She thought love would save her. Instead, it killed her. On the night she believed she would finally be his, Lucian betrayed her. When she threatened to expose their secret, he chose silence the cruelest way-by sending someone to end her life. But death was not the end. Years later, she returns in disguise, no longer the innocent girl who bled for him. Now she is Adrian Vale-a powerful man with money, influence, and one mission: to destroy the man who destroyed her. Yet when she meets Lucian again, obsession burns hotter than hate. He is jealous, possessive, and dangerously drawn to this mysterious stranger... never realizing the ghost of his past stands before him. Will she ruin him as planned, or will love betray her again? "When love kills, the dead do not rest... they return for revenge." ---
The chapel smelled of roses and sin.
Her hands trembled as she clutched the silk of her gown, not from nerves, but from the weight of secrets pressing down on her chest. She wasn't supposed to be here - not as a bride, not standing beneath crystal chandeliers, not waiting for him. But she had sacrificed everything: her youth, her pride, even her soul, for this man.
Her brother's best friend.
The man who had taught her what love felt like.
The man who was about to betray her.
"Why do you look so pale, darling?" His voice was smooth, teasing, but she heard the steel beneath it as he stepped closer. He looked devastating in his tailored suit, dark eyes glittering like obsidian. To everyone else he was charming, untouchable - but she knew the monster behind the mask.
She smiled bitterly. "Because you're walking away from me."
His jaw tightened. "You knew this was never meant to last."
Her chest burned. "I gave you everything. I lied for you. I covered your sins. And now, on the day you swore to stand beside me, you're choosing her?"
He didn't flinch. "This isn't about love. It's about survival. My family demands the alliance. I marry her, or I lose everything."
She laughed, sharp and broken. "And what about me? Do I just disappear? Pretend you never touched me, never swore I was the only one?"
His silence was louder than any answer.
Rage and desperation tangled inside her. "No. If you walk away from me, I'll tell them. All of them. My brother, your family, your precious fiancée. I'll tell them what we've done. I'll ruin you."
The temperature in the room shifted. His eyes darkened, stripping away the last shred of warmth. When he spoke, his voice was ice.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Her heart stuttered. "W-what do you mean?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he raised a hand. A shadow moved from the corner - a man in black, face hidden, gun gleaming under the light.
Terror clawed her throat. "No. You wouldn't."
But he did nothing to stop it. He just watched her, eyes burning with something she couldn't name. Regret? Anger? Or was it simply indifference?
The gun fired.
Pain bloomed across her chest like a crimson flower. The world tilted, her knees buckling as blood spilled across the white of her gown. She gasped, choking, reaching for him.
"Why?" Her voice cracked, raw, broken.
For the first time, he looked away.
The last thing she saw was the man she loved turning his back, leaving her to drown in roses and silence.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
---
-
Chapter 1 The Wedding that Wasn't
05/09/2025
Chapter 2 The Man in the Mirror
05/09/2025
Chapter 3 The Gala of Ghosts
06/09/2025
Chapter 4 Breakfast, Alibis, and a Tour at Ten
06/09/2025
Chapter 5 Brothers don't Lie
06/09/2025
Chapter 6 Lunch With the Enemy
06/09/2025
Chapter 7 The Table of Three
06/09/2025
Chapter 8 A Toast too Far
07/09/2025
Chapter 9 Ghosts in the Dark
07/09/2025
Chapter 10 Digging Graves
07/09/2025
Chapter 11 The Invitation
08/09/2025
Chapter 12 Paper Ghosts
08/09/2025
Chapter 13 Dangerous Proximity
09/09/2025
Chapter 14 Proof of Betrayal
09/09/2025
Chapter 15 The Cage Tightens
11/09/2025
Chapter 16 The Door Without a Key
11/09/2025
Chapter 17 The Street of Shadows
11/09/2025
Chapter 18 Blood in the Dust
11/09/2025
Chapter 19 Hunted
13/09/2025
Chapter 20 The River
14/09/2025
Chapter 21 Into the river
14/09/2025
Chapter 22 The Door Opens
15/09/2025
Chapter 23 Shadows in the Boathouse
15/09/2025
Chapter 24 Between breaths
17/09/2025
Chapter 25 The Ledger Room
17/09/2025
Chapter 26 Eyes That See To Much
18/09/2025
Chapter 27 Shadows Between Us
18/09/2025
Chapter 28 Run Until the Sky Breaks
20/09/2025
Chapter 29 The Ghost Fights Back
20/09/2025
Chapter 30 Blood and Silence
20/09/2025
Chapter 31 The Weight of the blood
20/09/2025
Chapter 32 Fever Dreams
21/09/2025
Chapter 33 A Kiss in the Dark
21/09/2025
Chapter 34 Ashes Between Us
22/09/2025
Chapter 35 Fragile Night
22/09/2025
Chapter 36 Hunted
23/09/2025
Chapter 37 Threading the Needle
23/09/2025
Chapter 38 Fire in the Rearview
24/09/2025
Chapter 39 Blood Between us
25/09/2025
Chapter 40 Ashes in the Depot
25/09/2025