Betrayal in His Arms

Betrayal in His Arms

Beth Rose May

5.0
Comment(s)
120
View
37
Chapters

Betrayal in His Arms A Dark Billionaire Mafia Romance of Love, Lies, and Revenge Isabella Lane thought she knew what monsters looked like. Until she met Adrian Steele-the billionaire who ruled Valoria's underworld with a glance that could freeze fire. Her mission was simple: get close, make him trust her, and end his life. But nothing about Adrian is simple. He's sin wrapped in silk, danger disguised as charm. One touch burns, one look unravels everything she thought she was. Adrian has built empires on fear and loyalty, yet one small, curvy stranger makes his control slip. Her laughter softens his rage; her secrets tempt him to risk the kingdom he swore to protect. He doesn't know she's the weapon aimed at his heart-or that loving her will destroy them both. When truth bleeds through lies, passion turns to ruin. In a city where every promise costs blood, Isabella must choose between the man she loves and the vengeance that made her. And Adrian will learn that the greatest betrayal isn't from an enemy's bullet-but from the woman in his arms.

Betrayal in His Arms Chapter 1 The Encounter

The ballroom of the Valoria Grand looks like money turned into light. Crystal drops scatter reflections across marble; champagne flutes lift and fall with mechanical grace. A string quartet plays something expensive and forgettable.

Adrian Steele enters through the east doors.

Movement stops the way air pauses before thunder. Heads turn as conversations trip and recover. His security shadows him but keeps their distance; he doesn't need guards to announce him. The cut of his suit, the stillness of his face, the weight of his gaze do it for him. That's Adrian Steele after all, the most heartless been in Valoria.

Adrian moves as if the crowd exists only to frame the space around him. He scans faces-senators, bankers, heirs, women dressed like promises-and registers nothing. Then a figure near the champagne fountain catches his attention.

A person in a red dress. Not crimson for fashion, not burgundy for taste. Red that breaks the pattern. A woman stands there, small, curved, self-contained. Her dress glows under the chandeliers like a flare in mist. She smiles politely at something an older man says, but her eyes flick toward the doors, as if measuring exits.

Adrian's focus sharpens. He alters course without hurry.

Across the room, Isabella Lane feels the ripple before she sees him. People tilt subtly toward a center she can't yet name. When she finally spots him, she understands the stories: the billionaire who built an empire on silence and fear; the man her handler told her must die. She hadn't expected him to look human at all. Hell no! She expected scares on his face, or a mask perhaps.

But with the figure she looking at, God! He's hot and sexy. Any lady can actually fall for him at first sight. He looks better than human-sharper, colder. Beauty engineered for intimidation.

Her pulse stumbles. She mutters to herself, "control it Bella, mission first".

A waiter stops beside her. "Champagne, miss?"

She takes a glass she won't drink and lifts it to her lips to hide the tremor.

Adrian crosses the last few steps. The orchestra changes tempo; chandeliers sway slightly from the movement of air-conditioning vents. Details record themselves without effort: the scent of her perfume, citrus cut with something warmer; the way her shoulders square before she turns.

"Miss Lane," he says.

She meets his eyes. "Mr. Steele. I'm surprised you remember me."

"I remember things that interrupt the usual noise."

Her hand is smaller than he expects. The handshake is brief; contact is a spark contained inside etiquette. She withdraws first.

"You don't belong to this circle," he observes.

"Then maybe I'm lost," she says lightly.

"But ... you don't look lost."

His attention is direct but not intrusive, it's more like observation disguised as interest. She feels it like heat against her skin.

He gestures toward the balcony. "Walk with me. The air's better outside."

She hesitates exactly long enough to seem reluctant, then follows.

The city waits beyond glass doors, a mosaic of light reflected on the harbor. Music muffles behind them.

When they get outside, Adrian rests one hand on the railing, gaze sliding over the skyline. "Valoria looks clean from up here."

"Most things do from a distance," Isabella answers with a smile.

He turns slightly, considering her profile. "You have a quick mouth."

"You sound surprised, Mr Steele." She says in between a wry smile.

"Well, personally I prefer accuracy."

A thin smile touches her lips. He's testing you. Keep breathing.

Inside his mind, a quieter note: She isn't afraid enough.

He shifts closer, not to threaten but to study. "What brings you to a room like that one?"

"Work," she says. "Event planning. I fill space with pretty distractions."

"Successful, apparently." His tone doesn't flatter; it evaluates.

She glances at him. "And you? Do you fill space or own it?"

He lets the question hang. "Owning is easier don't you think?

The breeze moves her hair. She tucks a strand behind her ear, unaware the motion draws his eyes to her throat. He notes the rapid beat there, the effort to appear calm.

Moments later back inside, the quartet ends its piece. Applause seeps through glass.

Adrian straightens. "You don't like being in the crowds?

She seem startled by his question more like she wasn't expecting it "Hmm .... Not exactly just that I like seeing who hides in them."

"That could be dangerous."

"So could ignoring them."

He smiles-an expression that never quite reaches his eyes. "Danger's relative."

They return to the ballroom. The crowd swallows them again. Adrian leads her toward the dance floor. "Do you dance, Miss Lane?"

"Not often."

"Then tonight, you do."

He takes her hand. The orchestra begins another slow number, strings low and deliberate. Their bodies find rhythm easily; the air tightens around them.

Observers watch discreetly. Rumor starts its quiet orbit.

Isabella keeps her smile measured. "Wow! You command rooms the way generals command soldiers."

"That kinda is an habit, or should I call it a part of me" he says smiling.

"God, how can someone be this handsome? Isabella mutters under her breath. Then trying to get her focus back without looking worried or better still before she says something wield, she asks. "And what's the battlefield tonight?"

"Conversation."

"Then you're winning."

He studies her again, this time closer. "Maybe you let me."

The music swells; they move through the pattern without looking down. To onlookers they are elegant, nothing more. But their thoughts run elsewhere-hers mapping escape routes, his cataloguing inconsistencies.

The song ends. Applause again. Adrian's hand lingers at her waist a heartbeat too long before releasing her.

"Thank you," he says. "For the company."

"It was hardly company," she replies. "More like observation."

"Then I observed something worthwhile."

She inclines her head, polite. "Goodnight, Mr. Steele."

"For now," he answers.

She walks away through the shifting light. As she walks she feels a lot of eyes in that moment are on her back, the sway of red fabric, then cuts to Adrian watching.

Marcus, his security chief, appears beside him. "Boss, you know her?"

"No .... not yet, but I will now."

Marcus keeps his voice low. "Want me to check?"

Adrian's eyes follow the exit where she disappears. "Yes do that."

The hallway outside the ballroom hums with quieter power. Footsteps on marble, the soft slide of elevator doors, the faint buzz of phones that never stop vibrating. Isabella keeps her pace steady, her heartbeat faster than her heels admit.

A black car waits under the awning. Cameras flash; no one pays attention to another beautiful woman leaving a party. So she slips inside.

The city rushes past the tinted glass. Neon bleeds across her reflection.

"You made contact?

The voice through her earpiece is thin, mechanical.

She answers under her breath. "Yes, I did"

"Describe him."

She hesitates. "Calculated. Charismatic. He looks at people like he's already taken them apart."

"Okay, nice. That's the man you have to break. Don't forget why you're there."

The voice says sternly as the line clicks off. Silence fills the car except for the pulse in her ears. She exhales, slow. I won't forget. Yet the memory of his hand around hers lingers like static.

Continue Reading

You'll also like

Revealing My Secret Identities! My Bros Are Speechless!

Revealing My Secret Identities! My Bros Are Speechless!

Zhen Xiang
5.0

For seventeen years, I was the crown jewel of the Kensington empire, the perfect daughter groomed for a royal future. Then, a cream-colored envelope landed in my lap, bearing a gold crest and a truth that turned my world into ice. The DNA test result was a cold, hard zero percent-I wasn't a Kensington. Before the ink could even dry, my parents invited my replacement, a girl named Alleen, into the drawing room and treated me like a trespasser in my own home. My mother, who once hosted galas in my honor, wouldn't even look me in the eye as she stroked Alleen's arm, whispering that she was finally "safe." My father handed me a one-million-dollar check-a mere tip for a billionaire-and told me to leave immediately to avoid tanking the company's stock price. "You're a thief! You lived my life, you spent my money, and you don't get to keep the loot!" Alleen shrieked, trying to claw the designer jacket off my shoulders while my "parents" watched with clinical detachment. I was dumped on a gritty sidewalk in Queens with nothing but three trunks and the address of a struggling laborer I was now supposed to call "Dad." I traded a marble mansion for a crumbling walk-up where the air smelled of exhaust and my new bedroom was a literal storage closet. My biological family thought I was a broken princess, and the Kensingtons thought they had successfully erased me with a payoff and a non-disclosure agreement. They had no idea that while I was hauling trunks up four flights of stairs, my secret media empire was already preparing to move against them. As I sat on a thin mattress in the dark, I opened my encrypted laptop and sent a single command that would cost my former father ten million dollars by breakfast. They thought they were throwing me to the wolves, but they forgot one thing: I'm the one who leads the pack.

The Convict Heiress: Marrying The Billionaire

The Convict Heiress: Marrying The Billionaire

Rollins Laman
5.0

The heavy thud of the release stamp was the only goodbye I got from the warden after five years in federal prison. I stepped out into the blinding sun, expecting the same flash of paparazzi bulbs that had seen me dragged away in handcuffs, but there was only a single black limousine idling on the shoulder of the road. Inside sat my mother and sister, clutching champagne and looking at my frayed coat with pure disgust. They didn't offer a welcome home; instead, they tossed a thick legal document onto the table and told me I was dead to the city. "Gavin and I are getting engaged," my sister Mia sneered, flicking a credit card at me like I was a stray dog. "He doesn't need a convict ex-fiancée hanging around." Even after I saved their lives from an armed kidnapping attempt by ramming the attackers off the road, they rewarded me by leaving me stranded in the dirt. When I finally ran into Gavin, the man who had framed me, he pinned me against a wall and threatened to send me back to a cell if I ever dared to show my face at their wedding. They had stolen my biotech research, ruined my name, and let me rot for half a decade while they lived off my brilliance. They thought they had broken me, leaving me with nothing but an expired chapstick and a few old photos in a plastic bag. What they didn't know was that I had spent those five years becoming "Dr. X," a shadow consultant with five hundred million dollars in crypto and a secret that would bring the city to its knees. I wasn't just a victim anymore; I was a weapon, and I was pregnant with the heir they thought they had erased. I walked into the Melton estate and made an offer to the most powerful man in New York. "I'll save your grandfather's life," I told Horatio Melton, staring him down. "But the price is your last name. I'm taking back what's mine, and I'm starting with the man who thinks he's marrying my sister."

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

My Alpha's Heartless Contract Wife

Rabbit
5.0

"Anya, a 'wolfless' in a world of powerful werewolves, was invisible, drowning her sorrows and desperately lonely. One drunken text, a desperate cry for attention, accidentally reached the Alpha, pulling her into his terrifying orbit. Now, she's trapped, a pawn in his game, forced to warm his bed while he waits for his true mate, her heart breaking with every stolen moment. As a 'wolfless' in the Blackwood Pack, Anya felt like an outsider, always yearning for a connection. One night, in a drunken haze, a misdirected text meant for her best friend landed in Alpha Declan Blackwood's inbox: ""Send me something hot."" Minutes later, the most powerful, terrifying man in the Pack stood at her door, claiming her with a possessive kiss that ignited a dangerous, unwanted fire. The next morning, his cold indifference shattered her world. Publicly humiliated and instantly fired, Anya became a pariah. Her dying mother's urgent need for a million-dollar heart transplant left her with an impossible choice: accept the Alpha's cold, transactional marriage proposal or watch her mother die. She became his ""placeholder"" wife, a contract, not a partner, all while battling a confusing attraction to the man who treated her as property. Why did he demand her, only to remind her constantly of her worthlessness, especially when everyone knew he waited for his true mate? Her world crumbled when she overheard Declan tell his returning ""true mate,"" Kristin Larsen, that Anya was ""just a substitute."" Despite the crushing betrayal and a strange, unyielding pull, Anya, fueled by her mother's desperate need, vowed to survive this gilded cage and reclaim her life before she lost herself completely."

Reborn Heiress: The Wolf's Vengeance Deal

Reborn Heiress: The Wolf's Vengeance Deal

Sibeal Sallese
5.0

I lay paralyzed on stiff white sheets, a prisoner in my own skin, listening to the rain lash against the window like nails on a coffin. My father, Elmore Franco, didn't even look at my face as he checked his clipboard. He just listened to the steady, monotonous beep of the heart monitor-the only thing proving I was still alive. Without a hint of remorse, he pulled a pen from his pocket and signed the Do Not Resuscitate order. My stepmother, Ophelia, stepped out from behind him, wearing my favorite pearl necklace and smelling of cloying perfume. She leaned close to my ear to whisper the truth that turned my blood to ice. "It was the tea, darling. Just like your mother. A slow, tasteless poison." She chuckled as she revealed that my fiancé, Bryce, had a two-year-old son with my sister, Daniela. My inheritance had been funding their secret life for years, and now that the money was secure, I was an inconvenience they were finally scrubbing away. As my father yanked the power cord from the wall, the beeping died, and the darkness swallowed me whole. I was being murdered by my own flesh and blood, used as a bank account until I was no longer needed. I died in that sterile room, drowning in the realization that every person I ever loved was a monster who had been waiting for me to take my last breath. Then, I gasped. I woke up in a luxury hotel suite surrounded by silk sheets, five years in the past-the very morning of my wedding. Next to me lay Basile Delgado, the "Wolf of Wall Street" and my family's most dangerous enemy. In my first life, I ran from this room in a panic and lost everything. This time, I looked at the man who would eventually destroy my father's empire and decided to join him. "I'm not leaving, Basile. Marry me. Right now. Today."

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book
Betrayal in His Arms Betrayal in His Arms Beth Rose May Mafia
“Betrayal in His Arms A Dark Billionaire Mafia Romance of Love, Lies, and Revenge Isabella Lane thought she knew what monsters looked like. Until she met Adrian Steele-the billionaire who ruled Valoria's underworld with a glance that could freeze fire. Her mission was simple: get close, make him trust her, and end his life. But nothing about Adrian is simple. He's sin wrapped in silk, danger disguised as charm. One touch burns, one look unravels everything she thought she was. Adrian has built empires on fear and loyalty, yet one small, curvy stranger makes his control slip. Her laughter softens his rage; her secrets tempt him to risk the kingdom he swore to protect. He doesn't know she's the weapon aimed at his heart-or that loving her will destroy them both. When truth bleeds through lies, passion turns to ruin. In a city where every promise costs blood, Isabella must choose between the man she loves and the vengeance that made her. And Adrian will learn that the greatest betrayal isn't from an enemy's bullet-but from the woman in his arms.”
1

Chapter 1 The Encounter

27/11/2025

2

Chapter 2 Connected

27/11/2025

3

Chapter 3 Dangerous Fascination

27/11/2025

4

Chapter 4 An Invitation to Danger

27/11/2025

5

Chapter 5 Decision

27/11/2025

6

Chapter 6 Irresistible pull

27/11/2025

7

Chapter 7 Temptation in Shadows

07/12/2025

8

Chapter 8 Irresistible Yearning

07/12/2025

9

Chapter 9 First Kiss

07/12/2025

10

Chapter 10 First Kiss

07/12/2025

11

Chapter 11 Suspicion and Longing

12/12/2025

12

Chapter 12 Passionate Desires

13/12/2025

13

Chapter 13 Heat in the Dark

13/12/2025

14

Chapter 14 Between Lies and Desire

15/12/2025

15

Chapter 15 A Dangerous Confession

15/12/2025

16

Chapter 16 Real

15/12/2025

17

Chapter 17 Chains of Desire

15/12/2025

18

Chapter 18 Poisoned Choices

17/12/2025

19

Chapter 19 The Confrontation

17/12/2025

20

Chapter 20 Truth in Shadows

19/12/2025

21

Chapter 21 Obsession

22/12/2025

22

Chapter 22 The Enemy Moves

30/12/2025

23

Chapter 23 The Capture

30/12/2025

24

Chapter 24 The More You Look

30/12/2025

25

Chapter 25 Torn Between Love and Lies

30/12/2025

26

Chapter 26 Blood on the Marble

30/12/2025

27

Chapter 27 Shock

30/12/2025

28

Chapter 28 Seduction as a Weapon

30/12/2025

29

Chapter 29 The Trap Springs

30/12/2025

30

Chapter 30 Shattered Bonds

30/12/2025

31

Chapter 31 One More Night

30/12/2025

32

Chapter 32 Dawn's Fragile Promise

30/12/2025

33

Chapter 33 Erupted

30/12/2025

34

Chapter 34 The Bullet

30/12/2025

35

Chapter 35 Fading Light

30/12/2025

36

Chapter 36 The Broken King

30/12/2025

37

Chapter 37 Rain on Her

30/12/2025