lyralucienne
In the iron-fisted world of the Thorne shipping empire, there are twenty-six rules for survival. They are designed to protect the legacy, maintain the mask, and ensure that the heir to the throne, Killian Thorne, remains as cold and unyielding as the Atlantic.
The most important rule? Never let them see what you value.
When Sloane, a defiant artist with a haunted past, is thrust into the Thorne mansion as the new step-daughter, she expects a gilded cage. What she finds is a predator who watches her every move with slate-gray eyes and a list of "corrections" for her rebellious behavior.
Killian is a master of control, but Sloane is a wildfire he can't contain. After a chance encounter at a masked ball-where neither knew the other's identity-a dangerous obsession is sparked. Now, back within the walls of the estate, the tension between them is a ticking time bomb.
As Arthur Thorne tightens the noose, appointing Killian as Sloane's legal guardian to keep them apart, the game turns deadly. From the hidden galleries of the West Wing to the high-stakes boardrooms of the city, they must navigate a world of fake scandals, family betrayals, and blood-soaked legacies.
Killian taught her the rules to keep her in line. Now, they're breaking every one of them to stay alive.
In the House of Thorne, love isn't a gift-it's a battlefield. And the loser loses everything.