Project Mc2 Novels & Stories

Valeria Cole has spent years sacrificing everything to keep her younger brother alive. But when his condition suddenly deteriorates, she is given an impossible ultimatum; raise an astronomical sum of money in seven days or lose him forever. Valeria accepts a contract marriage proposal from Julius Sterling, the billionaire CEO of Sterling Holdings, as a result of desperation. The agreement appears simple. She will be his wife for one year in exchange for enough money to save her brother's life. But nothing about Julius Sterling seemed simple. As Valeria adjusts to a world of wealth, power, and carefully guarded secrets, she begins to uncover disturbing inconsistencies surrounding her marriage. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that the contract was never just a business arrangement. The greatest betrayal comes from the one person she trusted most—her best friend, Victoria Whitmore. Unknown to Valeria, Victoria played a crucial role in bringing her and Julius together as part of a hidden corporate project designed to manipulate human behavior and control outcomes. What Valeria believed was a lifeline was, in reality, a carefully orchestrated trap. Caught between a powerful man who knows more than he admits and a friend whose loyalty was never what it seemed, Valeria must decide whether she will remain a pawn in someone else's game or fight for her freedom. When secrets unravel and loyalties shatter, she discovers a terrifying truth: she was never chosen to be wife. She was chosen to be a test.

The day Adrian Knight clinched a contract with our biggest client, I "accidentally" tipped a bottle of ink across the paperwork, voiding it on the spot. Because of that single blot, the project landed in Alex Lewis’s lap, and he won Chairman Henry Carter’s favor almost overnight, moving into the Carter mansion as their future son-in-law and watching his net worth rocket into eight figures. Adrian never blamed me. He just laughed that he’d never been executive material anyway and happily brought me home as his bride. Everyone whispered that, if not for my meddling, Adrian would already be sitting in the Carter family’s executive suite instead of scraping by in an ordinary life with me. Only I knew the truth: stopping him from signing that contract had saved his life. When Adrian learned I was pregnant, he locked me in the basement, fingers digging into my throat. "If it hadn’t been for you," he snarled, "I’d be Henry Carter’s son-in-law by now. You’re the reason I lost Rachel, the princess of the Carter family." That’s when I realized he’d been nursing this grudge for years. After he killed me, I woke up, reborn on the very day Adrian first reached for that fatal contract. This time, I’ll make sure Adrian Knight gets exactly what he wants.

When the heatwave apocalypse hits the Earth, the ozone layer has completely dissipated, forcing mankind to move into the underground city. My husband, Rhett Calloway, and I get to stay on Level Two, seeing as we've funded the construction of the underground city. On day in the third year of the heatwave apocalypse, Rhett brings back a sickly young woman from the slums located on Level Three out of the blue. "Nora, the living conditions on Level Three are very difficult. Anna is in poor health. I can't just sit by and watch her suffer." After that, Rhett carries Anna Archer into our home. I keep my gaze lowered as I remind him, "Don't forget that there's a strict population count on Level Two. The available slots in every family are fixed." "I know that. That's why you need to head down to the slums on Level Three to replace Anna for the time being. Once she recovers from her illness, I'll bring you home." The moment I hear Rhett's response, I remain rooted to the spot for a long time. After walking out the front door, I do my best to suppress the quiver in my tone as I call a number that belongs to Level One. "I've already thought it through. I've decided to join the project to end the apocalypse on Level One."

"By day, I'm invisible. By night, I'm his darkest fantasy." Jane Puckett doesn't belong at Riverside Academy; not among the trust fund babies and silver spoon elite. She's the scholarship girl who keeps her head down and her grades up, desperate to survive four years in a world that wants her gone. Until she makes one fatal mistake: crossing Ace Monroe. Gorgeous, dangerous, and untouchable, Ace is campus royalty with a cruel streak and an axe to grind. After Jane tanks his grade on a group project he refused to touch, he makes it his personal mission to destroy her. Every day is a new humiliation. Every class, a fresh hell. But Ace doesn't know Jane's secret. When the sun goes down, Plain Jane becomes Jailbird; the most requested dancer at Fantasy Island, the exclusive club where lustful boys go to indulge their filthiest desires. It's the only way she can afford what her scholarship won't cover. The only way she survives. Then fate—or karma—walks through the door. On his twenty-first birthday, Ace Monroe buys a private dance from the masked siren who's been haunting the patrons of fantasy island. He doesn't recognize she is the girl he's been tormenting by day. But he is about to.

Celeste, Luca’s first love, and I were trapped in the Romano docks fire on the same night. He saved me first. By the time he went back for Celeste, the warehouse had already collapsed. She died in the fire and became the regret he carried for the rest of his life. Luca never said he blamed me. But after that night, my birthdays, our anniversaries, even private family dinners became days for him to mourn Celeste. He often said, “It should have been me.” Years later, the Chronos Project opened to the powerful families of the underworld. For a brutal price, it could send someone back to one moment in the past. Luca signed the waiver without hesitation. Before entering the machine, he said to me, “I saved you first because you were my wife. If I had saved Celeste first, the families would have called her my mistress and destroyed her. This time, I’ll save her properly.” After he vanished, the Romano elders turned all their grief on me. “If Luca had chosen Celeste first, he would have had the life he wanted.” “She died because of you.” “You should have been the one the fire took.” I did not explain. I signed the Chronos waiver too. This time, I would give them what they wanted.

To Bleed for You For seventy years, Elena has walked the earth as a creature of the night, blending seamlessly into the background of mortal institutions. Now posing as a sophomore at St. Jude University, her rule has always been simple: adapt, blend in, and never get attached. As a bisexual vampire who has seen centuries of human history, she knows that loving mortals only leads to heartbreak—or exposure. Then she meets Maya. It takes only one look across a crowded, rainy university lecture hall for Elena’s carefully structured world to shatter. Maya is vibrant, sharp-witted, and entirely human. From that single, electric moment of love at first sight, Elena is consumed by a terrifying, dual fixation. Maya’s presence is intoxicating, drawing Elena in with a romantic gravity she cannot fight, even as her darkest vampiric instincts burn to claim the warm blood rushing through Maya’s veins. Forced together by a university project, their magnetic attraction quickly turns into a passionate, secret campus romance. Maya is captivated by Elena’s mysterious aura and protective nature, eventually unearthing the dark truth of what Elena really is. But choosing to love a monster means stepping into the shadows. When a ruthless tracker from Elena's past catches Maya’s scent, their forbidden love becomes a dangerous game of survival. In a world where life and death collide, Elena must decide how far she will go to protect the woman she loves—and what it truly means to bleed for her.

After I dropped out of school, my parents didn't pressure me to do anything. But Nicole Hicks kept calling nonstop. She was my boyfriend's childhood friend who had established a reputation as a genius. I was too busy helping out in the fields, growing vegetables, and splashing around in the creek, living my best carefree life. Writing code wasn't even on my mind. In my past life, she had turned in a project just one day before I did. Her codes were exactly the same as mine. Everyone called me a fraud and said I had stolen it. I tried to explain, but no one believed me. Later, she even did a livestream, accusing me online of being a school bully. People went wild. They didn't just come for me—they went after my whole family. Some obsessed troll chased my parents in a car, and they died in a crash. I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped off a high-rise, my eyes still wide open, refusing to accept the way it all ended. Even in my last moment, I couldn't figure it out. That code was mine. My hard work. So how did she manage to post it before me? When I opened my eyes again, I was back, right before everything fell apart.

The company had just taken off when a project my wife, Lenora Peterson, was in charge of ran into trouble. To ease her mind during her pregnancy, I went overseas in her stead, spending ten perilous years abroad before finally returning home, barely alive. Instead of the joyful reunion I had imagined, she greeted me with cold detachment and thinly veiled disgust. "Why are you back?" Lenora asked. "Today is Nathan’s housewarming party," she added. "Let’s head there first—we’ll talk later." We rode in silence the entire way. When we arrived, a ten-year-old girl came dashing over and clung to Lenora affectionately. “Mommy, why did you take so long? Daddy’s been waiting for you forever!” Daddy? My eyes burned with rage—until I saw my old friend Nathan Grant stepping out to greet us with a smile. "Lily, come to Daddy. Mommy’s tired—don’t bother her now." When I met Lenora’s eyes, the guilt I saw there told me everything I needed to know. I turned away and texted my assistant, Morgan Williamson, to begin acquiring the company that, by right, had always belonged to me. He soon reported back. "Mr. Brooke, the acquisition process will be completed in three days."

On the day I successfully conceived through IVF, my CEO boyfriend—the sole heir to a nine-generation business empire—finally agreed to marry me. Yet, after a flight of more than ten hours, I landed only to be greeted by a public announcement of his marriage to his secretary, with journalists watching from every angle. The secretary eagerly showed off the marriage certificate, fresh off the press. "Don't worry, everyone. From now on, I'll personally supervise Mr. Lane for the rest of our lives." When the journalists spotted me, they all focused on me, hoping I'd cause a scene. However, I merely smiled and congratulated the couple. "You and Mr. Lane are perfect for each other, Ms. Quinn. I wish you both a long and happy marriage." Everyone was shocked. No one had expected such generosity from me—Harold's girlfriend of nine years. As I turned to leave, Harold darted over to defend himself with a scowl. "Leila worked day and night with me on this international project. She refused every bonus and only asked to experience the fairy-tale romance of marrying a CEO. We already agreed to divorce once the project is over. I'll make it up to you with an even bigger, better wedding." Then, his voice softened. "For the sake of our baby, don't cause trouble, okay?" With a bright smile, I slapped his hand away. "Who told you the baby's yours?"

Heartbroken, Charleigh Wrylee, a charming and driven associate architect, dedicates her life to her career. She grabs the opportunity when a new project promises her a promotion. Bryce Chase is a tough daddy and a great baker with only two goals in life—raising his child and managing his cake shop. But things change when he runs into a new girl. Even though their interests don’t align, it turns the heat between them, pulling them together like magnets. Will they be able to set their issues aside and follow their hearts instead? Or will they rather stick to what they’re fighting for; his shop and her promotion? *** Sometimes hiding the truth comes with a great price. That’s what the quiet and preserved Arizona Sky realizes after meeting Tripp Wrylee— a hardworking overconfident CEO of a top architectural firm. She finds herself doing things she never thought she’d do— marrying a man she barely knows and leaving her the next day.  Three years later, he comes back, asking for a second chance, filling the husband’s role he left empty, bringing out the other side of him that Ari never knew he had.  Things between them become surreal until his job is at risk, their relationship is in hot water, and the people she loves are against their relationship, but something between them is maybe worth saving.