THE EMPIRE WITHIN

THE EMPIRE WITHIN

bashirtajudeen90 · Ongoing · 51.5k Words

1.1k
Hot
1.1k
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

The Empire Within
Story Description

Elena Cruz has it all—a billion-dollar tech empire, a corner office in Manhattan, and a reputation as one of the most brilliant CEOs of her generation. She built CruzTech from the ground up, transforming her father's modest import business into a global powerhouse. But success comes with a price she never imagined paying.
When her father, Antonio Cruz, is found murdered in his penthouse, Elena's perfect world shatters. The police investigation reveals a nightmare: her family's empire is built on blood money. For decades, the Cruz name has been a front for a powerful European cartel trafficking drugs and humans across continents. Every contract she signed, every expansion she celebrated, was funded by crime.
As Elena digs deeper, she discovers her charming brother Julian is neck-deep in the operation, and her mother's death years ago was no accident. An anonymous message leads her to a hidden vault in Switzerland containing evidence that could destroy everyone she loves—or save her life.
But Elena isn't the only one searching for answers. Detective Ryan Hale suspects she's covering up her father's murder, while Vera Ivanova, the ruthless head of the cartel, wants Elena dead to protect her empire. Hunted by assassins and the FBI, Elena must run.
What follows is a deadly game of deception across three continents. Betrayal comes from those closest to her. Trust becomes a weapon. And as Elena gets closer to the truth, she realizes the most dangerous person in this game might be herself.
In a world where power is everything and family is a lie, how far would you go to survive? Elena Cruz is about to find out—and the answer will destroy everything she's built.

Chapter 1

Elena Cruz stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of her corner office, looking down at Manhattan from forty-two stories high. The city stretched below her like a kingdom she had conquered with nothing but intelligence and determination. Cars moved like toys on the streets. People looked smaller than ants. From this height, everything seemed manageable and under control.

At thirty-four years old, Elena was the youngest female CEO of a Fortune 500 technology company. CruzTech was her creation, built from her vision and sacrifice. Business magazines called her a genius. Newspapers wrote stories about her rise from poverty to power. She had worked sixteen-hour days for fifteen years to earn those headlines.

Elena turned from the window and walked to her massive oak desk. Her black heels clicked sharply on the marble floor with each step. She wore a perfectly tailored black suit that cost more than most people earned in a month. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight, professional style. Everything about her appearance screamed power and success. She had learned early that looking weak meant being weak in the business world.

Her phone buzzed with a message from her assistant Sarah. "Board meeting in ten minutes, Ms. Cruz."

Elena picked up her tablet and reviewed the quarterly financial reports one final time. The numbers were excellent. CruzTech had grown by thirty-two percent this year alone. They had opened new offices in London, Tokyo, Singapore, and Dubai. Their stock price had doubled. Everything was going exactly according to her carefully designed plan.

The intercom on her desk crackled to life. "Ms. Cruz, your father is on line two."

Elena pressed the button to take the call. "Hello, Papa."

"Elena, my beautiful daughter." Antonio Cruz's voice came through the speaker, warm and commanding. Even at sixty-eight years old, he sounded like a man who owned the world. "Are you coming to dinner tonight? Your brother will be there."

"I have back-to-back meetings until eight," Elena replied, glancing at her packed schedule. "I can try to stop by around nine."

"Try?" Antonio's voice hardened slightly. "Family dinners are not optional, Elena. Cancel your meetings. Be here at seven. This is important."

Elena felt a familiar frustration rising. Her father always expected everyone to drop everything when he called. "Papa, I have investors flying in from Tokyo. I cannot cancel."

"Then bring them to dinner. I will not take no for an answer. Seven o'clock sharp." The line went dead before Elena could protest further.

She set down the phone and took a deep breath. Her relationship with Antonio was complicated at best. He had built the family fortune from absolutely nothing, starting with a tiny shipping business in Madrid forty years ago. He taught her that success required complete sacrifice. That showing weakness meant death in business. That family loyalty came before everything else, always.

But lately, something had changed. Antonio had become more demanding and secretive. He called at strange hours asking odd questions about CruzTech's financial structure. He wanted to know which board members she trusted completely. Which executives had access to offshore accounts. His behavior worried her, though she would never admit it out loud.

Elena gathered her materials and headed to the boardroom. The meeting lasted two hours. She presented expansion plans for the Asian market, answered questions from skeptical board members, and approved a fifty-million-dollar marketing budget. She spoke with absolute confidence, revealing none of the worry growing in the back of her mind.

When the meeting finally ended, she returned to her office and worked through dozens of emails. The sun set over Manhattan, painting the sky orange and purple. The city lights began to glow like thousands of tiny stars below her window. Elena barely noticed the beauty anymore. She had trained herself to see only numbers and opportunities.

At seven-fifteen, her phone buzzed with a text from Julian, her younger brother. "Dad is furious you're late. His paella is getting cold. Hurry up before I eat your share."

Elena smiled despite her stress. Julian was thirty-one but still acted like a teenager most of the time. He was charming, funny, and completely irresponsible. Their father complained constantly that Julian lacked ambition and discipline. That he cared more about parties and women than building the family business. But Elena loved him anyway. He was the only person in her life who could make her genuinely laugh.

She grabbed her coat and briefcase, then took the private elevator down to the underground parking garage. Her driver Marcus stood waiting beside the black Mercedes, as he did every evening.

"Good evening, Ms. Cruz." He opened the rear door for her.

"Marcus, take me to my father's penthouse, please. And drive fast. I'm already late."

The drive through Manhattan traffic took nearly forty minutes. Elena sat in the back seat answering emails on her phone and reviewing contracts. She was so focused on work that she never noticed the dark SUV following three cars behind them. She never saw the man in the passenger seat watching her through tinted windows and speaking quietly into a phone.

They arrived at Antonio's luxury building just before eight o'clock. The doorman Robert greeted Elena warmly as she entered the marble lobby. She always made a point to remember the names of service workers. It was good business practice and simple human decency.

She rode the private elevator that went directly to the penthouse on the top floor. The doors opened straight into her father's apartment. Elena stepped out and immediately sensed something was wrong. The lights were dimmed lower than usual. The classical music her father always played was completely silent. The air felt thick and strange, like the moment before a storm breaks.

"Papa?" Elena called out. Her voice echoed strangely in the silence. "Julian? I'm here."

No response came back.

Elena's heartbeat quickened. She walked slowly through the marble entrance hall into the vast living room. Expensive furniture cast long shadows in the dim light. The floor-to-ceiling windows showed the glittering Manhattan skyline, but inside the penthouse everything felt dark and cold and wrong.

Then she saw him.

Antonio Cruz lay motionless on the floor near his antique desk. His expensive white shirt was soaked dark red with blood. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, seeing nothing at all. His mouth hung slightly open, frozen in an expression of shock or pain or both.

Elena couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't think. She stood completely frozen, staring at her father's body. The man who had taught her everything she knew. The man who had built an empire and expected her to protect it. The man who had made her strong and ruthless and successful.

Dead on the floor.

Her legs finally moved before her brain could process what was happening. She ran to him and dropped hard to her knees beside his body. Her hands shook violently as she touched his face. His skin was still slightly warm, but there was no pulse in his neck. No breath from his lips. No life left at all.

"No, no, no, Papa, please no." The words spilled from her mouth in a desperate whisper. "Wake up. Please wake up."

But Antonio Cruz would never wake up again.

Elena grabbed her phone with trembling fingers and somehow managed to dial emergency services.

"911, what is your emergency?" The operator's voice sounded impossibly calm.

"My father has been shot. I need help immediately. Please send someone right now." Elena forced herself to sound steady and controlled. She gave the address clearly. Answered the operator's questions mechanically. Her mind worked on autopilot while her heart shattered into pieces.

She stayed kneeling beside Antonio, holding his cold hand, until she heard sirens wailing outside the building. Only then did she force herself to stand and look around the room more carefully.

Papers were scattered across the desk in messy piles. A large oil painting on the wall hung crooked, revealing a wall safe behind it. The safe door stood wide open. Completely empty inside.

Someone had been searching for something specific.

Elena walked carefully to the desk, her heels clicking on the marble floor. Her father's laptop computer was missing. Several file drawers had been pulled open and rifled through. Documents were scattered everywhere. This was not a random robbery or a crime of passion. Someone had come here with a clear purpose, looking for particular information.

The elevator suddenly dinged.

Elena spun around, her heart pounding. A tall man stepped out, followed by two uniformed police officers. He was perhaps forty years old, with sharp gray eyes and a hard, suspicious face. He held up a gold detective's badge.

"I'm Detective Ryan Hale, NYPD Homicide. Please step away from the body, Ms. Cruz."

Elena moved backward slowly. Within minutes, more police officers flooded into the penthouse. Crime scene investigators, photographers, and forensic technicians filled the room. They moved around her like she was invisible, like this was not her father lying dead on the floor.

Detective Hale approached her where she stood. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Ms. Cruz. I need to ask you some questions right now."

"Of course, Detective."

"When did you last speak with your father?"

"This afternoon around five o'clock. He called me at the office and invited me to dinner tonight."

"Was anyone else supposed to be here this evening?"

"My brother, Julian." Elena's stomach suddenly dropped with new fear. "Where is Julian? Is he safe? Have you found him?"

Hale exchanged meaningful looks with another officer before answering. "We're trying to locate your brother now. What time exactly did you arrive at this apartment?"

"Just before eight o'clock."

"Did you touch anything besides your father? Move anything at all?"

"No. Just him. I checked if he was still alive, but he was already gone."

Hale made notes in a small leather notebook. "Ms. Cruz, I need to ask you something difficult. Do you know of anyone who would want to harm your father?"

Elena looked directly into his suspicious gray eyes. "My father was an extremely powerful man, Detective. Powerful people always have enemies."

"What kind of business was Antonio Cruz involved in?"

"Import and export operations. International real estate. Technology investments through my company. All completely legal and legitimate."

"All completely legal," Hale repeated slowly. His tone clearly said he did not believe her at all.

Before Elena could respond, her phone suddenly rang. The screen showed "Unknown Number." She answered it.

Heavy breathing filled her ear. Then a voice, mechanically distorted and threatening, spoke six terrifying words: "Stop looking, or you're next."

The line went dead instantly.

Elena stared at her phone. Her hand shook. Detective Hale watched her carefully with those sharp gray eyes. "What was that, Ms. Cruz?"

"A threat," Elena said quietly. "Someone just threatened to kill me."

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

271.9k Views · Completed · Jessica C. Dolan
Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
Badass in Disguise

Badass in Disguise

389.5k Views · Completed · Sherry
"Everyone out," I commanded through gritted teeth. "Now."
"Jade, I need to check your—" the nurse began.
"OUT!" I snarled with enough force that both women backed toward the door.
Once feared by Shadow Organization that drugged me to replicate my abilities into a more controllable version, I had escaped my restraints and detonated their entire facility, ready to die alongside my captors.
Instead, I woke up in a school infirmary with women arguing around me, their voices piercing my skull. My outburst froze them in shock—clearly they hadn't expected such a reaction. One woman threatened as she left, "We'll discuss this attitude when you get home."
The bitter truth? I've been reborn into the body of an overweight, weak, and supposedly dim-witted high school girl. Her life is filled with bullies and tormentors who've made her existence miserable.
But they have no idea who they're dealing with now.
I didn't survive as the world's deadliest assassin by allowing anyone to push me around. And I certainly won't start now.
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

445.9k Views · Ongoing · 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!
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

713.8k Views · Completed · Veejay
"No... You can't do this to me..." I almost squeezed the words through my teeth, my voice trembling.
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

520.9k Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Mr. Ryan

Mr. Ryan

263.3k Views · Completed · Mary D. Sant
"What things are not under your control tonight?" I gave my best smile, leaning against the wall.
He came closer with a dark and hungry expression,
so close,
his hands reached for my face, and he pressed his body against mine.
His mouth took mine eagerly, a little rudely.
His tongue left me breathless.
“If you don't go with me, I'll fuck you right here.” He whispered.


Katherine kept her virginity for years even after she turned 18. But one day, she met an extremely sexual man Nathan Ryan in the club. He had the most seductive blue eyes she has ever seen, a well-defined chin, almost golden blonde hair, full lips, perfectly drawn, and the most amazing smile, with perfect teeth and those damn dimples. Incredibly sexy.

She and he had a beautiful and hot one-night stand...
Katherine thought she might not meet the man again.
But fate has another plan

Katherine is about to take on the job of assistant to a billionaire who owns one of the biggest companies in the country and is known to be a conquering, authoritative and completely irresistible man. He is Nathan Ryan!

Will Kate be able to resist the charms of this attractive, powerful and seductive man?
Read to know a relationship torn between anger and the uncontrollable desire for pleasure.

Warning: R18+, Only for mature readers.
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

141.7k Views · Ongoing · Becky j
"Mate is here!"
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Goddess Of The Underworld.

Goddess Of The Underworld.

340.3k Views · Completed · sheridan.hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her. Then finally into lycan princess, stronger, faster, the moon finally answering back, giving her exactly what she needs to protect her family.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armor, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of a border pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to stay; of cake, iron, and daylight negotiations. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
The Son of Red Fang

The Son of Red Fang

180.8k Views · Completed · Diana Sockriter
Alpha werewolves should be cruel and merciless with unquestionable strength and authority, at least that’s what Alpha Charles Redmen believes and he doesn’t hesitate to raise his kids to be the same way.
Alpha Cole Redmen is the youngest of six born to Alpha Charles and Luna Sara Mae, leaders of the Red Fang pack. Born prematurely, Alpha Charles rejected him without hesitation as weak and undeserving of his very life. He is reminded daily of his father’s hatred for him paving the way for the rest of his family to become the same.
By adulthood, his father’s hatred and abuse towards him has spilled over into the rest of the pack making him the scapegoat for those with the sadistic need to see him suffer. The rest are simply too afraid to even look his way leaving him little in the way of friends or family to turn to.
Alpha Demetri Black is the leader of a sanctuary pack known as Crimson Dawn. It’s been years since a wolf has made their way to his pack via the warrior’s prospect program but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for the tell tale signs of a wolf in need of help.
Malnourished and injured upon his arrival, Cole’s anxious and overly submissive demeanor lands him in the very situation he’s desperate to avoid, in the attention of an unknown alpha.
Yet somehow through the darkness of severe illness and injury he runs into the very person he’s been desperate to find since he turned eighteen, his Luna. His one way ticket out of the hell he’s been born into.
Will Cole find the courage needed to leave his pack once and for all, to seek the love and acceptance he’s never had?

Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of mental, physical and sexual abuse that may trigger sensitive readers. This book is intended for adult readers only.
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna

The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna

70.4k Views · Ongoing · Beatrice Putnam
She was born cursed and silenced. He was born cursed and destined to lose everything.

Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?
Mated by Contract to the Alpha

Mated by Contract to the Alpha

290.7k Views · Completed · CalebWhite
My perfect life shattered in a single heartbeat.
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
Ignored By One Alpha, Chased By Another

Ignored By One Alpha, Chased By Another

82.2k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
Since the age of 12, Aurora had known that she would be Raymond’s future Luna and wife.
However, just before inheriting his Alpha position, Raymond found his fated mate—a rogue girl named Giana.
Forced by his parents, Raymond had no choice but to marry Aurora. Yet on their wedding night, he abandoned her to be with Giana.
Tormented by the mate bond, Aurora ended up having an ONS with a handsome and charming man.
But how could that man turn out to be Raymond’s best friend, the Alpha King’s nephew, and notorious playboy—Kane…?