one step too far lisa gardner

Leroy was the concubine's son — the one the family never truly accepted. Banished to the graveyard, he became the apprentice of Madam Gibson, the Grave Keeper. At the Martial Arts Tournament, Leroy's brilliance finally blazed forth, only to draw the ire of Fairy Ember, Elder of the Ebonveil Sect. When despair swallowed all hope, Madam Gibson revealed a power that shook the heavens.With a single sweep of her hand, she silenced the crowd, her sword aimed at the sky: "In all this world, who dares to harm my disciple?" And so began a battle that would span the Three Realms—a clash of fate, pride, and divine power.

Mia Falcone, the Don’s daughter, gave up everything for Leo Romano after he took three bullets to save her. For seven years, she lived in secrecy as his wife, raising their son without a name. After Leo’s brother died, his widow, Jasmine Moretti, returned, and Leo chose her and ambition over blood. When the humiliation threatens her son, Ethan, Mia walks away and returns to her true identity. As Leo desperately tries to win back the woman he lost, Mia teaches him a fatal lesson: he didn’t just break a heart—he declared war on the wrong bloodline.

April Simpson takes the blame for murder to protect Reuben Rogers.Seven years later, now facing execution, she's granted ten days of compassionate leave to earn money for her mother's surgery by working as a hostess. There she encounters Reuben, who has become a business mogul. Believing she abandoned him for money years ago, he humiliates her with his wealth. On execution day, Dexter Edwards arrives with new evidence that saves her life.After her release, April desperately needs a liver transplant due to complications from her previous donation. But Reuben forcibly takes the donor liver for Kiara Simpson instead, causing April's mother to die suddenly. In despair, April attempts suicide. Finally learning the truth, a maddened Reuben searches frantically until he finds April, but she now suffers from amnesia. He carefully guards this final tenderness between them, but the truth will eventually shatter this fragile peace.

Alexander makes a deal with the commander to protect Jessica's family, trading a severe injury that leaves him with an amputation,shrapnel in his brain, and little time to live for their safety. Six years later, he runs into his daughter Alice, who doesn't know he's her father, and shares his past with her. When he saves Jessica at a lion dance event, his identity is exposed. Jessica presses him for the truth about the past, but Alexander, aware his days are numbered, resolves to hide it, breaking her heart. To end their bond, Jessica forces him to perform the lion dance again. Alexander pushes through to take the stage, but his prosthetic limb malfunctions, shrapnel shifts, and he is on the brink of death.

Eric Getz discovers that something's off about his wife, Gina Bell.A thorough investigation leads to him uncovering Gina's plot to work with her boss, Peter Lane, in swindling Eric's properties and assets via fake investments. Eric remains calm and composed as he slowly gathers solid evidence and uses legal methods to seek justice. It goes to show that those who cross boundaries will receive retribution in the end.

When I turn 20, my grandfather's old friend—now the richest man in the country—lays out photos of his grandsons in front of me. He says, "Pick one to be your husband." Without hesitation, I choose Nathaniel Chapman. Everyone in the room is stunned. After all, it's no secret I've always been hopelessly in love with George Chapman. I used to swear I'd marry no one but him. In my previous life, I got what I wanted—I married George. And because of that marriage, he inherited the lion's share of his grandfather's wealth. But after the wedding, he started an affair with my sister. My parents were furious and sent her abroad to study. George thought I was the one who exposed them. From then on, he hated me to my very core. Women came and went at his side, each one resembling my sister more than the last. The betrayal crushed me. I fell into deep depression. Later, he secretly replaced my medication with slow-acting poison. I died with a child in my womb—alone, bitter, and betrayed. Now, I've been reborn. This time, I choose to let them have each other. But what I don't expect is that George has been reborn too.

Lily Arnold saved Tim Nell from a car accident and married into his wealthy family. However, during their four-year marriage, she was met with nothing but indifference. Tim's heart belonged solely to his childhood sweetheart, Sara Buck, leaving no room for Lily's devotion.Empowered by Tim's favoritism, Sara repeatedly schemed against Lily, but Tim always took Sara's side. To cure Sara's nightmares, Tim sacrificed Lily's unborn child. Completely heartbroken, Lily signed the divorce agreement and fled abroad to pursue her artistic dream. Only after she left did Tim realize he had long fallen in love with the wife who had silently given him everything.

Twenty years ago, Quilla saved Yosef and his family by chance.The two fell in love over time, and she chose to stay with Yosef, raising his three children as her own. Twenty years later,the ex-wife Mary reappears. Emotionally, the three children lean more toward their birth mother, so the family decides to drive away Quilla, the only "outsider".Heartbroken, she cuts ties with them for good.Meanwhile, the Grant family's business begins to decline,and Mary proves to be nothing but a gold-digger.They finally remember Quilla's kindness and try to win her back, but her heart is already dead, and she starts a new life.

The orphan girl Renee was bullied to the point of disability in the family that adopted her, and was forced to marry in place of their biological daughter, Isabelle. The groom, Leander,pretended to be blind to investigate the cause of his parents' death, and he witnessed Renee being bullied. In reality, Renee had the identity of the AI master "Nutien," and Leander turned out to be her long-time mentor. The two progressed from testing each other to trusting one another,joining forces to bring the villains to justice. In the end, Leander proposed, and Renee began a happy life with him.

Lost for years, Murphy is finally reunited with the powerful Sinclair family, only to be framed by the adopted son Yves. In the end, he’s burned to death by his own sisters. By a twist of fate, Murphy is reborn five years earlier. This time, he cuts all ties with the family and chooses to be a farmer. He finds the Magic Spring, grows priceless produce, rises to the top, finds love, and watches the Sinclair family collapse from within.

Felix Asher is one breakthrough away from immortality and completely stuck. His master's solution: descend the mountain and find the woman bearing the Dao mark. He finds her on his very first night down. Faye Linden is a powerful CEO who has no idea why this man keeps showing up wherever she goes, and even less idea how he ends up as her boyfriend. Felix rolls with it. She has enemies, and a cultivator with mastery over medicine and combat turns out to be exactly what a CEO in a dangerous city needs. He heals, he fights, he baffles everyone around him, and somewhere between the boardrooms and the battles he stops thinking about going back up the mountain.

Serena Rivers spends three years in prison for a crime she didn't commit and uses every single day of it. She trains under four of the most formidable masters the underworld has ever produced and walks out as something entirely different from the woman who walked in. On her first day of freedom she corners the cold prison warden Xavier Stone against the water dungeon wall and kisses him without apology. He is her insurance policy and she knows it. Outside, the fake heiress has stolen her shares, her younger brother demands she kneel, and her former fiance has already moved on with a new bride. She tears up the rejection notice on the spot. Moments later, the Stone family motorcade arrives, the warden reveals himself as the family patriarch, and he shows up with a hundred billion in betrothal gifts and absolutely no intention of letting anyone touch her again. Together, they dismantle every person who had a hand in her three lost years.

Six years ago, Nora Carson spent a night with the formidable Perry Moore. Unwilling to be seen as a gold digger, she chose to walk away without looking back—never realizing she was carrying his child. Now, six years later, her aunt is pressuring her into an unwanted marriage. Desperate for a way out, she has no choice but to send her daughter to find the one man she once left behind. And just like that, their fates intertwine once more, setting the stage for a love story neither of them saw coming.

Everyone knows Colin Dunn and I are trapped in a loveless marriage. We don’t love each other.On the night of our fifth wedding anniversary, I am attacked in my own home.Desperate, I call him for help—only to hear the line go dead. For the sake of his first love, he hangs up… and abandons me.

In her past life, Rosie was used as a luck tool. Her parents drained her fortune, doted on Willa, and cast her aside. She died on the streets, mourned only by Brad and Queenie, who were dragged down with her. Back to life again, she runs into Brad's arms with a smile. "Dad, need a daughter? One who brings luck and fortune."

After performing surgery on John Watt, who was severely injured in the countryside, Julia Norton left. Due to excessive blood loss, John didn't get a good look at Julia's face.Meanwhile, because of a marriage contract set by her grandfather, Julia married John and began a 100-day married life with him!

I am diagnosed with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, and I only have three days left to live. When my husband rejects my 188th plea for help, I take my test results and enter the hospice care center. "Hello, I'd like to schedule my own cremation process and apply for government aid." Ten minutes later, they arrive. Before I can speak, my lawyer husband, Jasper Horton, coldly slaps me across the face. "You're faking a terminal illness just to steal attention from Janice?" My doctor brother, Casey Carter, snatches the medical report from my hand and scoffs at it. "Lupus? If you're going to fake being sick, at least make it believable. Only one in a million people gets this." I endure the pain in my body, return to the counter, and hand in the application form and my medical records once more. The staff member sees the butterfly-shaped rash on my wrist and sympathizes with me. "I have no family left," I say. "I'm requesting cremation in three days, location doesn't matter. I just don't want my death to burden anyone."

In her past life, Yvonne Grant gave everything to Marcus Quinn, only to be betrayed and deceived. Reborn on the very day she must choose a fiancé, she turns away from her first love Marcus and instead chooses Quintus Dalton, a man destined to become a tech magnate. As they spend time together, Yvonne uncovers his long-hidden feelings and years of quiet devotion. Realizing that Quintus is the one she was truly meant to love, she confronts Marcus with the truth that he once mistook another woman for her. Free at last from her old obsessions, Yvonne opens her heart to the man who has always stood by her side.