Power was their inheritance. Love was their weapon. And blood? That was just business.
AVA CARTER
They whispered my name like it was a warning.
Men in suits feared me. Women in pearls envied me. The press loved me — until they realized I didn't care.
I didn't marry rich. I became it.And when my husband disappeared?I didn't cry.I took his empire, doubled it, and lit a candle at dinner like nothing ever happened.
They think being a single mom made me soft.Sweetheart, it made me lethal.
Because now?Every move I make is for him.
My son. Adrien.Golden boy to the world.But mine — in a way no one else gets to touch.
He's my greatest weakness.And my deadliest strength.
Touch him, and I won't raise my voice.I'll raise your gravestone.
ADRIEN CARTER
They say I was born with everything — looks, charm, legacy.
But they never saw what I was really raised on.Whispers in the hallway. Black cars waiting at midnight.A mother who kissed my forehead with blood on her hands.*
Ava Carter didn't just raise me.She forged me — diamond-cut and fireproof.
They say I'm dangerous.No — I'm disciplined.
Because I learned early:Power isn't loud. It's knowing when silence can kill.
And love?Real love — the kind my mother gave me — that's not soft.That's feral.
She holds me like I'm still a boy.Calls me "baby" even when I'm shoving someone against a locker with a smile.
She's my peace and my punishment.My lullaby and my lesson.
I don't date. I don't trust.Because no one else loves like she does.
They think I'm the threat.They haven't met the woman who raised me.