The Art of Falling
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- Votes 28
- Parts 17
In New Orleans, secrets aren't buried-they drown in bourbon and sin.
At twenty-nine, Serena Carter has built her life on precision and control. As a no-nonsense PR strategist, she's made a name for herself cleaning up other people's messes before they explode into scandal. But when she's hired to plan a high-profile charity gala for August Monroe, a reclusive ex-NFL star turned art gallery owner, her carefully managed world begins to crack.
Once the golden boy of American football, August Monroe vanished from the spotlight ten years ago after the shocking death of his wife, Clarissa- Texas beauty queen whose suicide left behind more questions than answers. In the years since, August has traded stadium lights for oil paints, living like a ghost amid canvases that whisper of loss and guilt.
Now, as he steps reluctantly back into public view, Serena is tasked with reviving his image... and shielding him from the storm that's waiting.
But New Orleans has a memory-and it doesn't forgive easily.
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Imagine your father-a once honorable and loving man, now desperate and powerless-can no longer pay the unforgiving gambling debt he had stacked up for decades. And because he's unable to be that protective and respected father he once was, he sells his only daughter to a notorious Mexican gang leader as collateral just to save himself from death. As troubling as they may have been as a dream, that was the reality of 24-year-old Naomi Bennett. As soon as her birthday came around, she was bombarded with devastating news that she would no longer have control of her life. She was now owned by a random man due to an issue she had no association with, unable to escape or hide from his ruthlessness, conniving ways, and inhumane behavior. Since becoming the new leader of the Mexican gang, The Black Shadow, Santiago Alejandro de la Vega vowed to maintain that mysterious and demeaning atmosphere the organization has been carrying for years. He handled business as he saw fit: coldblooded, devious, haunting, and dirty. No one ever thought to play with him out of fear of what he could and would do if tried, except for one. A woman who was given to him as collateral, a hardheaded piece of property that angered every cell in his body and made his job more difficult than it had ever been. As badly as he wants to send her away to the mountains-avoid having to constantly deal with her attitudes and sass-Santiago finds her rebelliousness intriguing enough to keep her around. Emotions flare. Feelings emerge. Problems spark. The Devil holds rules and codes of conduct to keep himself and his team in line. Any rule broken is met with severe consequences. But he couldn't help but risk breaking one for her. Published: 07/3/25 Ended:
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