Chains of the Crown: When Debt Becomes Destiny

Chains of the Crown: When Debt Becomes Destiny

Favour Nehemiah · Ongoing · 36.6k Words

480
Hot
480
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Isabella "Izzy" Cross thought her biggest problem was paying for college.

Then four ruthless mafia heirs showed up at her door, claiming her dead father owed them a blood debt worth two million dollars.
Since she can't pay with money, they'll take her instead.
Dragged into a world of violence and luxury, Izzy becomes the obsession of four deadly men:
Luca, the cold leader who sees her as a challenge;
Marco, the charming one who hides his cruelty behind smiles;
Nico, the quiet killer who watches her every move;
and Dante, the explosive wildcard who might just burn everything down for her.
Each brother offers her protection, passion, and pieces of a truth that could destroy everything she believes about her family.
As bullets fly and secrets surface, Izzy must decide: escape their golden cage or claim her place as queen of their dark empire.

In a world where love is the most dangerous weapon, four men will kill to keep her, and she might just let them.

Chapter 1

Isabella's POV

The coffee cup shattered against the floor, hot liquid splashing everywhere.

"I'm so sorry!" I dropped to my knees, grabbing napkins to clean up the mess. My hands shook as I wiped up the brown puddle spreading under table six.

The man in the dark suit looked down at me with those cold gray eyes. He didn't seem angry about his ruined pants or the coffee stain on his expensive shoes. He just watched me like I was some kind of puzzle he was trying to solve.

"It's fine," he said in that deep voice that always made my skin crawl. "Accidents happen."

But this wasn't an accident. My phone had been buzzing in my pocket for the past ten minutes, and I couldn't stop thinking about why Elena would call me during my shift. Elena never called unless something was really wrong.

"I'll get you another cup," I mumbled, still on my hands and knees.

"Don't bother." The man stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. "I think I'm done here."

He pulled out his wallet and dropped a fifty-dollar bill on the table. For a three-dollar cup of coffee that was now soaking into the old carpet.

"Keep the change," he said, but his eyes never left my face.

I scrambled to my feet, clutching the wet napkins. "Sir, this is too much. I can't—"

"You can." He buttoned his jacket with slow, careful movements. "Consider it payment for the show."

What show? I wanted to ask, but he was already walking toward the door. Just like every other Tuesday for the past month, he left exactly fifteen minutes after I served him. Like he had somewhere important to be. Or someone important to see.

"Izzy, honey, you okay?" Rita appeared beside me with a mop and bucket. Her motherly face was full of worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I stuffed the fifty into my apron pocket. "Just clumsy today."

"That man's been watching you for weeks," Rita said quietly, mopping up the remaining coffee. "Makes me nervous."

"He's probably just lonely." But even as I said it, I didn't believe it. Lonely men didn't wear thousand-dollar suits or drive cars that cost more than I made in two years. Lonely men didn't tip fifty dollars for spilled coffee.

My phone buzzed again. Then again.

"Rita, I need to check my phone. It might be important."

She nodded, taking the dirty napkins from my hands. "Go ahead, sugar. I'll finish here."

I hurried to the back room, my heart pounding. Elena had sent me seven text messages in the past fifteen minutes.

Call me now

Izzy, where are you?

This is important

Men came to the apartment

They're asking about your dad

CALL ME NOW

Something's wrong

My blood turned to ice. Men asking about Dad? He'd been dead for six months. What could anyone want to know about a quiet accountant who spent his life helping people with their taxes?

I dialed Elena's number with shaking fingers.

"Izzy, thank God." Elena's voice was tight with fear. "Where are you?"

"At work. What's going on? What men?"

"Three guys in suits. They knocked on the door an hour ago, said they needed to talk to you about Vincent Cross. When I told them you weren't here, they started asking questions about where you work, what your schedule is, when you'll be home."

"What kind of questions?"

"Scary ones. Like they already knew the answers and were just checking. Izzy, one of them had a gun. I saw it under his jacket when he leaned forward."

My legs felt weak. I sank into the old chair by Rita's desk. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but they said they'd be back. They said it was important that they talk to you about something your father left behind."

"Dad didn't leave anything behind." The words came out automatically, but even as I said them, I remembered the small wooden box hidden in my closet. The one Dad made me promise to keep safe, no matter what happened to him.

"Izzy, I'm scared. These weren't normal people. They felt dangerous."

"I'm coming home right now."

"No!" Elena's voice was sharp. "Don't come here. What if they're watching the apartment? What if they're waiting for you?"

"Then where am I supposed to go?"

"I don't know. Maybe call the police?"

"And tell them what? That some men in suits asked questions about my dead father?" I rubbed my forehead, trying to think. "They didn't actually threaten you, right? They didn't break any laws."

Elena was quiet for a moment. "No, I guess not. But Izzy, something about this feels really bad. Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise. Look, I'll finish my shift and then figure out what to do. Maybe they just want to ask about Dad's old clients or something."

"Maybe." But Elena didn't sound convinced.

After I hung up, I sat in the back room trying to make sense of what was happening. Dad had been an accountant. A boring, quiet man who helped people file their taxes and balance their books. He read mystery novels and watched old movies and made the world's worst pancakes every Sunday morning.

What could he possibly have left behind that would make dangerous men come looking for me?

I thought about the wooden box again. It contained family photos, my parents' wedding rings, and some old letters. Nothing important. Nothing worth threatening people over.

Right?

"Izzy?" Rita poked her head into the back room. "You've got another customer asking for you specifically."

My heart stopped. "Another man in a suit?"

"No, this one's younger. Jeans and a t-shirt. Says his name is Danny or David or something with a D."

I followed Rita back to the dining area, expecting to see another stranger with cold eyes and expensive clothes. Instead, I found a guy about my age sitting at the counter. He had dark hair and bright green eyes, and when he smiled at me, it actually reached his eyes.

"You must be Isabella," he said. "I'm Dante."

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet. But I know you." His smile faded slightly. "I know your father too."

The world seemed to tilt sideways. "My father's dead."

"I know. I'm sorry for your loss." Dante's voice was gentle, but there was something underneath it. Something that made me think of the man in the expensive suit who'd been watching me for weeks.

"What do you want?"

"To help you." Dante glanced around the diner, then leaned closer. "Those men who visited your friend Elena? They work for some very bad people. People who think your father took something from them."

"My father was an accountant. He didn't take anything from anyone."

"Maybe not on purpose." Dante's green eyes were serious now. "But he had information. Information that could hurt a lot of powerful people."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do." Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. It showed my father sitting at a table with several men I didn't recognize. They all looked wealthy, important. And dangerous.

"Where did you get this?"

"That's not important right now. What matters is that these people want something your father had. And they think you know where it is."

"Well, I don't."

Dante studied my face for a long moment. "Maybe you don't realize you do."

Before I could ask what he meant, my phone rang. Elena's name appeared on the screen.

"Answer it," Dante said. "But put it on speaker."

"Why would I—"

"Because those men are back at your apartment. And this time, they're not just asking questions."

My hands shook as I answered the call.

"Izzy?" Elena's voice was barely a whisper. "They came back. They're inside the apartment. They're tearing everything apart, looking for something."

"Get out of there," I said. "Right now."

"I can't. They'll see me. I'm hiding in the bathroom, but I don't think they'll leave until they find what they want."

In the background, I could hear crashing sounds. Furniture being moved. Drawers being yanked open and dumped.

"They're in your room now," Elena whispered. "Oh God, Izzy, what did your father do?"

Dante reached across the counter and took the phone from my hands.

"Elena, this is Dante. I'm with Izzy. I need you to stay exactly where you are and keep quiet. Help is coming."

"Who are you?" Elena asked.

"Someone who's going to keep both of you alive." Dante ended the call and looked at me with those intense green eyes. "Isabella Cross, your normal life just ended. The question is: are you going to trust me to help you survive what comes next?"

Outside the diner window, I saw the man in the expensive suit standing by a black car. He was talking on his phone, and when he looked through the glass, he smiled at me.

It wasn't a nice smile.

"Those men in your apartment work for the Kozlov family," Dante said quietly. "The man outside works for my family. Both families want the same thing. But only one of them will let you live after they get it."

"What thing?" I whis

pered.

Dante's smile was sad and somehow gentle despite everything he'd just told me.

"The thing your father made you promise to keep safe, no matter what happened to him.”

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

A PRINCESS IN DISGUISE; BOUND TO THE ENEMY KING

A PRINCESS IN DISGUISE; BOUND TO THE ENEMY KING

5.3k Views · Ongoing · Jennifer Nwabueze
"You will be married to the King of Grok on the fourth night, and that's final!"

I fell to my knees, the cold marble digging into my skin. I had studied for years in the flickering candlelight, memorizing every herb and poison to pass the healer's exam. I wanted freedom. I wanted to save my mother from the servant's quarters. I placed second. I thought I had won my life back.

But the King didn't give me a badge of honor. He gave me a death sentence.

"Raven Thorne shall be wed to the King of Grok," he announced, his voice echoing in the silent hall. Princess Ellie, the woman who had tormented me for years, slapped her hands over her mouth to hide her cruel laughter. She was supposed to marry the Beast. Now, I was the lamb being sent to the slaughter in her place.

They say King Liam drinks the blood of his enemies. They say he is more monster than man. And now, I have to walk into his bedroom, wearing the Princess's silk gown, and pray he doesn't tear me apart.

I looked at the King, tears streaming down my face. "I'll do it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "But my mother must be safe."

I sold my body and soul to a monster to save her. But when the carriage door opened and I finally looked into the Beast's golden eyes, I realized the terrifying truth...

He wasn't a stranger. He was the man I met in the woods.
Where The Ice Gives Way

Where The Ice Gives Way

53.6k Views · Completed · Sheridan Hartin
Charlotte Pierce is used to surviving in motion. New towns, new schools, the same old house on the edge of nowhere, and the same rule that keeps her standing. Keep her twin brother, Charlie safe. Keep his hockey dream alive. Keep her own needs quiet. She works too much, sleeps too little, and saves the one thing that still feels like hers for the middle of the night, when she can lace up her worn skates and carve freedom into dangerous frozen ice. Charlotte and Charlie shifted once, years ago, and never understood what it meant. They had no pack, no guidance and no protection. Just two twins clinging to each other and pretending the voice in their heads was stress, imagination, or loneliness. Then they move to Wellington.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)

Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
The Princess's Revenge

The Princess's Revenge

63.8k Views · Completed · Xena Kessler
Two nations are at war. Valencia's pack is massacred by Alpha Marcus, and she is enslaved by him. When he dies, she is to be buried alive with him as a sacrifice.

Alpha Logan is an illegitimate son whose mother disappeared when he was 10 years old. He grew up suffering from humiliation and lacking maternal love.

Alpha Logan saves Valencia at Marcus's funeral, which seems to be destined by fate—part of the Moon Goddess's grand plan.

As Valencia accidentally discovers prophecies in Logan's mother's diary that seem to be related to her, the truth gradually surfaces. Valencia appears to be merely a tool in a princess's revenge plot. How will Logan and Valencia navigate their path amid the national war and pack politics?
Cursed Fates

Cursed Fates

1.6k Views · Ongoing · Taylor Ashcraft
Charlotte Sinclair was murdered at the hands of her abusive boyfriend. After dying, she wakes up in the body of another. She pieces together information from her first day as Aribella Voss, realizing that she's been reincarnated into a book she knew all too well. The only problem: She was fated to die in this story as well. She sets out on a mission to ensure that doesn't happen, but when she begins changing important parts of the story, she also changes the plot of the story she knew. Without the upper hand, Aribella no longer has idea what lies in her future.
First Taste in a Century​

First Taste in a Century​

1k Views · Ongoing · Sherry
Fresh out of college and fumbling through his first year in the real world, twenty-two-year-old Lysander wanders away from a friend’s party and into an isolated forest. There, he stumbles upon the high-tech laboratory hidden within the ancient castle of Vivienne—a vampire who has spent one century cultivating solitude. Disgusted by the intimacy required to hunt, she long ago withdrew from humanity, passing the endless decades perfecting homemade synthetic blood rather than sampling the countless varieties of plasma she grew tired of.

But Lysander’s arrival spells disaster. In a clumsy accident, he doesn't just ruin dinner; he obliterates her state-of-the-art scientific instruments. With her life’s work destroyed and her synthetic supply cut off, the scent of his living blood overwhelms her engineered senses. Forced to break a century-long abstinence, she takes what she needs, only to find herself addicted not just to his taste, but to the man himself.

Using the equipment as a flimsy excuse to lure him back, Vivienne battles a terrifying new obsession. She craves his body despite believing he’s taken, despising her own weakness. Meanwhile, Lysander’s initial terror curdles into a forbidden fascination. Can a relationship survive when one person feels everything, and the other only hungers?
Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

238.6k Views · Ongoing · My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Survival Island

Survival Island

3.7k Views · Ongoing · Jacky Westbury
Zara lived a steady life. She was a primary school teacher and loved her job. She was not a social butterfly and only had one person she considered a friend and that was her best friend, Ivy. She liked her quiet life after growing up in foster care, the quiet was nice.Until her best friend’s husband and his mistress decided to kill Ivy and frame Zara. Now she has been sent to Survival Island--a deadly prison where convicted criminals fight to the death for a chance at freedom and a $10 million prize.
Zane, a powerful vampire and the island's owner, has spent centuries unable to feel desire for any woman. But when he notices Zara's intelligence, resilience, and determination to survive, she awakens something in him that no one ever has. For the first time in his vampire life, he is interested in a female, and his member is also starting to come to life. Who is this woman and why does he suddenly crave her and not just for her blood?
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

944.3k Views · Completed · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
Mated To My Ruin: A Dragon's Debt

Mated To My Ruin: A Dragon's Debt

1.9k Views · Ongoing · ashlennox8
Nyx would risk anything to save her dying sister. Even steal from a dragon. Even trust a prince who promised her a crown in exchange for the impossible.

But the prince lied. The dragon she touched bound itself to her soul and now she is trapped in the vampire kingdom with a king who has waited centuries for her return. King Caelan remembers everything. The love she destroyed and the great war she started. The lives she burned to ash with the very dragon now living inside her.

She remembers nothing.

He wants her to suffer for crimes she cannot recall. She wants to survive long enough to save her sister. But the bond between them refuses to stay buried and the dragon has its own plans. When she turns twenty and her fae powers awaken, Nyx discovers the truth is far more twisted than centuries of hatred.

The prince who sent her was the one who destroyed her family. The king who hates her saved the only person she loves. And the past life she cannot remember might be the key to stopping another war.

This time she will not run. This time she will burn the world herself if that is what it takes.
Human Capture (Up North #2)

Human Capture (Up North #2)

1.6k Views · Ongoing · eenboterham
She was a ghost in the trees. Now, she is a prisoner of the pack.

Raised in a starving settlement choked by a vast, unforgiving forest, Lara learned early that survival has a price. To keep her family alive, she became a master hunter—agile, silent, and deadly with an array of mismatched blades. But the forest has eyes, and one evening, the shadows dragged her away.

Nine months later, Lara breaks free from a concrete dungeon, only to find herself stranded in the lawless, rogue-infested wilds of Avers Land alongside four captured werewolf girls. Seeking refuge in the neighboring territory of Illyen, she expects to find a way back to her human life. Instead, she is brought face-to-face with Alpha Rowan, the terrifying, ruthless ruler of the frozen North.

One look into Lara’s eyes, and the Alpha’s world shatters. His eyes turn an absolute shade of black. The bond is undeniable. She is his fated mate.

But a human cannot survive the brutal political landscape of the North, and Rowan openly rejects the bond, dragging her onto a warship bound for a kingdom that views her as a fragile liability. Trapped between a mate who refuses to love her and a court of monsters waiting for her to break, Lara must use every hunter's instinct she possesses. Because in the realm of wolves, a human must either grow claws of her own—or perish in the snow.
The Dark Witch & The Alpha Book 2

The Dark Witch & The Alpha Book 2

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Kassy Rae Wall
Pythia comes from a long line of dark witches, she killed her mother for her reckless behavior and becomes the queen of the dark witches and teamed up with the Great White Witch and the vampire queen to fight in the battle to keep the balance in all the different worlds, she meets her mate, Tye in the great battle. Tye is the great white witches brother and a alpha. Together they will embark on a battle to correct the elders and take a step forward to peace among the dark witches, the road is long especially when they find out Pythias true royalty line. When realms collide and the moon goddess has to step in and not only aid because of the new found threat but to tell the secrets she has helped keep hidden for many years, Pythia is forced to train harder, work harder and plan for the absolute unexpected but, as she learns her true powers she starts to realize that she can handle anything that may threaten her and her family.
The vampire queen (Ambrosia) and Pythia will become close and discover the true origins of their pasts. They rely on each other when their mates are not around. New family is discovered and it is time they all come together to face one of the toughest moments in the dark witches history.
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.8m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!