Tag: books
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The Ledger
Detective Marcus Dwyer had worn the badge for 22 years.Long enough to see partners retire, rookies turn seasoned, and entire precincts change leadership twice over. Long enough to make mistakes. Mistakes he never admitted.Mistakes he never atoned for.Mistakes he buried beneath paperwork, favors, and silence. But retirement has a way of shaking loose the dust.…
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The Moon Colony
Beneath the Grey The first generation of settlers called it Haven-1, a domed outpost carved into the southern rim of the Shackleton Crater. It was meant to be humanity’s quiet foothold on the Moon: laboratories, greenhouses, sleeping quarters, and a small team of twenty-two scientists and engineers. But within a month of landing, they discovered…
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The Keeper’s Burden
Lydia was seventeen when her grandmother called her t the attic – the part of the old house no one entered unless summoned. The air smelled of cedar and dust, of things too old to move. Her grandmother sat in the rocker, a heavy leather-bound book in her lap. “It’s your turn,” she said. Lydia…
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The Golden Ticket
Sam Rourke had spent twenty-six years working in construction in the city of Crest Field. He built half the new downtown skyline and patched nearly every pothole in the county at least twice. Everyone knew him — the quiet guy in worn boots, strong hands, and no-nonsense attitude. But no one, not even Sam himself,…
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“The Letter in the Floorboards”
The old farmhouse had always been the heart of the Palmer family. It creaked with familiar sounds — the moan of wind through the eaves, the pop of the old wood stove, the soft hum of a place that had seen three generations come and go. When their mother passed, Claire and her two brothers,…
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The Maid in the East Wing
Chapter 1 — The Mansion on Briarcrest Hill When Clara Hemsley arrived at the Everhart mansion for her first day of work, she felt dwarfed by its sheer size. The estate was a sprawling, ivy-covered giant perched atop Briarcrest Hill, all stone archways and towering gables. It belonged to the wealthy and reclusive Everhart family,…
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Secret Message
When she brought the coat, it felt like a joke, at first a weird little indulgence. A vintage men’s overcoat from Goodwill on a Tuesday for only $14.99. She bought it because she liked how heavy it felt. Coats do not feel heavy anymore. Everyone tries to make everything light. At home, she realized the…
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New Horizons
Ed and Lila Thornton had spent most of their lives in the same town, where everyone knew their names, their history, and occasionally, their business. Retirement had been a dream: long walks along familiar streets, lazy Sunday mornings, and grandchildren who called often. But when the last of their children moved across the country, and…
Saturday Afternoon 