Beneath the Lies

Beneath the Lies

Maria · Ongoing · 32.2k Words

425
Hot
475
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

A crime. A love from the past. A woman torn between guilt and the truth.

Fernanda seems to live a perfect life: she is the wife of a powerful real estate mogul. But when he is brutally murdered, she becomes the prime suspect.

The detective assigned to the case?
Hermes—her unforgettable, passionate love from the past.

They once shared an intense romance that neither could forget. But fate tore them apart. Now, they meet again under the shadow of a crime with dark motives and buried secrets.

Is Fernanda a cold-blooded killer, capable of eliminating her own husband?
Or is she the victim of a cruel conspiracy?

Amid twists, long-hidden truths, and desires that never died, Hermes will have to face both his feelings—and the truth.

Chapter 1

CURRENT DAYS – HERMES

The phone alarm rang, waking me from a dreamless sleep. On impulse, I immediately turned it off. I didn’t need to check the time—I knew it was 6 a.m., as it was every day.

Silently, I gathered the strength to get up and sat at the edge of the bed, my head pounding with an irritating pain, as if a fine needle was lodged in my temples—a result of last night’s whiskey.

I turned to the side to look at the woman lying in the spacious bed, wrapped in fine Egyptian cotton sheets. Her right thigh was exposed, barely covered by the bedding, and her reddish-brown hair was spread over the pillow. She was around thirty, about five foot seven, with a body clearly shaped by long hours at the gym. I remembered her expressive brown eyes.

"It was a mistake," I thought to myself as I headed toward the bathroom of the luxurious suite.

After closing the door quietly, seeking a bit of privacy, I turned on the shower. The cold water hit my body, relieving the headache caused by the hangover.

As I scrubbed myself vigorously with a sponge, my thoughts turned to Ivone, the owner of the apartment, a real estate businesswoman. Her brother, Jonathan, had gone missing about four months earlier, and I, as Chief Inspector of the Alpha Team of the Homicide and Personal Protection Division of the São Paulo Civil Police—commonly known as the DHPP—was assigned to the case.

Initial investigations revealed that Jonathan was a drug user and in debt to traffickers from a community nestled in the middle of the upscale Morumbi neighborhood. After two difficult months, we located his body in a shallow grave on the outskirts of the city.

Two men were identified and arrested for the crime. They confessed that, due to Jonathan’s long-standing drug debt, they had kidnapped and killed him after draining his bank account. Unsatisfied, they had dismantled his car to sell the parts, stolen his expensive cellphone, and even taken his designer clothes.

During the investigation, Ivone visited the station weekly for updates. When I told her we had found the body and solved the crime, she broke down in my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Her brother was her only living relative. Their parents were deceased, and as the youngest in the family, she had always cared for him. Maybe all the pampering had pushed him toward drugs. It wouldn’t be the first case like that I'd seen.

Digging deeper into his lifestyle, we found he lived like a playboy, burning through the inheritance their parents had left—money Ivone had worked hard to multiply.

The day before, she had called to invite me to dinner as a way of thanking me and my team for everything we had done, even though I insisted we were just doing our job. Still, she was persistent, and I finally agreed. Why not? I was single, she was too, and the case had been closed. There was nothing unethical about the invitation.

We arranged that I’d pick her up at her apartment, where I left my motorcycle, and we took her luxurious sedan to a well-known restaurant. Even though I wanted to pay, she wouldn’t let me. In the end, we agreed to split the bill.

After dinner, I took her back to her apartment and accepted her offer for one last drink.

It didn’t take long before we were wrapped up on her couch in a long kiss. Her lips still tasted like the expensive red wine she’d had. Boldly and eagerly, she removed my cream dress shirt and began unbuttoning my jeans after I took off the holster and pistol I always carried.

I helped her quickly slip out of her knee-length blue dress with silver details, while kicking off my loafers.

Still wrapped in each other’s arms, hands exploring, tongues tangled in a deep kiss, we stood up—both aware that sex was inevitable. She led me to her bedroom, where I laid her down on the bed, positioning myself over her body, now clad only in cobalt-blue lace lingerie.

I buried my face in her breasts, inhaling her light perfume as I ran my hands along her thighs, feeling her scratch my back and press me closer.

I caressed her nipples through the fabric, drawing a deep moan from her, while squeezing her breasts alternately with one hand.

I moved down, kissing her stomach until I reached her inner thighs, exploring every inch of the lace with my tongue, slipping beneath it to reach her already wet core—its salty, delicious taste filling my mouth.

Her body arched as I moved the fabric aside and enclosed my mouth around her intimacy, exploring her soaked entrance with my tongue, alternating with teasing her clit, sucking and pressing it with my lips. I focused on her for several minutes, until I felt her body tense and her moans grow louder.

I paused, reached into my jeans pocket for my wallet, and pulled out a condom. Quickly, I slipped it onto my hard, pulsing erection.

I positioned myself between Ivone’s legs. She looked up at me with half-lidded eyes and parted lips. As I pressed the tip of my cock at her entrance, she wrapped her toned legs around my waist and pulled me inside her, hard, clutching the back of my neck.

I plunged into her, hearing her moan in pleasure. With one hand, I massaged her breasts; with the other, I gripped her thigh and buttocks, thrusting slowly and in sync with her hips.

I kissed her neck, breasts, and lips, feeling her pull me closer, her nails once again digging into my back—and boldly, into my ass.

After several minutes of this back-and-forth, I increased the pace, her thighs trembling, moans more intense, her teeth gently biting my shoulders and then my lips.

"Fuck me harder," she moaned into my ear.

Without hesitation, I pounded into her, the wet sound of our bodies crashing echoing through the room, until she screamed, her legs tightening around my waist as if trying to draw me deeper into her soul.

I couldn’t hold back. I came hard, still thrusting, until I collapsed on top of her, burying my face in her hair.

She stroked the back of my neck as our breathing and heartbeats slowly calmed. Soon, she was asleep, wrapped around me.

For a few minutes, I debated whether to leave or not. But in the end, I resigned myself—nothing would change what had already happened. Not wanting to wake her, I decided to stay. After all, there was no one waiting for me at home—not even a pet. I lived alone in a small apartment near Aclimação Park, where I liked to go running whenever I could.

Now, as I rinsed off, I thought about the night before. It wasn’t that it hadn’t been pleasant—it had. But clearly, we were two lonely people finding solace in each other.

I turned off the shower and dried off with a fluffy towel, lost in thought.

I was 27 years old, in great shape—my body muscular and toned, thanks to countless hours at the gym near the DHPP headquarters in downtown São Paulo.

When I finished, I leaned both hands on the marble sink and looked into the large round mirror on the wall. A man with short black hair—buzzed military-style—stared back at me with brown eyes. A few wrinkles had begun to appear at the corners of my eyes and mouth, along with some gray strands.

“This is my job,” I thought.

I had been in the Civil Police for years—over two as an investigator, four as a chief inspector. I’d seen too much—a true parade of human tragedy. Should I have stayed in law?

I joined the force at 21. By the time I graduated law school, I already had two years of service. I passed the bar exam on my first try. Three months later, Fernanda—my girlfriend at the time—encouraged me to accept an offer from a top corporate law firm in the Pacaembu neighborhood.

I gave in to her request, even though being a cop had always been my dream. What wouldn’t I have done for her back then? I barely practiced law before secretly applying for the police chief exam.

When I got the acceptance letter to the academy, we had a huge fight. But I stood firm. And she—apparently out of love—reluctantly accepted.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, feeling the familiar surge of anger and sorrow.

During my time at the police academy, she ended our relationship. We were practically engaged, and I was devastated. If I hadn’t thrown myself into my studies, I might’ve gone mad. At least I graduated top of my class. As a result, I was invited to join the Homicide Division—one of São Paulo’s most elite police units.

Had I chosen the right path?

My thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of my phone, which sat on the bathroom counter. The grim memories of my past faded into the background.

“Hello? Dr. Paranhos,” I answered after checking the caller ID—my direct superior, the DHPP Director.

“Inspector Hermes, gather your team and head to the address I’m sending you,” he said, naming a street inside a gated community in the upscale Alphaville neighborhood of Barueri. “Probable homicide. Maintain discretion and keep the press away.”

“On my way, sir,” I replied before the call ended.

Immediately, I called my team leader and ordered everyone to the scene. Only then did I get dressed, leaving the bathroom to retrieve my .40 caliber pistol from the bedside drawer—where I found Ivone awake, watching me closely.

“Leaving already?” she asked sleepily, her body barely covered by the sheets.

“Unfortunately,” I sighed, averting my gaze as I holstered the pistol on my jeans. “Duty calls.”

“Will I see you again?” she asked, sitting up.

“Of course. I’ll call you,” I said, giving her a quick kiss.

Then I left the apartment, heading down to the basement where I’d left my motorcycle—a Harley Davidson 880R.

Always prepared for emergencies, I took a black polo shirt embroidered with the Civil Police emblem from the saddlebag and swapped it for my dress shirt. On the right side, it read "Chief Inspector" in white letters.

After putting on my helmet and a simple black leather jacket, I set the GPS on the handlebars with the address the director had sent me. I started the engine, smiling at the deep growl of the motor, and hit the busy streets of Latin America’s largest metropolis.

“Another day beginning with the end of a human life,” I thought as I rode.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

On Christmas Eve, I aborted the CEO's child

On Christmas Eve, I aborted the CEO's child

8.3k Views · Completed · Olivia
This was the most miserable Christmas I had ever experienced.
On Christmas Eve night, my husband brought his mistress home and demanded that I, his pregnant wife, leave with nothing.
On this day, I lost my husband and also lost the child in my womb...
I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French

I Loved You in Silence, You Betrayed Me in French

32.6k Views · Completed · Joy Brown
I swear, I hate my husband.

At my birthday party, my husband whispered to his mistress in French that he missed her. His voice was low, but I heard it all—the black lingerie, the bit about how pregnancy makes you more sensitive. His French clients around us were laughing. He turned and put his arm around me, claiming he was just helping his clients come up with sweet nothings.

He doesn't know I understand every single word. Just like he doesn't know that inside my body, I'm carrying his other surprise. And his mistress—she's pregnant too. Two wombs, one secret.

Confrontation would be too cheap. Tears are worthless. I quietly started cataloging the hidden networks my father left behind, activating the Swiss accounts.

In seven days, Zoey Smith will cease to exist. And what will my husband's reaction be?
The Family Sacrifice

The Family Sacrifice

62.5k Views · Completed · Coralie Sullivan
When my parents and my fiancé Gilbert asked me once again to donate my kidney to my cousin Yvonne, who was hospitalized with kidney failure, I didn't cry or scream.

I simply said one word: "Okay."

My parents and Gilbert were stunned. They rushed to have me sign the voluntary donation form, afraid I’d change my mind.

Some days later, they sent me to the operating room.

Dad said, "Yvonne will finally be saved. We're so proud of you."

Mom said, "After the surgery, we'll make it up to you."

Gilbert looked tenderly at Yvonne and said, "When you're better, where should we travel?"

What they didn't know was that the day I agreed, I'd just received my diagnosis, stage four cancer. Three months to live.

As I lay on the cold operating table, as the anesthesia began to take effect, I only wanted to know one thing:

If I die on this operating table, will they regret it?
He Never Loved Me, Until I Left

He Never Loved Me, Until I Left

33.5k Views · Completed · Joy Brown
In order to rush to comfort his assistant whose apartment was leaking, Richard signed his name hastily without even glancing at the documents on the table.
I put away the divorce agreement with a wry smile.
When he and my son completely disappeared, he finally panicked.
Three months later .
He knelt down on the streets of Chicago in despair, begging me to remarry him.
My six-year-old son looked coldly at his biological father and said, "Get lost, you bad uncle! You don't deserve to be my dad!"
He Thought I'd Never Leave

He Thought I'd Never Leave

42.3k Views · Completed · Juniper Marlow
Thirteen years. That's how long I loved Reid Holloway.
When he said he was being bullied, I believed him. When he kissed me on that rooftop, I thought he felt the same. When he asked me to transfer schools with him, I said yes without hesitation.
Then I heard him bragging to his friends: "She'd save her first time for me. Hell, she'd still be thinking of me on her wedding night."
The bullying was staged. The kiss meant nothing. He just wanted me gone—so his new girl could feel more comfortable.
He thought I'd beg. He thought I'd cry. He thought I'd never actually leave.
I left the country.
And ran straight into his stepbrother.
I Died While They Threw Her a Party

I Died While They Threw Her a Party

26.6k Views · Completed · Piper Hayes
My parents raised me for twenty-four years. Then they found out I wasn't their biological daughter.

Their real daughter came home. She'd only been back two years. That's all it took to erase twenty-four.

When kidnappers grabbed us, I used my body as a shield. They beat me until something inside me ruptured. I was dying from internal bleeding, but no one could tell.

My parents wouldn't even look at me. "This is your fault! None of this would've happened if it weren't for you!"

"Get downstairs and apologize to your sister. If you can't, pack your things and get out."

They threw her a party at a downtown hotel while I died alone in my room.

I thought they'd be relieved. Maybe even glad. I thought they'd just move on like I never existed.

But when they finally learned the truth, they fell apart.
Bury Me in His Regret

Bury Me in His Regret

20.2k Views · Completed · Joy Brown
My husband, Zachary, chose to save his sister-in-law right in front of the kidnappers.

The kidnapper pressed the gun to my temple and asked, "Choose your wife or your sister-in-law?"

Zachary didn't hesitate. "Let Valerie go," he said.

He actually chose to save his sister-in-law! In that moment, even the baby in my belly seemed to stop kicking.

Later, they locked me in the basement. Drugs to delay labor were pumped into my veins over and over. Zachary wanted to save the "firstborn son" status for his sister-in-law's child.

When warm blood finally soaked through my skirt, I dialed the number I knew by heart with shaking hands.

"Zachary," I whispered into the phone, "our child... can't wait any longer."
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms

1.3m Views · Ongoing · Louisa
[Dear readers, if you loved this book, be sure to read my new recommended read: Cheating Husband, Vengeful Me.]
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.

On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...

Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.

George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.

His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"

Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.

When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.

"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"

George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate

1.1m Views · Ongoing · Becky j
"Mate is here!"
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Shattered Girl

Shattered Girl

843.3k Views · Completed · Brandi Rae
Jake's fingers danced across my nipples, squeezing gently and making me groan in pleasure. He lifted my shirt and stared at my hardened nipples through my bra. I tensed, and Jake sat up and moved back on the bed, giving me some space.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.

“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.


Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother

who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.

When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
Goddess Of The Underworld

Goddess Of The Underworld

628.1k Views · Completed · Sheridan Hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

1.9m Views · Ongoing · Jaylee
Soft hot lips find the shell of my ear and he whispers, "You think I don't want you?" He pushes his hips forward, grinding into the back of my ass and I groan. "Really?" He chuckles.

"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."

I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.

Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.

"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."


New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.

Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates

When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.

But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?