The Ruby Shackle: Bound To The Billionaire

I’m a CIA operative known as "The Auditor," and for months, I’ve played the role of a pathetic, abused ward in Basil Dean’s mansion. My mission was simple: gather intel on a paranoid billionaire while pretending to be a girl who flinches at her own shadow and knows nothing of the world. The balance shattered when Basil found a photo of me smiling at a local mechanic. He didn't just get angry; he dragged me into his soundproof vault, his leather-gloved thumb pressing into my carotid artery to feel the frantic, terrified thrum of my heart. He tagged me with a ruby bracelet—a high-tech tracking device that reported my GPS and biometrics to his phone every second. His stepsister, Corine, smelled blood in the water, accusing me of theft while Basil watched my heart rate spike on his screen like a lab rat in a cage. I was trapped in a gilded nightmare, forced to scrub floors and endure his predatory stares while a fifty-thousand-dollar shackle recorded my every breath. I couldn't tell if he was a grieving recluse or a shark playing with his food, but every time my signal dropped, he was there, looming in the shadows, waiting for me to slip up. I was drowning in a game where the rules changed every time I tried to fight back, and the agency was starting to think I’d turned. To end the charade, I handed the bracelet back to him in front of the entire kitchen staff, a public rejection of his twisted ownership. Basil didn't blink; he took a heavy meat mallet and smashed the ruby to dust right in front of me before making a phone call that turned my mission into a death trap. "Get the prenup ready," he hissed, his eyes burning with a terrifying, sane obsession. "I'm marrying her."

Chapters

Chapter 3

The sunroom was blindingly bright.

Audie stood on a ladder, wiping the floor-to-ceiling glass. Her arm ached, but the rhythmic motion was grounding. Through the glass, she could see the manicured gardens. Basil was out there, walking Duchess. He was limping.

"Audie, come down from there."

Corine sat at the wrought-iron table, sipping tea from bone china. She looked benevolent today.

Audie climbed down. She missed the last step and stumbled.

"Careful," Corine chided gently. She placed a slip of paper on the table. "For the dress. And for your... trouble last night."

Audie picked it up. A check for five hundred dollars.

She widened her eyes. She looked at Corine and shook her head, pushing the check back across the table.

"Nonsense. A girl needs to look presentable. I can't have you walking around smelling like fast food," Corine insisted, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Basil has been under a lot of pressure with the asset freeze. If he takes it out on you, just know it's the illness talking."

Audie gave a small, reluctant nod, leaving the check on the table.

The glass door slid open.

Basil walked in. Duchess strained at the leash, barking ferociously at Audie.

Audie shrieked and ducked behind Corine's chair.

"Control that beast, Basil!" Corine snapped.

Basil shortened the leash. He looked pale, sweat beading on his forehead despite the chill morning air. His eyes landed on the check on the table.

"What is that?"

"Compensation," Corine said. "For the dress you ruined."

Basil walked over. He snatched the check from the table.

"Basil!" Corine gasped.

He ripped the check in half. Then into quarters. He let the confetti rain down onto the pristine tile.

"Deans don't give handouts to beggars," he sneered.

Audie whimpered, covering her face with her hands.

"She needs clothes, Basil," Corine said, her voice tight.

"Then I will buy them," Basil said. He stared at Audie, his gaze burning through her fingers. "I decide what she wears. I decide what she owns. She doesn't take money from anyone else. Is that clear?"

"You're being irrational," Corine said, reaching for the bell to summon the nurse. "You need your morning dose."

Basil leaned in close to Audie, under the pretense of intimidating her.

"Library. Tonight," he murmured. The sound was barely a breath. "Come collect what you're owed."

He straightened up and stormed out, dragging the growling dog with him.

Audie fled to the kitchen. Her heart was pounding, but not from fear.

She found a corner near the pantry where the cameras had a blind spot. She wiped her dry eyes.

Basil wasn't being irrational. He was cutting off her supply lines. He wanted her dependent solely on him.

She looked up at the corner of the ceiling. A new camera blinking red.

He was watching. Everywhere.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. A text from an unknown number. Arthur.

Hey. I know last night was weird. But the fair is in town this weekend. Maybe we could try again? No BBQ sauce this time. :)

Audie's thumb hovered over the delete button. Basil had warned her.

She deleted the message.

Continue to next part

Apex Bloom This is the definitive "Rags to Riches" journey of a woman who was treated as disposable, only to return and conquer the most dangerous man in the underworld. Apex Bloom isn't just a title; it is Franco's survival game-a lethal, high-stakes gauntlet designed to chew up the weak and spit out the broken. Lolita wasn't supposed to survive it; she was supposed to be another casualty. Instead, she broke the game and took the man who created it. The Disposal Lolita begins as a woman discarded. Betrayed by her husband, Lyle, she is stripped of everything and thrown into the gutters of London. She is left with nothing but her wits in a world designed to erase her. Lyle didn't just leave her; he disposed of her like a spent asset, assuming she would quietly disappear. He was wrong. Entering the Game: Franco Rossi In the wreckage of her life, Lolita is forced into the Apex Bloom-the brutal survival game orchestrated by Franco Rossi. Franco is the underworld's apex predator, a man who believes in a world of absolute Darwinian ruthlessness. His game is designed to test the limits of human endurance, and he expects Lolita to be a pawn, a victim, or a fleeting distraction. Breaking the Architect Lolita doesn't just play Franco's game; she dismantles it. Using her brilliant mind and a newfound, weaponised confidence, she turns the Bloom into her own instrument of ascent. But her most calculated victory is over Franco himself. Through an intoxicating display of dominant power and erotic prowess, Lolita targets the man behind the machine. She doesn't just win; she breaks Franco's stoic, masculine code, forcing a full surrender of his will. She seduces the power away from the enforcer, turning the architect of the game into her most devoted subject. She proves that her dominance isn't just about force-it's about a total, soul-deep conquest that leaves the city's most dangerous man kneeling at her feet. The Rags to Riches Ascent The journey from a discarded wife to the Queen of the Apex Bloom is paved with the ruin of those who underestimated her. Lolita uses her sexuality and her intellect as twin blades, seizing the wealth and the territories of the men who thought they were players. By the time the dust settles, she has achieved unimaginable riches and undisputed authority, standing at the head of an empire built on the shattered remains of Franco's former life. The Final Sovereignty The book concludes with Lolita standing at the absolute summit. Her marriage to Franco in the Cotswolds is the ultimate victory lap-a coronation where the man who once ran the game now serves its new Queen. They are bound by blood and law, but it is Lolita who holds the reins. The story ends with The Syndicate, the global masters of the underworld, watching in shock. They thought they were dealing with another street-level syndicate; instead, they have found a woman who took the most lethal survival game in existence and made it her own.

Adventure Mafia Romance

8.2

Apocalypse Descent: Farming with My Harem

8.2

When the Age of Ice open beta begins, all of humanity is suddenly transported into a brutal, frozen survival game. Starting with nothing but a small bonfire, players must constantly gather resources to upgrade their heat sources and unlock powerful structures. Having just arrived, Cao Xing activates the world's only SSS-grade talent, Eternal Power. Alongside his beautiful sister-in-law, he must build a mighty territory, recruit troops, and uncover the deep mysteries of this harsh, icy realm.

Adventure Fantasy LitRPG Mystery Romance

8.3

Betrayed Pilot's Redemption

8.3

Elite pilot Elias Thorne is left for dead after his own squadron betrays him during a high-stakes covert operation. Stripped of his rank and branded a traitor, he survives the wreckage with a singular focus on vengeance. Now operating from the shadows of the underground aviation circuit, Elias gathers a crew of outcasts to expose the conspiracy. He must outmaneuver his former allies in a dangerous game of aerial combat to reclaim his honor.

Action Adventure Modern

9.6

I Level Up When I Make My Wives Happy

9.6

After a fatal fall, construction worker Austin wakes up reincarnated as a weak, poisoned prince targeted by his power-hungry brothers. Lacking combat skills to survive this magical succession war, his fate changes when he binds with the Affection Leveling System. Instead of brutal exorcist training, Austin can gain immense power simply by building loving bonds with his two upcoming elven brides. Guided by romance and aided by loyal pumpkin warriors, can he secure a peaceful life?

Action Adventure Fantasy LitRPG Romance

8.6

Reborn to Ruin My Husband

8.6

After being fed to beasts by her husband Roland, a pregnant woman regresses to the day of a royal ambush. In her past life, signaling for Roland's help saved the King but caused his first love's death, leading to her own execution. Reborn in Reborn to Ruin My Husband, she refuses to light the flare. Instead, she shields King Dominic herself, leaving Roland with his first love. She is determined to survive and dismantle the life of the man who callously betrayed her and their unborn child.

Action Adventure Fantasy Romance

9.8

Rising From the Ashes of Betrayal

9.8

Queenie was the rightful heir of the Azurez Sect until a spirit hunt led to her cultivation being destroyed. Her fiancé, Julian, claimed he lost an arm to save her, leading her to consider a life of seclusion. However, she discovers that her father and Julian poisoned her to ensure Wendy could take the throne. Realizing her sacrifice was based on a lie, Queenie abandons her guilt. She sets out on a path of vengeance to tear down the sect and the men who betrayed her to the very core.

Action Adventure Fantasy Mystery

The Ruby Shackle: Bound To The Billionaire

Chapter 3

You may also like