Last Mile David Baldacci

JACKSON Augustus Sharpe bertekad ingin membunuh seluruh keluarga MONTANO setelah kematian anak dan tunangannya. Jackson bersumpah di depan makam tunangannya kalau kelak ia akan menghabisi seluruh keluarga itu dengan tangannya sendiri. Dan target utamanya adalah Beverly Montano, wanita yang telah menembak tunangannya yang tengah mengandung hingga mati. Tekat kuat Jackson itu membawanya pada rencana mengerikan yang berhasil ia susun dengan sangat rapi. Bahwa Jackson akan membuat Beverly menderita sebelum menghabisi nyawa wanita itu. Namun, semuanya menjadi tidak terkendali saat kebenciannya berubah menjadi perasaan yang tak mampu ia jelaskan. Semakin kuat tekadnya menyiksa Beverly, semakin kuat pula keinginannya untuk tidak membunuh wanita itu. Dan suatu malam, ketika Beverly benar-benar menyerahkan hidupnya untuk Jackson, wanita itu meminta satu permintaan terakhir sebelum ia mati. “Bercintalah denganku, Jackson. Malam ini saja. Sebagai permintaan terakhirku.”

"Julia, the money's gone." "What money?" In a sheepish tone, Mom explains, "We used the 68 grand you left with us to help your brother buy a house for his upcoming wedding." At that moment, dread swallows me whole. Just last week, I left my hard-earned savings with my parents to keep it from being discovered by my abusive husband. But now... I choke up, and my voice trembles as I speak. "Mom, that is the only money I have for myself after the divorce!" My father scolds me from the side. "Why are you getting a divorce in the first place?" I shoot back, "You know he has been hitting me. If I don't leave him, he will beat me to death!" Dad slams the table angrily. "All women put up with stuff like that just fine! If your brother can't get married, it will be the end of our lineage. That's the more pressing problem!" I look at them, my blood running cold. "Take that 68 grand as my final payment to you for raising me. We'll cut ties right here and now. In the future, don't ever come to me and ask me to support you when you grow old."

I was dying of kidney failure. Henry Colombo—the ruthless Mafia heir who once swore he’d burn the world to keep me alive— found me a donor. But the price… was her. Susan Miller, the woman who’d always lingered between us, smiled as she set her terms: “Be mine for one month. Pretend you love me—and I’ll save her life.” He agreed. He said it was just to save me. But every lie, every kiss, every photo she posted online was another nail in my coffin. Each time the surgery drew near, she invented a new delay—a fever, a nightmare, a tender bruise. And Henry believed her. He always believed her. The night my heart flatlined on the operating table, he was across the city, feeding her grapes under candlelight, whispering her name—the name of the woman who had let me die. When he finally learned the truth—that every tear she shed was rehearsed, every promise she made was poison— he destroyed everything. Her lies. Her wealth. Her family name. His own empire. But none of it brought me back.

Sinisikap ni Matt na mamuhay ng malayo at tahimik, Sinikap niyang hindi maging mundo ang mundo ng totoo niyang pagkatao. Sinikap nilang kahit sa kanyang sariling paraan ay hindi matulad sa mga taong kinasusuklaman pero isang babaeng ang nakatakda ng tadhana na siyang babago sa kanyang pananaw ay mamahalin ng kanyang puso at buong pagkatao. Ngunit ang babaeng iyon din ang lilipol ng kanyang uri at tatapos ng kanyang huling hininga. Tama nga bang mahalin pa nila ito?

Mary Preston and her family fled to another country, leaving everything behind. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces, in a foreign land, speaking a language she didn’t understand. A few years later, at the tender age of 19, she ended up married to Maximus Palmer, the grandson of the powerful Catherine Palmer. Mary loved him with all her heart, but he never felt the same. He married her out of obligation, not out of love. One misunderstanding after another pushed their marriage into a downward spiral, filled with infidelity, abuse, and endless disillusionment. For years, Mary lived under the shadow of another woman, enduring the pain until she finally found the courage to ask for a divorce. Her decision took Maximus by surprise, and he refused to let her go. But fate had other plans, and a tragic event forced the divorce to happen sooner than anyone expected. Afterward, Mary tried to rebuild her life, hoping to find love again and happiness that would last. But the scars from her past made it hard for her to trust or believe in love again. She faced many moments of anguish, sadness, and loneliness. Yet, through it all, she slowly began to find herself and step back into the light. Perhaps this time, she wouldn’t have to face everything alone. Maybe someone new would come into her life, someone who could be her rock and her reason to live. Although she learned that the past was never truly left behind, she also discovered that with a strong foundation, even the most broken things could still stand tall. Life had taught her about the three kinds of love: the one that teaches you how to love, the one you wished was yours but wasn’t meant to be, and the one you never saw coming that heals your wounds and brings true happiness.

This is the ninth year Dante and I have honored the Month of No Masters. The Corinni family's heir apparent believes this will make our relationship last longer. For one month after our dating anniversary each year, he is free, and we stay out of each other's lives. If either of us finds someone more suitable, we are to wish them well. If not, we go back to the way things were after a month. Around me, the men of the family are spraying champagne with abandon. "To another year of freedom! Congratulations to our Underboss on reclaiming his bachelor status!" "The family betting pool is open! Place your bets on the left if you think they'll still get married, and on the right if you think it's over for good!" Through the hazy cigar smoke, I sat on the corner of a leather sofa, a cold observer, as if this whole farce had nothing to do with me. Dante's hand was curled around Scarlett's waist as he brushed past me, whispering, "Don't get any ideas. You'll always be my only Donna." "I'm a kite. No matter how far I fly, the string is always in your hand." I pressed my cold fingers against the gentle swell of my belly, my expression a blank mask. Dante, this time at the family's betting table, I'm putting my money on "the end." I'm going to vanish from your world completely. That kite string you're so proud of? Tonight, I'm cutting it myself.

Long time ago, a war broke out, a prophecy has been told, an heir with a strong power that can end the whole world was born. During the war the queen decided to send the princess to the mortal world for her safety. After the war, the kingdom was destroyed, many immortals were killed. No one survived in the royal family they all died during the war, only one is left the princess Aliyah Savannah is the only one can save her people from the enemy who ruined their peace and happiness. Will Aliyah accept her fate or will she return to the life grew up with her adopted parents? Let's find out what will happen.

"Pick up…. pick up… please" When the call did not get through, I burst into tears. The killer was now banging the door violently. “Inspector Kenneth speaking” Uncle Ken’s voice came through and right at the same the killer made a whole in the door by his continuous banging. "Uncle Ken, he's here, he is going to kill me…." I stated this in a panicked, horrified tone. “Zara, darling, we were going to have some fun why did you called the police?” he said in a cold tone bringing out his silvery knife. A shudder rushed down the spine. However, I maintained my composure. "You are over now," I said, trying to mask my terror. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, not yet…." He answered and raced towards me. What happens next???

They are childhood lover. They called each other as " Heart" and " Strength". But when day they are separatedfor some reason, but they didn't know that they already destined to see each other in the right time and in the right place.

Seven years into our marriage, my husband, Lucas Thorne, is hailed as a legendary astronomer in the field of astronomy. It is no secret that he absolutely adores me, his wife. He always keeps a polite, distant demeanor with those around him. Even when his new assistant, Serena Cox, asks for his number, he coldly turns her down. In the year he proposed to me, he named a star "LAW", which was an acronym for "Lucas Adores Wilma". Since then, every asteroid he discovers is named with initials that hold a special significance only the two of us know. To others, they might just be scientific achievements. But to me, they are unspoken love letters. This goes on until this morning, when I stumble upon an unfamiliar phone. I unlock it easily with my middle name, thinking it's yet another quiet gesture of his love. But to my horror, I find a string of explicit messages between him and another woman. The person who was at the receiving end of those messages was none other than… Serena, his assistant.