Mary Nwogu

SHATTERED BY SECRETS

Reads

SHATTERED BY SECRETS A New Adult DramaBy: Your NameDedicationFor everyone who's ever discovered that the prettiest houses often hide the ugliest secrets.PrologueThe mansion had no business looking that beautiful.Its white stone walls reflected the evening sun like polished marble, while floor-to-ceiling windows glowed with golden light. From the outside, the Hawthorne Estate looked like the kind of place people dreamed about—luxury cars lined the circular driveway, fountains danced beneath perfectly trimmed hedges, and music drifted across the gardens where the city's elite gathered for another extravagant celebration.People smiled for photographs.Champagne glasses clinked.Laughter echoed beneath crystal chandeliers.No one noticed the girl standing on the third-floor balcony.Ava Carter wrapped her fingers around the cold railing and stared down at the crowd below. Just three weeks ago, she had lived in a modest lakeside home with her father. Now she wore a designer dress worth more than a month's rent in her old neighbourhood.Her father had married Victoria Hawthorne.Everyone called it the wedding of the year.Everyone called them the perfect family.Everyone was wrong.Downstairs, Victoria greeted politicians, celebrities and business executives with effortless grace. Beside her stood Richard Carter, smiling wider than Ava had seen in years.It almost looked real.Almost.A movement in the upstairs hallway caught Ava's attention.Someone hurried into one of the guest rooms.Another figure followed seconds later.The door closed.Locked.She frowned.Strange.Across the gardens, another pair of eyes watched the mansion.Ethan Monroe.The university's golden boy.Captain of the rowing team.Future heir to Monroe Technologies.He had only agreed to attend because his best friend, Lucas Hawthorne, insisted.Lucas had been Ava's new stepbrother for exactly eighteen days.Neither of them wanted anything to do with the arrangement.Yet somehow, Ethan couldn't stop looking toward the balcony.For a split second, Ava met his gaze.Neither smiled.Neither looked away.Then—A scream shattered the music.Every conversation stopped.A woman staggered backwards onto the terrace.A champagne glass slipped from her hand and exploded across the marble floor.Her trembling finger pointed toward the grand staircase."Oh my God..."Everyone turned.Someone had uploaded a video.Not just any video.A video that would destroy two families before midnight.End of PrologueThis opening sets up the central mystery without revealing the secret too early. From here, the novel can unfold through multiple viewpoints, gradually exposing family betrayals, shifting friendships, romance, and the consequences of hidden truths, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Updated at