His confession. She had pleaded with him to say no. Prayed it was a mistake. But his eyes told the truth—tormented, dark, full of guilt. He had signed. He had been a partner, if unwitting, to the ruination of her family. Her stomach clenched. There was a time she would have bring down empires for him. Now she couldn't even look at her face in the mirror. A knock on the door had her jumping. Rose up slowly, legs still shaking from it all. Looked through the peephole, and her breath froze. Killian. She did not want to see him. She wanted to scream, to cry, to smash something. But still, she opened the door. He was standing there—wet like her, dark suit
The warehouse stood at the city's edge like a sore—weathered, quiet, dark. Elena stepped inside, the soles of her shoes ringing off the floor. Her breathing was labored, as if the air around her mourned what was to come.She saw him before he saw her.Dante Romano.Her brother.He sat at an iron table, spine straight, dark hair longer than she could ever recall. A man hardened by years and by rage. But those eyes—her mother's eyes—remained the same."Dante," she whispered.His head lifted slowly. They didn't move for a moment.Then he stood."Elena," he said, and her name on his lips hit her like a blow. "You're alive."She hadn't expected the feeling that welled up in her chest. She hadn't expected her knees to buckle at the sound of his voice, the way her heart keened like it had been waiting for this moment.She wanted to walk to him. But she didn't.Not after everything."You made me believe you were dead," he said. "You didn't search for me."She took a step forward, wincing away
The city never slept, but tonight, Elena Romano was awake for a different reason.From the penthouse balcony of the Grand Royale Hotel, she stood with a glass of champagne, staring at the glittering skyline of New York—the city that had witnessed her family’s downfall.The city that had once been her home… and her grave.Six years ago, she had been buried under the weight of betrayal.She had lost everything. Her family. Her name. Her love.And now, she was back.Not as Elena Romano. That girl was dead.Now, she was Raven Black—a billionaire, a queen in her own right, and a woman with only one purpose.Revenge.And the man she had come for was standing just across the room.Him.Killian Graves.Her first love. Her greatest mistake. The man who had once held her heart and then shattered it into a million pieces.Dressed in a perfectly tailored black Armani suit, he was the center of attention, towering over everyone in the ballroom. His presence demanded respect, his sharp jawline, pie...
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