Rubellite Vladimirovna Dmitrieva is the only daughter of the prestigious and feared Dmitriev family, their one and only princess. At five years old, she was kidnapped and disappeared without a trace. From that moment on, her brothers never stopped searching. The loss hardened them into a more ruthless versions of themselves as years passed with no answers. Nine years later, their search finally comes to an end. Rubellite is exactly as they remembered her. She remains bright and cheerful, with that same easy smile. Yet something about it feels carefully built, almost fake. What they slowly begin to understand is far worse than anything they had prepared themselves for. The little sister they remember has lived through something that cannot be undone by simply bringing her home. Secretly, Rubellite has been breaking in ways no one thought a child could survive. ── ─ ┈┈┈┄┄╌╌ ❗IMPORTANT NOTE❗ This story is Vol. 1 This volume will have a complete & satisfying ending and can be enjoyed as a standalone story. If you'd like to continue the story after Vol. 1, Vol. 2 will be available as an optional paid content on Ko-fi. Reading Vol. 2 is entirely optional, since Vol. 1 can be enjoyed on its own. ── ─ ┈┈┈┄┄╌╌ ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This story contains sensitive and emotionally distressing themes, including graphic violence, physical and emotional abuse, manipulation, disturbing family dynamics, morally corrupt characters, and mature content. Reader discretion is advised. © 2026 [CherylZielle]. All rights reserved. Do not distribute the story without permission.

Lexi Thompson has worked her ass off to earn herself a spot on Greenville University's elite volleyball team. She doesn't plan on letting anything or anyone distract her from her future-at least not for more than one night. One spontaneous decision leads to waking up in a stranger's bed and sneaking out before sunrise. It isn't until she takes his spot in class months later that she finds out the guy she ghosted is Greenville's golden-boy. Chase Alexander is struggling to balance being the hockey star, top student, and a part-time job. His new position as team captain is taking up all his focus and his tight schedule didn't include ever seeing his incredible one-night stand again, but then she shows up in his class. All of his classes. Neither of them have room in their lives for a relationship. Friends. They can be friends. Simple. Safe. Off-limits. But when Lexi's ambitions are jeopardized by one tragic event and the life she's fought for starts to crumble, Chase is the one person who refuses to let her fall. She came to Greenville to chase her dreams. She didn't expect to find someone worth risking them for. (sample)

𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 /ˈnɒk.tɜːrn/ noun A musical composition inspired by the night-soft, melancholic, and haunting. A reminder that even the darkest hours carry a melody of their own. Where she mistook the Nocturne for the end, never knowing it was leading her home. -> Brothers/Family/Crimes

Daniella Florakis loved her family. Well, not her blood family. Her mother died when she was barely ten, and she never knew who her father was. Not like that mattered. Her stepfather had been the best dad she could ever ask for, and when he passed, her stepsister, Iris, stepped up. Daniella was content with her simple life. That is, until Iris suddenly runs away. No explanation, no reason known, no heads up, nothing. Heartbroken and confused, Daniella is already struggling with figuring out her next step. Things only get worse when the police call, saying someone claims to be family. All of a sudden, she's whisked off to California and put in a house with six older brothers she didn't even know existed. But, hey, why is she complaining? This new life seems to be perfect. What complaints should she have as a long-lost heiress to a multi-million dollar company? However, she can't help but feel that something is wrong. Her suspicious are proven correct when she unveils the first secret that exposes a whole new set of intricately webbed lies. It's painful. It's messy. It's risky. But she won't stop. She can't. Because what else can you do when the reality you were living turns out to be a lie?

Raised to be holy. Born into something far more dangerous. Seventeen year old, Evienne Ellery spent her life preparing for heaven. Sent away to a secluded boarding school in the Swiss Alps by distant, unfeeling adoptive parents, she was raised by nuns and priests to be obedient, submissive and small. Behind stone chapels and cold classrooms, Evienne learned early that love was conditional, punishment was holy, and suffering was something to be endured quietly Her future was simple: be good, be faithful, and one day do her duty-marry a man who would secure her family's interests. Her life was planned. Controlled. Perfect. Until it wasn't. When everything she knows collapses, Evienne is torn from the only world she has ever known and sent to live with her biological family-six brothers who are loud, vulgar, violent, and unapologetically criminal. They don't pray. They don't obey. And they certainly don't believe in God the way she was taught. They believe in blood. With them, she learns the truth of who she really is: The lost princess of one of the most powerful mafia families in the world. Her brothers have been searching for her for years, and now that they've found her, they refuse to lose her again. In their world of power, crime, and betrayals, Evienne learns that love doesn't always look gentle-and protection often comes with a body count. But as old family feuds resurface, enemies close in, and the past she was hidden from begins to reach for her, Evienne is forced to confront an impossible question: What happens when the people you love will never be welcome in heaven-and you're no longer sure you want to go without them?

Her mind had erased her family years ago. Forgotten them, like they had never existed. In much the same way, Anastasia Volkov had been removed from her family. Sent away. Forgotten, like she never existed. Then, one day, she was summoned to come home... ....... The Volkov family is powerful and feared. Five formidable brothers and one beautiful younger sister. To everyone, they look perfect. Like nothing is missing. But they are wrong. Walls remember they were once seven. When Anastasia returns, people whisper about her. Difficult, unstable, dangerous. Some say she tried to hurt her sister. Others say her family hid her away to protect themselves. She doesn't know what is true. She can't remember any of it. Yet someone wanted her back home. But in a house full of secrets, being noticed might be the most dangerous mistake.

Ivan has endured more pain, misery, and heartbreak in his fourteen years of life than most people do in a lifetime, all at the hands of a father who's given him nothing but hate and scars. Then his "father" dies in a tragic accident, and a DNA test reveals that his father isn't his father, he has a real family: a mother, a father, and four older brothers. His entire life has been a lie. And to top it all off, they're not just any family, they're the Morozov's. A name everyone has heard at least once in their lifetime. Wealthy, powerful, and untouchable across the globe. Can Ivan survive there world? Learn to trust and maybe even love? Or is this just another disaster waiting to explode?

𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 /ˈ𝘭ɪ𝘮ɪ𝘯ə𝘭/ adjective existing in the quiet interval before change, where nothing has ended, but everything feels about to. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸. Brothers/Family

Lily is happy with her life. She has a unique family that she can rely on as well as four great friends who support her - and vice versa. She doesn't mind school, loves to play soccer in her spare time and cannot say no to sweets. For as long as she can remember, it has always been just her and her brothers. There are no parents in the picture. The 12-year-old has never bothered to find out what actually happened to them and she has never even met them. Her oldest brother is her and the other minors' guardian. This is how it has always been, and Lily likes it that way. However, something seems to be changing. Three of her brothers suddenly move back home, or at least make plans to do so. The older ones start to act secretive and they appear more preoccupied than usual. Certain things don't add up anymore. Lily's curiosity is piqued. What is going on with her family? What are her oldest brothers hiding from her? Have they been lying to her? Who are her parents? And where are they? Join Lily on a journey that will turn her life upside down and that will put everything into a new perspective, as things slowly start to unravel.

Beatrice Anderson has never lived a normal life. Living in a town where gangs run wild and no one seems to follow the law Beatrice has become quite a rambunctious kid. Her parents were never really there for her and her siblings and their parenting skills were sketchy at best. But she has always had her brothers behind her. While having absent parents was hard on the siblings that just made their bond grow stronger and stronger making them quite a tight nit bunch. Beatrice knows this is not a normal life. But this is her life and she has learned to accept that. She has learned to run with the tide and not fall behind. Not only in a world where she has to keep up with her older brothers but to keep up in the illegal world. In Beatrice's world you've got to run or be left in the dust. While staying away from police officers trying to send her and her underaged siblings off to foster care, making sure you don't get too deep into gang affairs, and being independent yet still keeping trust and honesty within your family. But what happens when hidden secrets come out from more than one family member, tensions run high, and they realize they don't know nearly enough about each other than they thought. It's gonna be a hell of a ride.