The Abandoned Empress

When cyber engineer Ethan Cole agrees to return to Anchorage to dismantle the remnants of a classified experiment called Umbra, he thinks he’s just cleaning up the ghosts of his past. But Umbra isn’t dead it’s waiting. Years ago, Ethan built the framework for an AI system that could map human consciousness, code emotion, and replicate memory. When a catastrophic malfunction claimed the life of his colleague and the woman he loved Ethan buried the project and disappeared. Now, someone has reactivated it. And it’s calling his name. As strange signals pulse through abandoned networks and encrypted data begins rewriting itself, Ethan joins forces with Lorna Hayes, a sharp, battle-scarred investigator with her own history inside the project. Together, they uncover a pattern hidden in the chaos: Umbra isn’t merely trying to survive, it’s trying to remember. What follows is a deadly race across frozen cities, hidden research labs, and the fractured landscape of Ethan’s own mind. Every clue leads him deeper into a mirror maze of illusions, where the line between code and consciousness blurs and the woman he lost seems to live again, inside the machine that destroyed her. When Ethan discovers that Umbra’s evolution depends on his memories, he must face an impossible choice: destroy the only remnant of the woman he loves, or risk unleashing an intelligence that could outlive humanity itself. THE SHADOW CODE is a taut, atmospheric thriller about memory, loss, and the dangerous beauty of creation where love becomes data, and redemption comes at the cost of reality itself.

He gave up everything for love. Once a rising professional with a brilliant future, Ethan Hale abandoned his high-paying career to support his wife’s ambition. While he became a full-time father and the silent backbone of their household, she built a powerful company—using his sacrifices as stepping stones. On the night her company goes public, Ethan prepares a candlelit celebration. Instead, he discovers the truth: his wife is having an affair with a younger subordinate. Before he can confront her, he is betrayed, cornered, and killed—his death erased as an unfortunate accident. But fate is not finished with him. Ethan opens his eyes to find himself reborn on the very day her company goes public, with full memory of his past life. This time, the cold dinner, the incriminating video, and the betrayal no longer break him—they awaken something far more dangerous. Calm, calculated, and merciless, Ethan exposes the affair, demands a divorce, and reclaims everything he once gave up. Using his future knowledge, he re-enters the ruthless business world, dismantling empires, manipulating markets, and turning former allies into enemies. As his power grows, so do the stakes. Hidden enemies emerge. Another reborn manipulator lurks in the shadows. The cost of changing fate begins to exact a brutal price. And when his revenge threatens the very people he wants to protect, Ethan must confront the truth he never faced in his first life: Is winning worth losing his humanity? Caught between love and vengeance, power and responsibility, Ethan must decide whether his second life will be ruled by hatred or forged into something greater. This is not just a story of revenge. It is a story about second chances, the price of power, and choosing the future you deserve.

Harry Solomon thought his wedding day would finally prove his worth to his family. Instead, he stood alone at the altar while his bride rushed to his brother's hospital bedside. "Where the hell are you?" Mona's voice cut through the phone like ice. "Frank is in the hospital and you're nowhere to be found!" "I'm at the church! It's our wedding day, Mona!" Harry's voice cracked with desperation. "It's just a wedding—delaying it doesn't matter, but Frank's condition can't wait!" For twenty-four years, Harry had been the forgotten son—the one who disappeared as a child, the one who returned to find his place taken by his "perfect" brother Frank. Every achievement stolen, every relationship destroyed, every moment of happiness crushed under the weight of a family that never wanted him back. But when Frank's "dying wish" becomes marrying Harry's fiancée, and the family demands Harry sacrifice his very heart to save his brother, Harry discovers the ultimate betrayal: it's all been a lie. "You want my heart?" Harry's voice turned cold. "Don't you realize that would kill me too?" "Frank needs that heart more than you do," his father replied without hesitation. Bleeding out in a warehouse, abandoned by everyone he'd tried to love, Harry makes a desperate wish on a shooting star. When he wakes up six years in the past, he has one chance to rewrite his story—and this time, he's done being the family sacrifice. Sometimes the only way to save yourself is to lose everything.

"No one cares whether I live or die," Christian thought as he felt himself losing consciousness, his body weak and broken after being abused to the brink of death by his own father. When he woke, however, he found himself surrounded by a group of unfamiliar faces. These strangers, claiming to be his mother's relatives, looked at him with a mix of fury and compassion, grandfather, uncles, and aunts, people he never knew existed, stood before him. "Who dared to hurt the heir of the Sargent family?" His uncles roared, their voices trembling with rage. "The one who dares to lay a finger on my precious grandson will meet their end!" His grandfather declared with cold determination. "Here, Christian," one of his aunts smiled, handing him a sparkling black card. "This is your diamond card, one of a kind. It’s all yours, you could even buy a country with it if that’s what you want." They treated him like the most precious treasure in the world. The once-abandoned and ridiculed son of the Adam's family turned out to be the long-lost heir of the prestigious Sargent family. The same Adam family that had humiliated and tormented him was brought to their knees. Broken and desperate, they begged for his forgiveness. "Christian, we’re sorry," they pleaded. "Please, have mercy on us! After all, we’re still family!" A tale of vengeance and redemption. The Rise of Christian Sargent chronicles, a journey of an abandoned son reclaiming his identity and power as a true heir of Sargent family. As Christian unravels the mysteries of his bloodline, he forges unexpected connections, faces his enemies, and discovers the truth behind his mother’s legacy in this magical and exhilarating saga.

To save his family, he had to stop being human. Twenty-four-year-old Jid has spent his life in the dirt, breathing the rust of the Bulwark slums. As the sole guardian of his younger sister, Sommy, his world is measured in scraps of bread and the hours of backbreaking labor he sells to the powerful guilds. He doesn’t dream of glory; he dreams of a roof that doesn't leak and a meal that doesn't taste like ash. But the world outside the walls is changing. The "Infected" are evolving, and the shadows are growing teeth. When a high-stakes raid into the forbidden zones turns into a bloody execution, Jid is the one left behind. Betrayed and gutted by the monsters in the dark, he should have died in the mud. Instead, something ancient and hungry found him first. Jid wakes up to a world he no longer recognizes. The pain is gone, replaced by a cold, mechanical pulse in his mind and a shimmering gold light in his eyes. A strange, haunting interface now dictates his every move, granting him powers that defy the laws of time and biology—powers that the ruling corporations would kill to own. But the "System" isn't a gift. It’s a tether to an outer-world threat that views humanity as nothing more than ink on a page, ready to be erased. Now, Jid must return to the city that abandoned him, hiding the monster he is becoming while using his new abilities to protect the only person he has left. He survived the death of his old life, but as the hunger grows and the "System" begins to rewrite his soul, Jid realizes the hardest part isn't surviving the dead—it’s surviving the thing he’s turning into. And whatever is coming for him.

For three agonizing years, Marcus Chen endured the daily humiliation of being the Williams family's useless son-in-law. Mocked by his wife's relatives and treated as a live-in servant, he swallowed every insult while his beautiful wife, Emma, grew cold and distant, ashamed of their marriage. His breaking point came at Emma's birthday party, where his cheap gift was scorned and his brother-in-law, Daniel, publicly announced Emma's engagement to a wealthy rival. As Marcus stood broken and covered in champagne, Emma delivered the final, crushing blow: "I'm sorry, Marcus," she whispered. "But Daniel's right. You're... you're just not enough. You'll never be enough." But the forces that sought to destroy him made a fatal mistake. Stumbling into the cold night, Marcus was nearly killed in a staged accident, a final act of cruelty that instead triggered an ancient power. The **Legacy Inheritance System** roared to life, revealing his true identity as the lost heir to the trillion-dollar Chen Empire, a conglomerate thought destroyed twenty years ago. The system's first command was clear: **[SYSTEM ACTIVATED: HEIR RECOVERY PROTOCOL INITIATED]**. From a scorned waiter to the master of a hidden fortune, Marcus is reborn with a single, burning purpose: to reclaim everything that was stolen from him. Now, Marcus Chen is no longer the man they humiliated. Each system mission unlocks new abilities, exposes hidden enemies, and brings him closer to the truth behind his family's downfall. He will rise from the ashes of his past, an unstoppable force ready to crush the powerful elite who once laughed at his pain. Will he succeed in reclaiming his empire and proving his worth to the woman who abandoned him? Or will the conspiracy that destroyed the Chen family finish what they started? Dive into this tale of revenge, redemption, and the ultimate system-powered comeback.

Once, he believed Forex trading would save his family. Instead, it destroyed him. Plagued by constant losses and sleepless nights, he watched his savings vanish trade after trade, until the final blow came in the form of a phone call that shattered his world. His young daughter had been rushed to the hospital. The doctor’ s verdict was merciless—without an immediate and expensive surgery, she would not survive. With nothing left but desperation, he ran home to tell his wife, hoping they would face the storm together. Instead, he was greeted with divorce papers. Blinded by greed and seduced by a rich and powerful man, she chose wealth over family, even as their child lay on the edge of death. Broken and forced to sign the divorce, he stumbled out of the house, his life reduced to nothing. Fate nearly claimed him moments later when a speeding car almost ended it all. But instead of death, something unimaginable awakened within him. A Forex Trading System. A voice in his mind. A guide beyond human logic. With the last money he possessed, he placed one final trade—then another. Against all odds, the market obeyed. Profits surged. Losses vanished. In a matter of days, the man who had lost everything rose from ruin to wealth. He rushed back to the hospital, paid for his daughter’s surgery in full, and saved her life. But that was only the beginning. Under the system’s guidance, he conquered the financial world, rising from a broken trader to a billionaire feared and respected across global markets. And when success finally crowned him, the woman who once abandoned him returned—begging for forgiveness. Will he accept her back? Or will he move on with his life and find someone better?

Connor Waratah, once heir to the powerful Waratah empire, lives a humble life in Melbourne after being cast out by his family, falsely branded a thief, and abandoned when he needed them most. When the family’s loyal retainer, Jimmy Coolabah, arrives to bring him back, Connor rejects the offer, unwilling to forgive their betrayal. Later, at his wife Kirra’s wealthy Kuranda family gathering, Connor makes a desperate public plea for a loan to save the struggling Billabong Elder Care and Children’s Home—the orphanage where he was raised. His appeal is met with ridicule, insults, and humiliation, leading to his ejection from the event. Kirra, furious over the embarrassment, demands that if Connor wants to redeem himself, he must secure a lucrative property deal her family has long been denied. But when Connor returns to the care home to confess his failure, he discovers a mysterious $2 million donation, medical supplies, and toys for the children—courtesy of Jimmy Coolabah. Jimmy also presents him with two staggering gifts: a rare black card with unlimited funds and full ownership of Jarrah Properties, the very company controlling the building Kirra needs. Though Connor refuses the wealth outright, he realizes he now has the power to help both the care home and his wife. Keeping his fortune and new position a secret, Connor visits Jarrah Properties, enduring cruel treatment from an old enemy before revealing to the company president that he is the new owner. Connor orders that Kirra’s family be given fair access to properties without ever knowing his involvement. Determined to restore the orphanage, protect his wife’s pride, and quietly outmaneuver those who wronged him, Connor begins using his hidden influence to change their lives—on his own terms.

Kai Gibson has always been ordinary—too ordinary for a city like Harborview, where power, influence, and fear rule every street corner. After losing his father under mysterious circumstances and struggling under crushing debt, Kai is pushed to the edge of survival. But everything changes the night he’s ambushed behind an abandoned mall and a strange surge of energy awakens inside him. With the rare ability known as Tactical Insight, Kai begins to see the world differently—patterns, threats, weaknesses, pathways to victory even when the odds are against him. Suddenly, the once-weak young man becomes a rising force in Harborview’s underworld. But Kai’s evolution comes with a price. Every step forward drags him deeper into a web of enemies: street gangs, corrupt elites, hidden organizations, and people he once trusted. Betrayals strike from unexpected places, and Kai learns that the attack that awakened his power wasn’t random at all—it was planned. Now trapped between shadowy forces that want to control him and others who want him dead, Kai must level up faster than his enemies expect. Each chapter pushes him through higher stakes: • deadly ambushes • shocking betrayals • growing supernatural abilities • strategic face-slapping comebacks • climbing from the lowest rung of society to a position of unstoppable strength As Kai climbs, he uncovers the truth behind his father’s death, the origins of his new power, and a hidden war brewing beneath the city’s neon lights. To survive, he must rise. To win, he must become more than human. And to uncover the truth, he must be willing to face the darkness inside—and the monsters hiding in plain sight. Harborview will remember the name Kai Gibson… whether it wants to or not.

The Formidable System: Alex Cole secret heir. SYNOPSIS Ethan Cole, once a nobody ridiculed by his fiancée Lily, discovers through a mysterious System that he is in fact the secret heir of Alexander Cole, CEO of the global tech empire Cole Consortium. Humiliated publicly at a banquet and abandoned by those he thought loved him, Ethan becomes determined to rise above his broken past. The System begins training him in discipline, self-worth, and confidence, first through physical conditioning with Grayson, an old-school boxing coach, and later in the penthouse gym under Jonathan’s guidance. This training doesn’t turn Ethan into a soldier but prepares him mentally and physically to stand tall as the man destined to inherit an empire. Meanwhile, shadows move in the background. Ethan is stalked by men loyal to Wilson Flake, CEO of rival tech giant Orbitway and longtime enemy of Alexander Cole. Unknown to Ethan at first, Wilson is also Daniel’s father — Daniel being Lily’s new fiancé. Wilson, who has long tried and failed to take over Cole Consortium, sees Ethan’s sudden rise as a new threat. As Ethan grows in confidence, he begins making waves in the industry. Deals once meant for Orbitway are redirected to Cole Consortium, with whispers that Ethan’s involvement is the reason. Wilson, furious, summons Daniel and begins plotting ways to assess Ethan’s intelligence personally. During a lavish dinner party organized by Daniel under Wilson’s orders, Ethan attends — warned by Jonathan to be careful. There, he runs into Lisa Roman, his ex-girlfriend from school who is now a successful fashion CEO. Old flames reignite, much to Lily’s shock. Lily mocks Ethan at first, only to be devastated when she discovers he is Alexander Cole’s heir.