Novels by Mercy

The applause inside the grand auditorium of the State Convention Center was deafening, a roaring wave of thunder that echoed off the three-tiered marble balconies.Down on the circular central stage, bathed in the blinding glare of a dozen high-powered spotlights, Brody Cromwell adjusted his velvet bow tie and flashed a dazzling smile to the sea of press cameras. Beside him, Nala Sawyer stood with her chin held high, her emerald silk dress glistening under the lights as she rested her hand possessively on Brody’s arm.In the front row, Martha Sawyer was clapping so hard her diamond-encrusted bracelets rattled wildly. Ethan leaned back in his leather chair, smirking like a conqueror inspecting his newly won kingdom.Up on the high balcony, Declan Wilde stood quietly by the polished marble railing, a glass of ice water in his hand. Beside him, Fiona Griffin leaned against the rail."Ladies and gentlemen!" Brody’s voice boomed over the arena-grade sound system, echoing with supreme, unch

The State Convention Center was illuminated like a massive diamond under the clear night sky, its blinding spotlights cutting through the darkness and casting brilliant beams across the grand entrance plaza.A velvet red carpet stretched over fifty yards from the curb to the glass double doors, lined on both sides by hundreds of roaring paparazzi, flashbulbs popping in a non-stop storm of white light. Dozens of luxury sports cars and sleek armored sedans pulled up every minute, dropping off international central bankers, tech billionaires, and high-ranking government officials.Walking down the center of the red carpet, basking in the glow of live news cameras, was the Sawyer family alongside Brody Cromwell.Martha wore a glittering silver gown that practically screamed new money, her neck draped in heavy, diamond-encrusted strands as she waved haughtily at the reporters. Beside her, Ethan adjusted his velvet bowtie, popping his collar and grinning like a prince inspecting his kingdom

The heavy steel blast doors of Griffin Industries' primary server vault slid open with a deep, pressurized hiss, revealing a subterranean chamber filled with rows of towering ice-blue mainframe racks.At the center console, Marcus stood surrounded by four junior network engineers. He smoothed the lapels of his thousand-dollar tailored blazer, resting his hand casually on the master terminal, a confident smirk playing across his face as Fiona and Declan walked inside. Behind them stood two armed executive bodyguards, their hands resting on their holstered sidearms."Miss Griffin, thank goodness you're unharmed," Marcus said smoothly, gesturing toward the flickering monitors lining the far wall. "We received the distress call from your highway escort. Terrible business, truly. But as you can see, my team and I have the perimeter breach under control. The system latency is high, but my secondary firewall is holding."Fiona didn't smile. She walked straight to the central glass desk, rest

The custom Maybach 62S glided smoothly down the slick, rain-soaked expressway. The heavy, double-glazed windows muffled the roaring storm outside.Inside the quiet cabin, Fiona Griffin sat across from Declan. She tapped her manicured nails against a glowing tablet screen, then looked up at his wet, calm face."You're remarkably quiet for a man who just signed away three years of his life," Fiona remarked, a subtle smile touching her lips Declan leaned his head back against the headrest, looking out at the blurring streetlights. "I don't waste energy on things that are already dead.""Fair enough," Fiona said, sliding the tablet across the center console. "Here is the live data on the Kurogane Syndicate's breach. They’ve bypassed three of Griffin Industries' perimeter firewalls in the last ninety minutes. If they pierce Kernel Zero before midnight, they gain full administrative control of our military contracts."Declan didn't reach for the tablet. He didn't even look down."Get down!

Declan descended the stairs, his dark eyes reflecting the cool, electric blue light of the central server racks humming in the quiet basement. This was his private, off-grid terminal, the hidden nerve center where the master architecture of the Aegis Core had been born.He walked over to the main control terminal,pulled out his black military-grade laptop and opened the root system file.Green lines of code scrolled across his dark screen, reflecting off his eyes like cold fire.For three years, Declan had kept a secret fail-safe running in the background of Sawyer Dynamics,a custom biometric bypass script that continuously patched the fundamental flaws in Nala’s software. It was the only reason the system had never crashed under heavy load. He had kept it active out of love, quietly protecting her from her own technical incompetence.Declan’s fingers rested over the keyboard, his face carved from pure, unyielding ice."Nala... you told me to take everything that belongs to me," Decla

The heavy oak door of the Sawyer villa slammed open, the draft rattling the glass chandelier in the grand foyer.Nala marched into the living room, her heels clicking violently against the white marble floor. Her hands were shaking as she clutched her leather designer purse to her chest. Behind her, Martha and Ethan barged through the door, their faces flushed with a manic, aggressive energy.Declan stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a single, steamed mug of black coffee. He turned his head, his dark eyes taking in the storm charging towards him."You Liar! you tried to ruin everything today, didn't you?" Nala demanded, her voice cracking as she stormed across the rug. "You couldn't bear to see Brody take the stage! So you had to mess with the control booth server to humiliate my family in front of the banking board!"Declan set his mug down on the glass side table with a faint, quiet clink."I didn't sabotage the server, Nala," Declan said calmly, his voice a steady an