Clara Bennett has spent her entire life trying to build a future far removed from the secrets of her past. She is intelligent, stubborn and determined to become something on her own, despite the financial struggles that have followed her for years. The only thing she has never been able to understand is her mother's refusal to tell her the truth about her father.Then Alexander Sterling enters her life.To the world, Alexander is a brilliant billionaire businessman whose name is attached to luxury hotels, technology companies and some of the most powerful corporations in the country. He is young, ruthless and almost untouchable, a man whose wealth has made him one of the most influential figures in the business world.But that is only the identity he allows the world to see.Behind the billions, Alexander controls an empire far more dangerous than anyone could imagine. His real power comes from a secret organisation that has operated in the shadows for decades, and the people who answer to him do not call him a businessman. They call him their boss.Alexander has enemies everywhere, and every secret he keeps has a reason.Then Clara walks into his life.She should have been irrelevant. Instead, she becomes the one person capable of threatening everything he has spent years protecting. Clara is connected to a secret buried deep within Alexander's past, and the truth about her family could expose the one thing he has killed to keep hidden.Alexander knows Clara is in danger.What he refuses to tell her is that some of the people hunting her are connected to him.As Clara is drawn deeper into Alexander's world, she begins to discover that the billionaire who seems determined to protect her is also the most dangerous man she has ever met. His protection becomes increasingly possessive. His jealousy becomes impossible to ignore. He controls who gets close to her, where she goes and what she is allowed to know, insisting that every restriction is necessary to keep her alive.Clara refuses to be controlled.Alexander refuses to let her go.But attraction is the least dangerous thing between them.Someone is killing the people who know the truth about Clara's birth. Someone inside Alexander's organisation is betraying him. And somewhere in the shadows is a man who knows exactly why Clara was hidden from the world for twenty-two years.When Clara finally discovers the secret Alexander has been keeping from her, she realises that she has been asking the wrong question all along.The question is not whether Alexander Sterling is dangerous.It is whether she can survive discovering exactly how dangerous he is.Because Alexander has built his empire on secrets, blood and loyalty.And Clara is the one secret he was never supposed to love.

BEGINNINGThe story begins with Dianne, a sixteen-year-old girl who is funny, clumsy, emotional and secretly in love with Jason, the most popular boy in school. She has liked him for almost three years, despite the fact that he has repeatedly embarrassed, mocked and bullied her. Dianne knows he treats her badly, but because of how strongly she feels about him, she constantly finds excuses for his behaviour and dreams about the possibility that one day he will finally notice her.Dianne lives with her twin brother, Theo, and their mother, Emily. Their family was once extremely wealthy until their father, Jake, abandoned them and took their money with him. He later married another woman, only to be betrayed and left with nothing. Although Jake eventually reconnects with the family and begins trying to make amends, Theo never forgives him easily. Dianne, however, still secretly misses the father who used to call her “Princess Dianne.”At school, Dianne's only true best friend is Sky. Unlike Claire and her friends, who abandoned Dianne when her family lost its wealth, Sky remained loyal to her. Claire becomes Dianne's main rival, constantly reminding her of her family's downfall and using Jason's popularity to make Dianne feel inferior.The story develops when Sky becomes president of the drama club and announces auditions for a new school production called Love in Every Word. She secretly hopes to cast Dianne opposite Jason, believing it might finally give her friend the romantic moment she has always wanted.Instead, Jason uses the opportunity to manipulate Dianne. He approaches her privately, kisses her and makes her believe that perhaps her three-year crush has finally become real. Unknown to Dianne, Jason is recording the encounter as part of a cruel plan.DEVELOPMENTAt the audition, Jason publicly humiliates Dianne. He leads her onto the stage before suddenly pushing her to the floor and telling everyone that she is pathetic for believing he could ever like her. A manipulated video of their kiss begins playing behind them. The footage has been edited to make it appear as though Dianne initiated the kiss and desperately refused to let Jason go.Claire is delighted, while Theo immediately attacks Jason and has to be restrained. Sky and Josh take Dianne backstage, where she finally breaks down. She realizes that Jason deliberately exploited the feelings he knew she had for him.The incident becomes a turning point. Dianne still has feelings for Jason, but her idealized image of him begins to disappear. Theo apologizes for not recognizing sooner that his friendship with Jason was based largely on popularity rather than genuine loyalty.What was love soon turns into enemity for Dianne and a new guy, Justin joins school. Jason soon learns a little bit too late that he has fallen seriously for Dianne. Can he get her to be his with new guy, Justin in the picture?Find out!