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Zitella Shepp

16 Published Stories

Zitella Shepp's Books and Stories

From Prisoner to Phoenix: His Regret

From Prisoner to Phoenix: His Regret

Romance
5.0
For three years, I thought I was happily married to Gavin, a struggling MMA fighter. I worked two jobs to make ends meet, tending to his wounds, believing his love was the only thing keeping him going, especially since a car crash had wiped my memory clean, leaving him as my entire world. Then, scrubbing our tiny kitchen floor, the local news flashed a headline: "Tech giant Gavin Hawkins, CEO of Hawkins Industries, announced his engagement today to Vice President Heidi Daniel." The man on screen, standing in front of a skyscraper, embracing a stunning woman, was my husband. He wore a tailored suit, a stark contrast to the bruised fighter I knew. The small, carved wooden bird I' d painstakingly made for our anniversary rested against his chest as he kissed her deeply, possessively. My stomach twisted, my head pounded, and the steak I was cooking for him began to smoke, filling our cramped apartment with a bitter, burning smell. I stumbled out, hailing a cab to Hawkins Industries, desperate for answers. There, I saw him laughing with Heidi, oblivious to my presence. He silenced my call, texting, "In a meeting, baby. Can't talk. Be home late tonight. Don't wait up for me. I love you." The words blurred through my tears. A sob escaped, loud and raw. A flash of pain shot through my head, and then, the memories flooded back: the car crash wasn't an accident, Heidi Daniel was the driver, and Gavin, my father's protégé, had orchestrated this entire lie, this cruel test of my loyalty. He had taken everything-my identity, my wealth, my family-and thrown me into poverty, just to see if I would still love him unconditionally. He was a monster, and I was his prisoner. But a cold, hard resolve settled in my chest: I would burn his world to the ground, starting by faking my own death.
A Life Built on Their Lies

A Life Built on Their Lies

Modern
5.0
The phone call came at 7 PM on New Year' s Eve. My parents, struggling artists, were missing our countdown again for a "last-minute commission." I, Olivia, stared at a sad frozen pizza, preparing for another lonely night. But when I went to bring them dinner at their studio, I saw something that made my world tilt: a luxury SUV, my father in a tailored suit, my mother in a stunning gown, and a handsome boy my age. They laughed, a perfect, happy family heading into the city's most expensive restaurant. When I called out, their smiles vanished, replaced by panic. "What are you doing here?" my mother snapped. The boy, Julian, looked at my cheap clothes with disdain. "No one, Julian, just a… distant relative," my mother quickly said, shielding him from me. My father gave me a hard look. "Go home, Olivia. We' ll talk later." They walked away, leaving me on the cold pavement, the festive sounds from the restaurant mocking my pain. Back in the apartment, tears streaming down my face, I tore the place apart, desperate for answers. I found a hidden compartment in a wooden box: property deeds for luxury condos, stock certificates, and contracts for art sales worth millions. My parents weren't poor; they were immensely rich. They treated Julian with the love and pride I had always craved, while I was their shameful secret, their "distant relative." How could they? All my life, I had sacrificed everything, believing I was helping them escape poverty. My existence was a calculated charade. The truth was inescapable. The next morning, I heard my mother whispering on the phone to Julian: "Don' t worry about her. She doesn' t suspect a thing. We' ll keep it a secret, just like we always have. It' s for your own good, sweetheart." Their entire production, designed to keep me in a cage, was for his benefit. I had to get out.
His Deal, My Son's Death

His Deal, My Son's Death

Modern
5.0
The dull ache in my eight-year-old son, Leo' s, stomach quickly sharpened into something terrifying. His small body trembled, his face pale and beaded with sweat, as he whimpered, "It hurts, Mommy. It really hurts." Panic seized me as I dialed my husband, Ethan, only for him to pick up on the fourth try, irritated, "What, Olivia? I' m in the middle of something huge." He dismissed Leo' s 103-degree fever and my fear of appendicitis, declaring, "Give him some Tylenol. I can' t leave right now, this is a billion-dollar deal." Alone, I rushed Leo to the emergency room, enduring endless hours in a sterile waiting room. The doctor' s words shattered my world: "There were complications during the appendectomy. His appendix had ruptured. We did everything we could, but Leo didn' t make it." My vibrant, artistic boy was gone because his father was too busy. Just as the news began to sink in, Ethan called, his voice cheerful, "The meeting went great, we secured the funding. Is Leo feeling any better?" I choked out the words, "Leo' s dead, Ethan." He laughed, disbelieving, "That' s not funny, Olivia. Don' t joke about things like that." Only when his parents arrived, called by the hospital, did the truth begin to dawn, but his phone buzzed with an Instagram post of him toasting with Dr. Evelyn Reed, his college sweetheart, captioned, "Celebrating the future of AI with the one and only Ethan Vance. To new beginnings!" Richard Vance, Ethan' s father, roared, "Your son is dead, and you' re celebrating?!" before lunging at Ethan. In the chaos, they wheeled Leo' s body away. I screamed, "Don' t take him! That' s my baby!" before collapsing into darkness. I woke in the Vance mansion, the memory of Leo' s still face crushing me. I wanted a divorce, a clean break from the man who had let our son die. My in-laws, Richard and Eleanor, surprisingly supported me, their kindness a small comfort in my ocean of pain. Then Ethan burst in, rumpled and sneering, "Done with your little drama yet?" He grabbed my arm, demanding, "Get up, Olivia. We' re going home. Enough of this nonsense." His touch was repulsive, and I flinched away, my voice low and dangerous, "Don' t touch me." He laughed, "Or what? You' ll cry some more? You' re always so emotional. It' s exhausting." He continued, clueless to the pain he caused, "Are you going to tell me again that my son is dead just to get my attention?" My voice, clear and steady, cut through his ignorant rage, "He is, Ethan. Leo is dead." He just stared, completely unbelieving, until Richard physically dragged him from the room. A few days later, after a private cremation, I clutched Leo' s ashes, his vibrant life reduced to a small, heavy box. I drove home, needing to gather Leo' s things before leaving for good. But from the master bedroom came a low, feminine laugh, followed by Ethan' s familiar murmur. Evelyn was here, in my house, in my bed, while our son' s ashes were still warm in my hands. She emerged, wearing my silk robe, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Well, look what the cat dragged in," she cooed, "I thought you' d be off crying in a corner somewhere." Ethan didn' t even acknowledge me, or the box in my arms. Evelyn explained, "Honestly, Olivia, it' s for the best. Now he can focus on what' s really important. Our work." I turned my back on them, walking numbly to Leo' s room. As I passed the kitchen, Ethan saw the box. "What' s that?" he asked casually, "Some kind of sentimental junk you' re taking with you?" I stopped, my grip on the box tightening as I turned to him, my voice shaking with rage, "It' s Leo." He just shrugged, taking a drink of water, completely unfazed. I gently placed Leo' s ashes on his nightstand, whispered, "I' m sorry, baby," and began packing. At the bottom of his art bin, I found his last project: a half-finished watercolor painting of a sunset. It was a beautiful, incomplete masterpiece, and it shattered me. I sank to the floor, clutching the painting, sobbing for my son, his stolen future, and all the sunsets he would never paint. After the storm of grief passed, a cold, hard resolve set in. I left the house, not looking back, having placed divorce papers, drawn up months ago, squarely on Ethan' s desk. A text from Evelyn popped up on my phone, smug and petty, "Leaving so soon? Don' t let the door hit you on the way out. Ethan' s mine now. He always was." I crushed my phone under my car tire, the broken pieces a satisfying crunch on the asphalt. As I drove away, I saw Ethan watching me from the doorway, a flicker of confusion, maybe regret, on his face. But it was too late.
Too Late For Forgiveness, My Love

Too Late For Forgiveness, My Love

Billionaires
5.0
Elara Vance was ready to do anything for her husband, Ethan. Pregnant but determined, she was on the verge of inducing labor early to donate her kidney-a sacrifice she believed would save his life and secure their family's future. Still hazy from anesthesia, a chilling conversation pierced through the fog. Ethan' s voice, devoid of love, ordered their newborn son to be "discarded." Then, his closest friend, Jake, laughed, chillingly saying, "One kid a year to make her suffer for Chloe, man, that' s brutal!" The truth unfurled like a nightmare: Ethan' s love was a decade-long revenge plot. Chloe? His supposedly deceased fiancée. Every "accident" – two miscarriages, a staged mugging – were calculated attacks. He was never sick. He confessed he' d meticulously destroyed her life, planned to harvest her kidney, perform a hysterectomy, and leave her shamed and barren. The man she loved, the father of her murdered children, was a monster. Every tender touch, every shared dream, a meticulously crafted illusion. The realization hit like a physical blow: her entire life, built on his deceptive love, was a slaughterhouse. How could she have been so blind, so trusting? Paralyzed yet seething, Elara knew she had only one path. She would play his game of devotion, burying her rage deep. She was alive, battered and broken, but not defeated. Elara Vance would escape, and then, she would ensure Ethan Knight paid the ultimate price for his monstrous deception. Her survival was just the beginning of her real revenge.