The Mute Bride Is The Secret Mastermind

I was the titan of Wall Street until an indictment and an ankle monitor turned my penthouse into a gilded cage. To save face, I was forced into a marriage with Elza, a "mute" girl from the Schmidt family whom I treated as nothing more than a silent piece of furniture while my empire crumbled. The night I was poisoned at a high-society gala, a mysterious server in an oversized uniform saved my life with terrifying, clinical precision. They disappeared into the night, leaving me with a silver cufflink and a burning obsession to find the shadow who held my life in their hands. Back home, I took my frustration out on Elza, telling her she was "exhausting to look at" and "smelled like sickness" after her charity visits. Her own family treated her like a stray dog, trying to humiliate her at the next gala by dressing her in what they claimed was a cheap knockoff while whispering to the press that she was nothing but a high-end escort. "Stay out of my way," I would growl at her, never noticing the steel in her eyes. I sat at my table, watching my rivals' stocks plummet and wondering who "The Zero"-the legendary financial ghost-really was. I never suspected that the woman I ignored was the same one solving the equations that were currently burning Manhattan to the ground. The injustice peaked when Elza stood before the city's elite, not as a victim, but as a queen. She dropped over a hundred million dollars to buy back her family's legacy, revealing a secret fortune that made my own empire look like pocket change. As I grabbed her wrist and saw the small red mole hidden beneath her watch, the truth hit me like a physical blow. The silent wife I had despised was the savior I had been hunting, and she was finally done playing the victim. "We have a lot to talk about, wife," I whispered, realizing I had been sleeping next to the most dangerous woman in the world.

Chapters

Chapter 7

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating.

Bianca looked down at her glittering dress as if it were made of radioactive waste. "But... Clotilde said..."

Clotilde stepped back, holding up her hands. "I... I was told it was a custom piece! I had no idea!"

Preston Hayes released Clotilde's arm. He took a step away from her. Association with a counterfeit scandal was bad for business.

Richard Schmidt cleared his throat, trying to pivot. He walked toward Elza, a strained smile on his face. "Well, clearly my daughter has inherited the family eye for quality. Elza, darling—"

Barron stepped in. He wrapped his arm around Elza's waist. His hand was warm against the velvet. He pulled her flush against him.

"Back off, Richard," Barron said, his voice low and dangerous. "Five minutes ago you were apologizing for her. Don't pretend you know her now."

Richard stopped, his face darkening.

Elza looked up at Barron. His jaw was set, his eyes hard. He was defending her. It was possessive, yes. It was about his own ego, yes. But it was a shield.

Bianca burst into tears and ran from the room, her crystals jingling ridiculously.

Clotilde was cornered. She needed to regain control. She caught Victoria's eye.

Victoria nodded. She raised her voice, pitching it to carry. "It is amazing, truly. But one does wonder... how does a girl with no access to her trust fund afford a priceless prototype? I've heard rumors... about certain private clubs she visits."

The implication hung in the air. Escort.

The crowd gasped. The sympathy shifted back. Of course. She sold her body for the dress.

Barron went rigid. His grip on Elza's waist tightened to the point of pain. "What did you say?"

He was going to kill Victoria. He was going to tear this whole gala down.

Elza placed her hand over his on her waist. Stop.

She stepped out of his embrace. She walked over to the table where Victoria had set her drink.

Elza picked up a full glass of champagne.

She turned to Victoria. She didn't throw it. That would be trashy.

She simply turned her wrist and poured the champagne onto the floor, directly onto Victoria's satin shoes.

It was a libation. A drink for the dead.

She looked at Victoria with eyes that said: You are dead to me.

Then, she turned her back. She walked toward the stage where the auctioneer was setting up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the auctioneer announced, trying to break the tension. "We are moving to the main event. The North Lot of the Schmidt Estate."

Elza stood at the front. She reached out and took a paddle. Number 707.

She raised it.

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The tiny cry pierced the air, and for one perfect moment, everything else faded away. "Here she is," I whispered, lifting the squirming bundle. "Seven pounds, three ounces of pure miracle." The parents' tearful faces blurred before me as I placed their daughter against her mother's chest. The mother's hands trembled as she cradled her child—hands that had been clenched in fear just hours before when we'd detected fetal distress. "Thank you, Dr. Sullivan," the father managed through his tears. "You saved them both." I nodded, unable to form words around the lump in my throat. This was why I'd endured medical school, why I'd chosen obstetrics despite—despite everything. This moment of creation, of life continuing its relentless forward march. "Perfect APGAR scores," my nurse confirmed, her smile mirroring mine.

Modern Romance

9.3

Forced to Marry The Arrogant Billionaire Heir

9.3

BLURB: Why, though? Why did he disappear all of a sudden? What truth do they need from me? What do they mean by only I will know about his disappearance? I need answers and their silence is killing me! ••••• A powerful business deal forces both Alexander and Hazel into an arranged marriage of convenience on both side of the family. Sparks fly between these two strong individuals of similar interests but what happens when constant scandals, deceit and misunderstandings threaten to pull them apart. Will their love be strong enough to let trust drive their patched relationship, or will they break each other endlessly?

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.4

Heart's Silent War

8.4

Elena runs a small bookstore and lives a quiet life after losing someone she loved. One night, her shop is broken into, but nothing is stolen. A detective named Marcello comes to investigate. He carries his own pain, and Elena feels he understands her. As they search for answers, danger grows. Elena must face her fear, find her strength again, and decide if she can accept love.

Modern Mystery Romance

8.7

Husband's Deception Exposed

8.7

The rain pounded against my windshield like angry fists, each drop exploding into a thousand tiny fragments. I squinted through the blur, my knuckles white against the steering wheel as I navigated the deserted highway. What had started as a pleasant visit to my mother's house was quickly turning into a nightmare. A flash of lightning illuminated the road ahead, followed by a deafening crack of thunder that seemed to shake the very earth. Then, as if on cue, my car gave a sickening lurch. "No, no, no," I muttered, feeling the engine sputter beneath me. The dashboard lights flickered once, twice, then died completely as the car rolled to a stop on the shoulder of the empty road. I turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. Not even a whimper from the engine.

Modern Mystery Romance

7.8

Misdiagnosis in andrology, My Billionaire Husband

7.8

I was forty-eight hours into my shift, smelling of stale sweat and clutching a red-stamped bill for my mother's life support. As a scholarship intern, I was a ghost in the hospital, working myself to the bone just to keep her ventilator humming. Then Dr. Thorne shoved a metal clipboard into my chest and ordered me to perform a surgical prep on a VIP patient for a circumcision. But the moment the cold betadine touched the man's skin, he lunged at me like a predator, his hand crushing my wrist until the bone nearly snapped. "I'm here for a kidney stone. What kind of incompetent butcher shop is this?" He wasn't a patient; he was Conrad Marks, a lethal billionaire, and Thorne had intentionally set me up to assault him. Within minutes, a five-million-dollar lawsuit was filed, and the Dean ordered security to shred my license and throw me out of the building. My phone buzzed with a final notice: the facility was stopping my mother's meds at midnight because my payment had failed. I was a doctor who had just been framed and a daughter about to watch her mother die. I didn't understand why Thorne would ruin me so casually, but with my mother's life on the line, I had nothing left to lose. I slipped past the guards and back into the billionaire's suite with a set of silver needles and a desperate bargain. I stopped his agony in seconds, and when he looked at me with those cold, lethal eyes, I offered a trade: I would be the fake girlfriend his family demanded if he would save my mother and bury the lawsuit. "Deal," he said, his grip on my waist tightening with dark possession. I signed the contract, realizing I hadn't just saved my career-I had sold my soul to the most dangerous man in New York.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.4

My Dying Ex Regretted Choosing Her Over Me

9.4

The engagement party had been in full swing for quite some time, yet my fiancé was still nowhere to be seen. I tried calling him a countless number of times, but there was no response. It wasn't until I stumbled upon a post from his childhood friend, Elle, that everything became clear: "Someone's been out on business for days, but as soon as I asked, he's here swimming with me," read her post. The photo showed her and my fiancé posing by the pool. In the background, his tuxedo jacket was tossed aside casually. Faced with a room full of guests, I declared that the engagement was off. After six years of loving him, I was utterly drained. ------------------------------ Once the guests had left, Jack called. I felt a surge of irritation but inexplicably answered anyway. His voice came through, cold and impatient, "Come pick us up at the Lakeside Club." I took a breath and replied with an equally detached tone.

Billionaire Modern Romance

The Mute Bride Is The Secret Mastermind

Chapter 7

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