Thirteen years before Emma Dumas bought me in a bachelor auction to teach me a lesson, she stole my heart down on Key West. I fell so hard for this girl, I made all the promises. Only with Emma, I really meant them. And then I disappeared. But it wasn’t my fault. Let’s just call my reason “Family Business”. I’d tell you what that business is, but then I’d have to kill you. Just kidding. I can’t tell you what my family business is because it’s so secret, even I don’t know.

McKay: I wasn’t the one who broke her, but I helped. She came to us when she was 10. I raised her. I loved her. I taught her how to survive in a world of evil men. But it wasn’t enough. Adam: I wasn’t the one who saved her but I did my best. Bought and paid for on the auction block. But not for the reasons you think. She was my weapon. Donovan: I wasn’t the one who lied to her but I hid her truth. She was broken before I got there. Wild and angry. Defiant and bratty. But she trusted me most. She loved me best. So I set her free.

Rook Walsh appeared out of nowhere like a dark angel sent to steal my soul. And I could just tell that she was broken, and beaten, and scared. So I made her an offer of a lifetime. She needed a job and I needed a certain "type" of girl for a modeling contract worth millions of dollars called Tragic. I was warned to keep my hands to myself. I was warned not to get involved. I was warned not to ruin her. (The way I ruined the last one.) But I don’t take orders - I give them.

Five Aston has known Rory Shrike for as long as he can remember. He played with her in the sandbox. He went to every damn horse show just to be supportive. He helped her with her French, walked her home from school, and faked his test scores just to stay with her a little longer and not be sent off to college early. But eventually he had to move on. And so did she. Never has a second chance meant so much to a boy who loves a girl.

Battered, barefoot, and huddled under a bookstore awning in the pouring rain, Blue only knows one thing. After 15 months of captivity, finally she is free. Self-made millionaires JD and Ark are not out to save anyone when they stumble upon a wet and shivering girl one early Sunday morning. But when you sell sex for a living and salvation rings your bell, you answer the call. After years of searching, love lifts the veil of darkness, and three people - with three very big secrets - find themselves bound together.

They say there are three things you should do at least once in your life: Dance like nobody’s watching. Travel the world. And fall hopelessly in love. I aimed to do all three. I went to Italy to find myself. But he found me.

Maddie isn’t looking to be saved. She knows the only person you can count on is yourself. Her moral compass might not point true north these days - but at least she’s still standing. The military taught Tyler about loyalty. Being there for your brothers is the only thing that matters - but when it mattered most, he wasn’t.

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world. As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

They call him the Sick Heart. They say he's a shameless monster. They say he's a ruthless killer. They say he's as twisted as the man who owns him. They say a lot of things about Cort van Breda. But in our world violence is money, and money is winning, and winning is life, and life is the only thing that matters. Except...he wasn't meant to win that last fight. And I wasn't meant to be his prize. But he did. And I am. And now his sick heart owns me.

Fancy boats. Lakeside mansions. Luxe watches and bespoke suits. The Kings of High Court College act like Gods. And Cooper Valcourt is the worst of them. He is the bully king. His family owns everything. And his mission is to put me in my place and send me packing. But Cooper and I have a history filled with secrets. And everyone knows that power doesn’t come from having money. It comes from holding secrets. And I’m holding one of his.