Aurora Hale knows how to make anything bloom. Roses. Nightshade. Even love. In the sun-washed city of Elysian Coast, she runs Thorn & Bloom-a café-floral atelier that deals in beauty with a bite. Her husband, Jeremiah, is chasing the kind of perfection that photographs well: seaside dinners, charity galas, and promises whispered through polished smiles. But the petals have started to fall. What once felt like devotion now feels like decay, soft, slow, and deliberate. Thier relationship is withering under the weight of its own rot. And in Elysian Coast, everything that grows beautiful must feed on something dying.

I was never supposed to be on his radar. I do my job, keep my head down, and know better than to stare too long at men like him. But one look turned into a warning. One warning turned into a promise. Now he's everywhere, and suddenly I'm part of a story I never asked to be in. He calls it destiny. I call it my undoing. And in Liberty City, everything's for sale- Except the girl who won't kneel. (House of Verena is a dark cartel-syndicate romance featuring obsession, moral corruption, and power games. This story contains adult themes, graphic content, and morally gray characters.)