"Some secrets are meant to stay buried, but some-like love-refuse to die."
Lyllea Finley never imagined that moving into a new home would thrust her into a world of danger, desire, and deadly secrets. But when she meets Nathan Parker, the brooding boy with haunted eyes, everything changes. Nathan is more than just a neighbor-he's the keeper of secrets buried beneath the cherry tree in her backyard, secrets that could destroy them both.
"Stay away from me, Lyllea. You don't know what I'm capable of."
Nathan's warning is clear, but Lyllea can't resist the pull of his dark, magnetic charm. As she's drawn deeper into Nathan's world, she finds herself caught between him and his older brother Adrian Parker-a man with a devilish smile and a past as dangerous as his allure. Adrian's playful teasing masks a darkness that mirrors Nathan's, but there's something about him that Lyllea can't ignore.
And then there's Sean Reed, the popular bad boy who's always been cruel to Lyllea. But as secrets unravel, Sean's cold exterior cracks, revealing feelings he's kept hidden for far too long. Torn between three men, Lyllea must navigate a treacherous path where love and danger intertwine.
"You can't trust anyone, Lyllea-not even me."
With every step closer to the truth, Lyllea unearths more than just family secrets. She discovers the terrifying reality of who Nathan and Adrian truly are, and the deadly stakes they're playing for. But with her heart caught between forbidden love and loyalty, Lyllea must decide if the risk is worth the reward-or if some truths are better left buried beneath the cherry tree.
"You can't escape your past, Lyllea. But you can fight for your future-if you're brave enough."
In Lies Beneath the Cherry Tree, love is dangerous, trust is deadly, and the only thing more terrifying than the truth is what happens when it's finally revealed.
Carissa Belfiore's mission was simple; hunt down the man terrorising her city and burn his syndicate's web of deceptions to the ground. The catch though? She must work together with the devil in disguise.
𐀔𐀔𐀔
Four months after the trail went dark, Cara and her team gain a second chance at retribution, at tracking down the man responsible for the mysterious chain of disappearances plaguing the streets of her town.
Retribution, though, comes at a cost.
Missing people and stolen identities unsolved, Cara's boss presents to her with a new ultimatum. She must pursue this mission with Asrea's top (infuriating) agent or lose the rights to the case.
With no other choice, Cara must learn to thread the thin line of peace with the devil disguised as a federal agent, one who has little belief in patience and even less so for mistakes. Much like everything else though, it was easier said than done.
As the two of them begin to dismantle the empire brick by brick, Cara finds herself pulling at loose strings tying the pieces of the missing puzzles connecting her past to her present. Strings, she soon realises, had been buried by the hands of someone desperately trying to keep her from finding out the truth.
A truth that might just break her.
No retrogrades, no reversals, and no unknowing the known.
If only she could've done it alone, for even the devil must be paid his dues.
The devil whose icy, blue eyes never fail to see through every shield and every shadow she'd built around her heart, the very shadows that seem to calm within his presence.
The man whose icy rage threatens to thaw her blazing heart.
𐀔𐀔𐀔
First Draft Completed on 12/1/2025
Completed on 12/3/2025