1632 Book(s) Related to once a pauper system upgraded

Ethan Ashworth had nothing — no money, no family, no future. Just a rundown room, a handsome face that brought him nothing but pain, and the daily beatings from rich bullies who saw him as trash.

Then came the brutal ambush behind the school building. Left bleeding and alone as the weekend began, Ethan finally gave up on life.

That was when the voice spoke.

[Bloodline Legacy Contract activated.]

Suddenly, the frail orphan from the slums was thrust into another world — a realm of magic, kings, and monsters. With a mysterious system at his side and a sword in his hand, Ethan must complete deadly missions to grow stronger.

Because back home, the rich still rule… and he has a score to settle.

Lucas Ashworth was born into a dying body and a crumbling world. Orphaned, sick, and talentless, he barely survived the Day of Awakening when the System descended and turned Earth into a battlefield of monsters and Towers.

Five years later, still stuck at Level 11 with no talent and no future, Lucas faces his end on a blood-stained street as a red Abyss Gate opens beside him. High-level Gifted arrive to fight the monster — but they leave him to die.

In his final moments, something ancient stirs inside the frail young man with snow-white hair.

The System has one last card to play… and this time, it might not let him stay weak.

What if Cinderella absolutely hated Prince Charming?

Several years and a handful of scandals were enough to make Taliana Avilla forget all about her sworn enemy, Sebastian Phillips. Too bad a one-night stand and a lost diamond ring made her remember all over again.

They said evolution takes millions of years. They were wrong.

Alex Chen is a broke, burned-out programmer stuck in a dead-end tech job—until he stumbles upon a mysterious digital interface only he can see: [SYSTEM DETECTED]
With one blink, his world changes. Strength. Reflexes. Memory. Intelligence. Everything is upgradable.

But he's not the only one. Others are evolving—faster, stronger, more dangerous. Shadowy corporations want to control the system. A hidden cabal is already rewriting humanity. And at the center of it all is a name whispered in the darkest parts of the net: Viktor.

As Alex unlocks new powers and uncovers buried secrets, he must decide:
Will he become a weapon, a savior… or something far beyond human?

The game has started. The rules are broken. And humanity is just the beginning.

the night of her highly anticipated jewel launch, Eloise's world shatters when her husband Lucian publicly divorces her on national TV, rekindling his relationship with his ex-lover Jennifer, who is also Eloise's step-sister. As Eloise picks up the pieces, she meets a new man, who happns to be her boss, and sparks fly. Just as she begins to find success and happiness again, Lucian comes crawling back, desperate to reclaim what he lost.

Even if he hated me, I couldn’t look away from him. Even if he called me an imposter, a trickster, all I could think of was how alluring his scent was. Even when he was ready to take my sister’s words over mine, I couldn’t help falling for him.
I wanted him to take me in his arms and tell me that the last few weeks had been a dream after all. That he loved me, as a true mate would. I wanted him to be my Prince Charming. To be my salvation.
But that was not my fate. Goddess forbid if I had anything easy in life!
Sometimes, I truly believed that this mate bond was a curse. Not my being the Stealer.


Callista Leander turned eighteen with hopes of finding her happily ever after. But instead, she was left locked in a tower of a castle, doomed to be married off to her true mate’s feral brother to save him from certain death.

All because of one curse and a conniving sister. Her life was suddenly filled with betrayals and secrets, and in every corner she looked, danger lurked. Now, with the whole world against her. At the mercy of an angry king, her oblivious one true mate, will she make it out alive on the other side?

Synopsis

Nineteen-year-old orphan Ethan built everything from nothing — three years of pizza deliveries, a cheap suit, and one promotion away from a decent life. Then his girlfriend chose his childhood bully over him, a bullet ended up in his chest, and he was dumped on the pavement like garbage.

He should have died.

Instead, he woke up with a system that turns real money into power, dungeons into opportunity, and patience into revenge.

Lawrence Luther doesn't know what's coming and nobody else does too.

But Ethan has always been good at building things quietly — and this time, he's building something that cannot be taken from him.

Lumi once lived a life full of hope and happiness, but after her parents' mysterious death, she’s left broken and enslaved in the Frostborne Pack. Interest: Discovering that her parents were murdered by the rogue Alpha, Kilan, and learning of her boyfriend Kael’s betraya

In a world plagued by chaos, Christopher Sylvester discovers he possesses unique powers granted by a mysterious system.

"I am an Exalted, I am an unleashed system, one whose potential is boundless and is extremely scarce in the entire multiverse, you can refer to me as Milady."

Driven by a desperate need to save his ailing mother, he joins a group of survivors led by Sarah. As they navigate a transformed world, a mysterious portal opens up and sucks them into it, bringing them to an unknown world, leaving no access back to earth.

In this new world they were found at the bottom of the food chain, and they had to struggle with their strong potentials to become terrifying juniors, amongst all obstacles and ridicules on their part.

Intro: Six hours before the apocalypse, I was reborn. A gray panel now floated before my eyes, showing my physical stats. In the scant time left, I had to use limited supplies to complete the system's tasks, grind levels like mad, gather scattered resources, and build my own doomsday fortress. This time around, I would exact ultimate revenge on all those who had betrayed me.

Layla Byrne arrives at Blackwater Hall with one letter in her bag and one ugly truth in her chest. Someone is dead, someone is definitely lying.

The school welcomes gifted students, bloodline heirs, and the children of old magical families. It also hides a forest full of sealed power, missing students, and a history everyone has been trained to forget.

Layla is the outsider from the coast, the scholarship girl with the wrong surname, the wrong accent, and a magic she cannot control. The moment she steps onto Blackwater Hall grounds, she feels eyes on her. Notes appear where they should not. Doors open behind her when nobody is there. Someone knows where she sleeps before she does.

The worst part is that the boy who keeps appearing whenever danger comes near her looks like the one who is doing it. Callum Reid is the academy’s golden enforcer, the respected heir with sharp hands, colder manners, and a habit of being too close for comfort. Layla decides he is the stalker. Callum decides she is a threat to the school and to herself. Neither of them is completely wrong.

As Layla digs deeper, she learns that Blackwater Hall does not merely educate students. It ranks them, watches them, marks them, and uses them. Students with the right bloodlines are pushed toward the hidden forest seal beneath the school. Records vanish. Names are being erased. People disappear.

The woman running the academy smiles through all of it. The archivist who keeps the records knows exactly how the old power works.

And the first boy Layla ever trusted in the academy turns out to be the real predator, the one who has been stalking her from the shadows long before she understood she was being hunted.

In the enchanted world of Netherland, fairies and elves live peacefully, protected from their enemies by their pure hearts and magical powers. But when the jealous and scheming Eliza falls into the trap of the black witch, the fragile peace is threatened. The witch escapes to Earth, where she plans to carry out her evil schemes.

The God of Fairy sends three powerful student fairies, Charlie, Roman, and Brielle, to capture the witch and bring her back to Netherland. But their mission is complicated by the rule that they must not fall in love on Earth and avoid getting distracted.

Charlie, the most gifted and respected fairy in Netherland, falls into a LAFS (Love At First Sight) with a popular band leader in the school where the witch is hiding. As Charlie tries to balance her feelings for her newfound love and her duty to stop the witch, she also attracts unknown enemies who threaten her and her mission.

Meanwhile, Eliza continues to scheme and manipulate, putting herself and her fellow fairies in danger. Will the three fairies be able to capture the witch and save their world? Can Charlie resist the pull of love and focus on her mission? And what consequences will Eliza's actions have on the fragile peace of Netherland?

Once Upon A Magical Saga is a captivating tale of love, magic, and adventure that will transport readers to a world of wonder and danger.

On a rainy night outside Lumina City Hall, Chloe is abandoned by her fiancé of five years. Her grandfather is dying, her ten-year-old brother Noah may be taken by CPS, and a vicious inheritance battle is closing in. With no time to fall apart, she turns to Arthur, a stranger who has also just been left at the altar, and asks the impossible: “Will you marry me?”

One contract, one-dollar penalty, and one fake marriage later, Chloe only wants to protect Noah, fool the caseworker, and give her grandfather peace. But Arthur is not the broke freelance writer he claims to be. His expensive clothes, secret calls, and unsettling control hint at a far deeper secret.

He makes promises at her grandfather’s ICU bedside, plays the perfect husband during the CPS visit, and slowly earns Noah’s wary trust. Chloe knows this is supposed to be a deal—so why does his kindness feel dangerously real?

They survive the first home visit, only to learn CPS will return unannounced within thirty days. Arthur has to stay.

But as his true identity begins to surface, can their one-dollar marriage remain just a transaction?

What would you do if you were to wake up one day to the message?
[You have 5 days until the next full moon]
[Your bloodlust is increasing]

Gary Dem is a person with a secret. While coming back to school appearing as a whole new person, he does everything he can to keep this from the people he cares about. For his path is one that led him to become part of the underworld.

The world has changed, and gangs rule the streets sponsoring big corporations. Bribing politicians behind the scenes and controlling the decisions people make without them knowing it. Using a new breed of humans called the Altered, a mixture of man and beast.

It was only meant to be a side job, he was never meant to dig in too deep, but on a mission for his gang, something went wrong, something changed him.

[You have 5 days until the next full moon]
[Your bloodlust is increasing]

The lone wolf... is about to go on a hunt!

In the future, the world is ruled by colossal algorithm corporations, where reality and the virtual realm have merged into one. "Kaelan Ardent" lives for revenge after his father's company was stolen by his closest friend, a betrayal that led to his father's death and drove his mother into madness.

Kaelan grows into an elite player, determined to win the "Eternal Nexus Championship", a global tournament that serves as his ticket to destroying his enemy from within. But one week before the competition, he is framed for spreading the "Mana Virus," a digital plague that transforms humans into data.

Branded an international fugitive and discovering that his younger sister is in danger, Kaelan takes a desperate gamble and activates a mysterious chip left behind by his father: the 'White Dragon System". This evolved ancient AI can steal "skills", breach "dungeons', and even rewrite reality itself.

Now, Kaelan must fight to survive, conquer the digital world, and level up his system to uncover the conspiracy behind the virus while becoming the ultimate predator to those who destroyed his life.

Alexander Del Ryo is a poor man of 45 years, with a mediocre life, overweight, living apart from others, but everything changes the day of his death. Trying to save a girl ends up seriously injured, knowing that this was his end, he asks God for his life, but to his surprise this answers him and listening to his pleas gives Alexander another chance, returning him to the past in which he is 17 years old, but this time will be different because in his phone he has an application that he had never seen, an application called The King Legend System, an application that will change his life, involving him in a world of gangs where he will fight to be the king.

They executed his father.
Burned his family name.
Left him to die in the gutters beneath the city.

But they made one mistake.

They let Zyno Veridian survive.

In the shadows of Eryndor’s brutal underworld, Zyno awakens the Kingmaker System — a mysterious power that grows stronger through fear, loyalty, conquest, and control.

Every gang he crushes makes him stronger.
Every territory he conquers expands his empire.
Every enemy he destroys brings him closer to the truth behind his father’s execution.

Now the elites who once laughed at the fallen heir are beginning to fear his name.

Because Zyno isn’t fighting to survive anymore.

He’s building a kingdom.

And when the city finally burns…

He’ll be the one sitting on the throne.

Synopsis

In a single devastating evening, he lost it all. His promising career, his hard-earned place at a top-tier university, and the woman he planned to marry. Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, brutally beaten by those he once trusted, and cast aside like trash, Damien Vale stood on the crumbling edge of an abandoned overpass, ready to let the darkness claim him.

Until a crimson interface ignited in the air before him:

[Rebate System Activated]

Every connection he forges, every calculated risk he takes, and every ounce of influence he invests in the right people will return a hundredfold — in power, wealth, secrets, and absolute control.

From the lowest pit of betrayal and ruin, Damien is about to rewrite his destiny. What was taken from him will be returned ten times over. Those who destroyed him will watch everything they cherish crumble. Armed with an unstoppable system and a merciless new mindset, he will build an empire from the shadows, surround himself with unstoppable allies, and savor every second of his ruthless comeback.

Damien Vale is no longer the man they broke.
He is the storm they never saw coming

The world was shaken to its core; the Supreme Warlord was dead, and the Specters and Dark Orcs could raid the Blue Planet once again. When all hope seemed lost for Keith who couldn't awaken his talent just like every other member of his clan, the Immortal Mage System was granted to him and his life changed forever.

[Immortal Mage System is extracting Curse...]
[Curse Extraction completed].
[Congratulations, you are bless!]

Everyone thinks I'm the wild child of the family, the one who won't fall in line.

Blake's the young king of the business world—rational, cold, always in those perfectly cut suits.

But every night, he's got me pinned underneath him, breathing my name.

He said I was his, but never let me see daylight. Until she came back—my father's mistress's daughter, in her white dress, smiling like an angel.

On my birthday, he went to pick her up from the airport. When the chandelier crashed down, he carried her to the hospital and left me bleeding on the floor. When she smashed my mother's heirloom, he made me apologize on my knees. He said she was fragile, needed care; said I was strong enough to understand.

Then I heard them on my bed, her moaning his name.

So I left. Married a man who truly loved me. And he went insane.

He kidnapped me, forced a wedding, announced to the world I was his wife.

But this time, I just smiled and shook my head.

"Let go. It's too late."

After facing ruthless betrayals in the hands of his wife, who attempted to murder him with the help of her lover, he awakened an amazing system. And now, he's back as a miracle doctor, top assassin, the most popular super star, and a filthy rich business mogul, determined to leave them with a belly full of bile and regrets.

However, evil forces arise all around him, trying to suppress his growth. The more he weeds out the evil, the more they sprout up, entangling him in a never ending circle of daredevil adventures. Now Alvin must face the greatest of evil or die fighting, because the system’s gifts never came free. Having a cheat system which gives you unlimited wealth was not the problem, staying alive long enough to enjoy them was.

At Lycan Academy, power is everything. Rank decides your future, your survival, and whether anyone remembers your name. For nineteen-year-old Justin Hatchett, the verdict is already clear: systemless, talentless, and worthless.

Until the day the stone beneath the academy cracks.

Something ancient wakes beneath the school. Something forbidden. Something that chooses Justin when no one else will. Suddenly, the boy with nothing is hearing what Lycans think, sensing power before it moves, and growing stronger in ways the academy was never meant to allow. Every answer only opens a deeper wound. Every victory pulls him closer to the beast sleeping under the world.

And the more Justin evolves, the more the world pushes back.

The academy wants to control him.
The hidden powers beneath the throne want to use him.
And the girl everyone wants is the only one who sees him clearly enough to become his greatest anchor, his deadliest weakness, and the one person who can keep him from losing himself completely.

But something even bigger is coming.

A buried truth. A split identity. A world beneath the world. And a throne that was never meant for one king.

If Justin survives long enough to uncover what he really is, he may become the strongest Lycan alive.

Or the thing that ends them all...

A fast-burning werewolf progression fantasy/litRPG packed with forbidden power, academy politics, explosive transformation, and a slow-burn romance that becomes impossible to ignore...

"We can even make it a one-time thing." She said, "We almost did this before..." But she quickly held herself and instead said, "My mom won't even know a thing, I promise." She said, sounding really desperate.
"There's no way you won't ask for more, Scarlett," Adrian argued weakly.
"Then I wouldn't be in the wrong for doing that." She maintained spiritedly.
"I mean, why can't you just leave my mom and date your age? Or do you think she's dating only you? She's got numerous men at her beck and call, and at the end of it all, she's going to dump you. I am actually the one with the money."
"I don't care about the money." Adrian continued stubbornly.
"I know this has nothing to do with true love. What exactly do you want from my mom? What do you have on her?"


Scarlet Davenport, a billionaire heiress and the only surviving daughter of a widow and men-loving cougar; Vivian Davenport, wakes up to find Adrian Hartfield, the man whom she had an instant crush on after meeting at the club being introduced to her as her potential stepdad.
She realizes for the first time in her young life that she might have to go against all odds to fight for her prince charming even if it means employing the art of seduction to get Adrian to her bed.
When hateful and numerous vile forces notice these weak spots in the family and decide to exploit them to their advantage, will Adrian and Scarlett realize their combined strength early enough? Would they overcome the odds?

Sex was all Lynn wanted from the hot porn star but then just as she was beginning to fall in love with him, she discovered the terrible truth about him.

He only fucks women, not to fall in love with them.

Just A One Night

She however can't leave him, she still wants him.

"When you enter THE OFF LIMIT, you can't get out again.
The only way is to survive, and win.
There is no losing.
You must survive."

Ethan Mannon got the game THE OFF LIMIT by accident. The game significantly changed Ethan's life, who was on the verge of death. However, THE OFF LIMIT is something very dangerous. Will Ethan survive to get his wish or try to destroy THE OFF LIMIT?

Prince Kaelen Morvath is a joke. Crippled, weak, and born from a low-born maid, he is the shame of the mighty Morvath Empire. His brothers beat him for sport, his father exiles him to a ruined border town, and his fiancé deserts him. They all think he will die quietly in his wheelchair.
But darkness answers his despair. Kaelen hooks up with an ancient Demon System. He gains the power of absolute mind control, but it costs his own lifespan. For every soul he chains, his hair turns silver and his heart grows colder.
When the Empire forces him into a political marriage with Lady Aurelia—a ruthless, brilliant noblewoman who despises weakness—she expects a submissive puppet. Instead, she steps into a web of absolute terror. While the royal family laughs at the "crippled outcast," Kaelen is already sitting in the shadows, pulling the strings of their generals, their wives, and their crown. When the masks finally fall, the face-slapping will shake the empire to its roots.

The story takes place in the Arcadia Empire, a world where magic controls everything.
Strong mages are respected like kings, while weak people are treated badly.
The most important place in the story is the Imperial Arcane Academy, the strongest magic academy in the empire. Students from noble families and different kingdoms come there to become powerful mages.
But hidden under the empire are dark secrets, dangerous monsters, ancient ruins, forbidden powers, and evil organizations searching for the mysterious Arcane Heir System.

Betrayed and humiliated by his girlfriend in front of Los Angeles’ elite, Jared Knox thought that was the worst night of his life — until a car slammed into him, leaving him for dead.

He should have perished on that cold, wet street. But when he awakened, he was no longer just a powerless waiter. He had been chosen by the Destiny Overwrite System, a god-like power capable of overwriting fate, granting him the ability to rise from the ashes and make everyone who wronged him pay.

Twenty-one-year-old Adrian Blood had nothing — no parents, no money, he was just a scholarship and a girlfriend he thought was worth saving for. Valentine's night stripped even that away. Teresa chose his bully. Ricardo's men put him in the garbage, literally.

Then a voice activated in his head.

The Chosen Heir System doesn't do sympathy — it does missions. Its first order: save the sister of the man who just destroyed him. Adrian ran through the rain, bleeding, and did it anyway.

One mission. One million dollars.

Ricardo Rodriguez has no idea what he just created. And the system is only getting started.

She’s been a proper princess—but she wants to rebel.After the death of her fiancé, Princess Madeleine knows a loveless, arranged marriage awaits her. She’s resigned to her fate until she meets her intended husband. Crown Prince Enrique is gorgeous, but he comes on way too strong, says the wrong things, and fumbles with apologies. He’s more court jester than Prince Charming. How can she marry him?Enrique might be self-centered and lack social skills, but he’s trying to do better—for himself, his country, and his future wife. Despite their royal union being a political necessity, he wants his marriage with the captivating Madeleine to be a love match. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to woo her. How hard can it be to win his princess bride’s heart?Nearly impossible, he discovers, because Madeleine seems unwilling—or unable—to give him her heart. On their wedding day, instead of exchanging vows, will the royal couple say goodbye?

Evelyn was given the sum of five hundred thousand to leave the family she had always tried so hard to please, because they finally found their real daughter and don't need her anymore.
They've always bullied, abused and humiliated her in the past while she accepts without retaliation because she thought of she continued to break her back to please them, they'll love her one day.
But she was wrong.
She still got thrown out like a stray.
Well, they've just done something that they'll regret all their lives and she can't wait to see them crawling on the floor and begging her for help when they discover who she is.
This story is filled with rollercoasters so buckle up your seat belt for you're about to go on a crazy ride with this bad-ass female lead who won't take rubbish from no-one and won't hesitate to throw back whatever they throw at her.

Caroline’s return to her ancestral home is met with cold stone floors and colder hearts. A decade away has not dulled the whispers of duty and tradition that echo through the halls. As her mother reveals a shocking truth, Caroline is thrust into a legacy of secrets and a marriage she never wanted. Bound by blood to a fate intertwined with the supernatural, she must navigate a world where the living play by the rules of the dead. With her family’s survival hanging in the balance, Caroline’s only hope lies in unraveling the mysteries of her lineage before it’s too late. Every choice has a price, can she escape the shadows of the past, or will she become another victim of the family’s curse? This gripping tale invites readers into a labyrinth of intrigue and dark legacies, where the line between sacrifice and survival blurs.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE LOST is book #10 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 900 five star reviews! Still reeling from her former partner Lucy’s death and from her partner Bill’s PTSD, FBI Special Agent Riley Paige does her best to try to keep herself stable and to patch together her family life. She has to decide what to about April’s boyfriend, recovering from his abusive father, and about Blaine, who is ready for their relationship to move ahead.But before she can work it out, Riley is summoned for a new case. In an idyllic suburban town in the Midwest, teenage girls are going missing—and a body has already turned up. The police are stumped, and Riley is called in to catch the killer before another girl goes missing.Making things worse is that Riley is assigned a partner she does not want—her nemesis, Special agent Roston—who had been interrogating her in Shane’s case.Even worse: Shane is on the loose, he wants revenge—and he has Riley’s family in his sights.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE LOST is book #10 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #11 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)ONCE CRAVED is book #3 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download!When prostitutes turn up dead in Phoenix, not much attention is paid. But when a pattern of disturbing murders is discovered, the local police soon realize a serial killer is on a rampage and they are in way over their heads. Given the unique nature of the crimes, the FBI, called in, knows they will need their most brilliant mind to crack the case: Special Agent Riley Paige.Riley, recovering from her last case and trying to pick up the pieces of her life, is at first reluctant. But when she learns of the grievous nature of the crimes and realizes the killer will soon strike again, she is compelled. She begins her hunt for the elusive killer and her obsessive nature takes her too far—perhaps too far, this time, to pull herself back from the brink. Riley’s search leads her into the unsettling world of prostitutes, of broken homes, and shattered dreams. She learns that, even amongst these women, there are glimpses of hope, hope being robbed by a violent psychopath. When a teenage girl is abducted, Riley, in a frantic race against time, struggles to probe the depths of the killer’s mind. But what she discovers leads her to a twist that is too shocking for even her to imagine.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE CRAVED is book #3 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #4 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE COLD is book #8 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 900 five star reviews! There is one cold case that has plagued Special Agent Riley Paige for her entire career, dwelling at the corners of her consciousness, forcing her to return to it again and again. The only case she has never solved, she has finally put it out of her mind.Until she gets a call from the murdered victim’s mother.It spurs Riley to face the case once again, and to not give up until she has found answers.Yet Riley barely has time to catch her breath when she receives a lead for another cold case, one which, if possible, strikes an even deeper note within her. It is a lead that promises to solve the case of her own mother’s killer.And it comes from Shane Hatcher.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE COLD is book #8 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #9 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

Kane Cross died at his desk at 2:47 AM.

He woke up in hell.

No class. No skills. No tutorial. Just ash, a dead world, and a System notification blinking in his vision like a bad joke.

DESIGNATION: NULL
RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE TERMINATION

In Aethon, your class is your worth. Your rank is your right to breathe. And a Null is not a person. A Null is a problem to be erased.

They sent hunters. Then a purge timer. Then something worse.

But Kane spent seven years building game systems for a living. He knows how engines work. He knows every system has a logic. Every rule has an edge. Every god has a backdoor.

He has no class. No rank. No name in their registry.

Good.

They can't kill what they can't see.

And Kane Cross is just getting started.

The System has run this world for a thousand years.

It has never met anyone like him.

Elias Verne, the invisible and powerless porter of the Azure Guild, endured humiliation for twenty-two long years with no hope of ever mattering. But one forbidden dungeon is about to change his life, and he is going to make the world pay dearly for every year they looked through him.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)ONCE LURED is book #4 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download, with over 500 five star reviews!Women are turning up dead on a lone stretch of highway in Delaware. Some go missing for an inexplicable length of time, while others are turning up dead, their bodies left out for display in bizarre and mysterious ways. When a pattern is discovered, it becomes clear to the FBI that a twisted serial killer is on the hunt—luring girls in devious schemes—and that he won’t stop killing, ever.The FBI, desperate to crack the case, urges Special Agent Riley Paige to take it on. But the brilliant Riley, still reeling from past cases, has finally found peace in her home life, and is determined to help her daughter April get back on her feet. Yet when the murders become too disturbing, too urgent—and when her former partner Bill implores her—Riley finally realizes she can’t say no.Riley’s hunt leads her deep into the unsettling world of hitchhikers, of drifters, of women that no one else cares for. When she discovers that several women are being kept alive and that there is still time to save them, she realizes she will stop at nothing, obsessing over the case and driving herself to the brink. Yet Riley realizes her own life is falling apart, and her own fragile psyche can barely handle the strain. In a frantic race against time, she will have to plunge deep into the killer’s mind to save these women—and to save herself—from collapse.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE LURED is book #4 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #5 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Women are turning up dead in the rural outskirts of Virginia, killed in grotesque ways, and when the FBI is called in, they are stumped. A serial killer is out there, his frequency increasing, and they know there is only one agent good enough to crack this case: Special Agent Riley Paige.Riley is on paid leave herself, recovering from her encounter with her last serial killer, and, fragile as she is, the FBI is reluctant to tap her brilliant mind. Yet Riley, needing to battle her own demons, comes on board, and her hunt leads her through the disturbing subculture of doll collectors, into the homes of broken families, and into the darkest canals of the killer’s mind. As Riley peels back the layers, she realizes she is up against a killer more twisted than she could have imagined. In a frantic race against time, she finds herself pushed to her limit, her job on the line, her own family in danger, and her fragile psyche collapsing.Yet once Riley Paige takes on a case, she will not quit. It obsesses her, leading her to the darkest corners of her own mind, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted. After a series of unexpected twists, her instincts lead her to a shocking climax that even Riley could not have imagined.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE GONE marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #2 in the Riley Paige series is now available!

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE PINED is book #6 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 700 five star reviews! Men and women are turning up dead in the outskirts of Seattle, poisoned by a mysterious chemical. When a pattern is discovered and it becomes clear that a twisted serial killer is on the hunt, the FBI calls in their best asset: Special Agent Riley Paige. Riley is urged to return to the line of duty—but Riley, still reeling from the attacks on her family, is loath to return. Yet as bodies mount, and the murders become more inexplicable, Riley knows she has no choice.The case takes Riley deep into the unsettling world of nursing homes, of hospitals, of drifting caretakers and psychotic patients. As Riley delves deeper into the mind of the murderer, she realizes she is hunting the most terrifying killer of all: one whose madness knows no depths—and yet who may just appear shockingly ordinary.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE PINED is book #6 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #7 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE FORSAKEN is book #7 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 700 five star reviews! When Special Agent Riley Paige finally decides to take a well-needed rest from the FBI, a request for help comes from the most unlikely source: her own daughter. April’s best friend is devastated by the death of her sister, a freshman at Georgetown. Worse, she is convinced that the suicide was staged, and that her sister was murdered at the hands of a serial killer.Riley reluctantly looks into the case, only to discover that two other freshman girls at Georgetown recently killed themselves in the same grotesque way—by hanging. As she realizes foul play may be afoot, she brings in the FBI. The case takes Riley deep into the privileged campus of one of the world’s most esteemed universities, into the unsettling world of the wealthy and driven families that pushed their children to succeed. In time she discovers that this case is far more twisted than it seems—and that she just may be up against the most psychotic killer of her career. A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE FORSAKEN is book #7 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #8 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“We’re a disaster Nick. This whole thing is going to come tumbling down on us!”
Cara cried as she shook her head and pulled away from Nick.
He gently drew her back to his arms.
“I can't stay away from you. I've tried so hard to.”
“I know you're trying hard enough too but I can see how much it's hurting you.”
She turned to him with tears in her eyes. Her body trembling slightly.
“This is going to ruin us.”
"Let it."

He was her fiancé's brother.
She had never looked at him that way before, never even batted an eyelid at him. Until that night, that sinful night where they had both exploded in passion.
If word ever got out about the things they did, her family's reputation would be in shambles.
It would be the biggest scandal in New York High Society.

Cara Devine was engaged to marry Alexander Greene. Although their marriage had been arranged from the start, Cara had come to like Alexander, till his brother Nicholas Greene came along and slowly every inch of normalcy and stability was ripped from her life.
What Cara and Nicholas had was forbidden and it could very well ruin them, if they let it.

I don't have friends, and I'm yet to develop the need for them. After what happened last year, I learned friends can stab you in the back, and I've never fully recovered from it.

The last year taught me a bitter lesson- never trust anyone. Not even friends because they will do anything to destroy you, even when you did absolutely nothing wrong to them.

Ora Marshal is a nineteen-year-old history university student. Her first day doesn't go as planned after seeing the man that she thought she would never see again. Her history professor, whom she has a crush on. His attitude had changed to a cold manner towards her after the incident that happened the previous year. The past events catch up with her and the fear that she has to endure. They are both hurting on the inside. Can Ora handle the semester in his class? Can they work through it? Will she be able to tell him the truth about the incident? What happens when he returns her feelings? Can they heal each other?

Nina discovers that she is pregnant after a one-night stand with a stranger who turns out to be a rich and powerful quintessential playboy and her new boss.

Every time my husband wants to make me give in, he slaps divorce papers on the table. Every time my parents want me to cave, they threaten to disown me.

What they want is simple: give everything to my twin sister.

I used to fight back. I cried. I demanded to know why it always had to be me.

But when the doctor slides the test results across his desk and tells me in that pitying voice, "Stage four brain cancer. You have a month, maybe less," something in me just... stops caring.

I'm dying anyway. They can do whatever the hell they want.

Arthur lost everything because of the betrayal committed by his fiancée and half-brother. He was abused, then thrown off a cliff without mercy. Just when he thought he was going to die, Arthur mysteriously gained strength and his body returned to normal as if he had never been abused. He gets a second chance with the help of a powerful system that allows him to seek revenge.

Will Arthur succeed in regaining everything that was taken from him?

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE STALKED is book #9 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 900 five star reviews! When two soldiers are found dead on a huge military base in California, apparently killed by gunshot, military investigators are stumped. Who is killing its soldiers, inside the secure confines of its own base?And why?The FBI is called in, and Riley Paige is summoned to take the lead. As Riley finds herself immersed in the military culture, she is amazed to realize that serial killers can strike even here, in the midst of the most secure location on earth.She finds herself in a frantic cat and mouse chase, racing to decode the killer’s psychology. Yet she soon discovers she is up against a highly-trained killer, one that may, even for her, be too deadly an opponent.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE STALKED is book #9 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #10 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Women are being murdered in upstate New York, their bodies found mysteriously hanging in chains. With the FBI called in, given the bizarre nature of the murders—and the lack of any clues—there is only one agent they can turn to: Special Agent Riley Paige.Riley, reeling from her last case, is reluctant to take on a new one, since she is still convinced a former serial killer is out there, stalking her. She knows, though, that her ability to enter a serial killer’s mind and her obsessive nature is what will be needed to crack this case, and she just can’t refuse—even if it will push her over the edge.Riley’s search takes her deep into a killer’s deluded mind as it leads her to orphanages, mental hospitals, prisons, all in an effort to understand the depth of his psychosis. Realizing she is up against a true psychopath, she knows time is short before he strikes again. But with her own job on the line and her own family a target, and with her fragile psyche collapsing, it may all be too much for her—and too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE TAKEN is book #2 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #3 in the Riley Paige series is also now available!

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ONCE HUNTED is book #5 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download with over 600 five star reviews! A prison break from a maximum security prison. Frantic calls from the FBI. Special Agent Riley Paige’s worst nightmare has come true: a serial killer she put away years ago is loose. And his main target is her.Riley is used to being the one hunting, but for the first time, she finds herself—and her family—to be the ones being hunted. As the killer stalks her, he also begins a new rampage of kills, and Riley must stop him before it is too late—for the other victims, and for herself.But this is no ordinary killer. He is too smart, and their game of cat-and-mouse too twisted, and he somehow manages to elude her and always stay one step ahead. Desperate to stop him, Riley realizes there is only one way: she must delve back into the past, into this killer’s twisted mind, his old cases, and re-learn what drives him. The only way to stop him, she realizes, is to face the darkness she thought she had left behind.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE HUNTED is book #5 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #6 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.

Love is not part of why Kane Beaumont marries Emilia Taylor.
It was purely a contract deal to him and nothing more. Saving her family's business from the claws of evil loan sharks is Emilia's motive for marrying a man she barely knew.
However, she doesn't count on being hopelessly attracted to him even when he treats her like a worthless peasant.
Their relationship is chaotic, thanks to Kane's lover who is determined to ruin any opportunity of their romance ever blooming.
Even if it means putting Emilia's life in danger, setting her up, and turning the world against her.
When sparks begin to fly between Kane and Emilia after an unfortunate accident, their relationship goes through a tough test that destroys the tiny flames of love burning between them.
Will love eventually find a way in the end or will this marriage continue to be a high-stakes business deal with dangerous rewards?