Vandervilles Tour and Giveaway

When Beauty Met the Beast

Vandervilles #1

by Khardine Gray

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Beneath the luxurious lifestyle and the glamor of fame and fortune held by the Vandervilles, lies a dangerous web of secrets and a twisted tale of passion, and suspense.

With wealth, power, and beauty in abundance their dominant name prevails.

But trouble is about to come their way and throw their lives into turmoil.

One man consumed with the quest for revenge seeks to ruin their lives and destroy them one by one.

Witness the brilliantly vindictive plan to bring down Benjamin Vanderville, the deceitful precarious States Attorney of California and his wife Regina, reigning queen of the fashion world.

Fall in love with the warmth of romance that blossoms between Wade Vanderville and Chloe Matthews.

And walk the road of betrayal as Taylor Vanderville discovers where loyalties lie.

The riveting tale of When Beauty Met the Beast will grip you and captivate you right from the start…

**Only .99 cents!!**

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The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Sun Tzu couldn't have said it better in The Art of War.

What a great book, with solid words of wisdom. Wisdom that could be applied to everyday life. Those were the best books.

Books that captured the essence of the human mind and helped you to overthrow your enemies.

Precision was the key, along with meticulous planning. That was what you needed when you were dealing with people like the Vandervilles. You had to plan for them with accuracy. Otherwise, there would be no effect.

To destroy people like them you had to work your way in from the inside, and by the time they realized something was amiss, it would be too late.

Like being poisoned. And, like the insidious toxins from a potent blend of poison, that was exactly how I planned to work.

Find their weaknesses, exploit and obliterate them, along with anyone dumb enough to associate with them. As far as I was concerned, they were just as bad and would have no mercy from me.

No one would.

My mother didn't get any as she begged for her life. There was no form of mercy shown to her, none whatsoever as she pleaded and cried from the depths of her soul. Praying

and screaming for God until her last breath departed from her body. Mercy never even entered their minds.

My mother was a sweet woman who loved too much. Her kindness and sweet nature were her weakness. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and evil people took advantage.

I would never forget her, and how she suffered as I watched her die. I was helpless then but promised I wouldn't allow her death to be in vain. I wouldn't allow the life she lived to signify nothing.

I wouldn't allow the beautiful spirit she had to fade away.

Those people would not take that from her.

It had taken me a long time to get to this stage. A very long time. Years and patience.

But, now I was here, at this point, and ready with a plan so dark and impenetrable it would strike them down with crippling effects. I'd conquer them all and make sure that they all paid for what they did. Every last one of those self-indulgent, vile, materialistic Vandervilles.

By the time I finished with them, they'd all beg for death, which I'd gladly offer. Oh, so gladly. I relished the thought just like I did the taste of candy. Sweet and desirable.

The stage was finally set and the actors all in position. All I had to do now was sit back and watch the long-awaited, grand performance.

Lights, camera, action…

Secrets and Lies

Vandervilles #2

Simmering secrets and lies burst into a tempestuous roil in Secrets and Lies.

Discover who gets burned and who, if anyone, makes it through unscathed.

Stability Rocked

As Wade’s whirlwind romance with Chloe starts to stabilize, his ex-girlfriend turns up desperate to destroy what firm ground the two have forged. Wade’s love for Chloe has grown so deep that he’ll do anything to protect what he has with her – even if it means spinning a new web of lies.

The Agony of Betrayal

Still reeling from the double betrayal of her father and lover, Taylor barely regains her feet… only to fall in love all over again with her cheating lover. The attraction is so strong she can’t stop herself, even though she knows she must.

Matriarch and Mother

Seeing her daughter suffering is breaking Regina’s heart. She yearns to give all the help she can but… Ben is scheming to use Runway to financially back his bid for Governor. Will her struggles to keep her family safe come at the expense of her daughter?

Murder!

Wade finally gives in and goes to his ex even though he knows he shouldn’t. But she’s dead and the cops finger him as the killer. Only the real killer is still on the loose and hunting…

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Wade was definitely acting weird. He was acting like he was on Saturday when he’d gone to my house and packed my bag.

He’d woken me up to check on me to see if I was okay. Then he started searching through the house. When I asked him what he was looking for he said it was nothing to worry about.

Then he started looking at the CCTV and decided he’d get a new system because the cameras inside the house weren’t good enough.

He was outside now with a guy who’d come to look at the place and install a new system. All that and it was barely eight a.m. I didn’t even know how he got that man to come out so early. I supposed though that he probably paid him quite a lot.

I wasn’t sure what was going on so I decided to wait in the living room until he was finished, then I’d head out for work. I wanted to get in early so I could leave at lunch time and be at the hospital for visiting hours.

Yesterday I tried to call my parents to let them know what had happened to Taylor. I was actually hoping that one or both of them would come back.

If there was anyone who could make me feel better it was my mom.

Yesterday when I called their home in France I was told that they’d gone to Africa for a mini safari holiday. Then I couldn’t get through to the place they were staying at.

I just decided to try again and got put through to a man called Tunde.

“Hi I’m trying to reach Felicity and Philip Matthews. They could be down as Flick and Phil.” My parents loved telling people to call them that. My mother said it had a certain ring to it that she liked.

“Oh yes, Flick and Phil,” he said in a rich African accent. There was a hint of a smile in his voice. “They’re going to be out on the reserve for another two days but I can get a

message to them.”

“Thanks so much. Could you possibly let them know there’s an emergency in L.A. I’m Chloe, their daughter. If they could call me that would be great.” I thought that was the best way to put it so they’d know that there was an emergency, but hopefully not panic too much.

“Sure thing Chloe. I’ll make sure they get the message.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

I sighed with frustration when I hung up. It was just like my parents to do something so extravagant. Who went on a safari holiday in the middle of April? Easter was two days away, most people just rested. But no, my parents were probably riding lions across the Sahara.

I sighed with frustration, annoyed that they hadn’t told me they’d be in Africa. They didn’t usually tell me when they went off on one of their getaways but it would have been nice to be kept in the loop. Particularly during times like this. It would be good for me if they were here, but I needed them too. They’d know exactly what to say to give me the strength I needed, and they’d offer their support.

I sighed with annoyance and stood when I looked over at the clock on the wall and saw the time. I was hoping to have breakfast with Wade, but I had to leave now if I wanted to get all that I had planned done and get to the hospital to stay with Taylor.

Wade came into the living room holding a receipt. I glimpsed the figures on it and thought I saw what looked like ten thousand dollars.

“Did you get your parents?” he asked.

“No, and I won’t any time soon. They’ll be practically out of reach for another two days. I can’t believe they didn’t tell me they were going to be in Africa.”

“Baby don’t get worked up.”

“I just wish they were here,” I frowned. “Sometimes I feel like they stopped being my parents when I turned eighteen.”

“That’s no bad thing.” He chuckled then walked over to the window and looked it over like he was checking it worked.

“Wade, what is going on? You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“I’m having the place checked out.”

“For what? And what are you expecting, an army of thieves?”

He narrowed his gray eyes at me. “Baby, safety is a priority. You girls leave your house on show for everyone to come through.”

“It isn’t that bad.”

“Yes, it is. It’s terrible. Three women and a cat in a house with the windows and doors open scream come and attack me, or rob me.”

“I forgot how crazy you can be.”

He grimaced at me and frowned when I picked up my bag. “Where are you going?”

“Work,” I replied.

“No, no. Call in sick. Stay with me today and then we can go together to the hospital.”

“Wade, I’m the creative director, I have a lot of work to do and even more because I want to spend some time with Taylor. I can’t just call in sick.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you then.” If that wasn’t weird I didn’t know what was.

“No. I’m fine. You stay here and sort out whatever it is you’re sorting.”

He was already shaking his head before I could finish. “I’ll get the keys. We’ll take the car.”

I watched him go upstairs. I was about to continue the protest, but stopped myself. As annoying as it was that he was super protective of me, it was nice. I had never had anyone take care of me like that. He was just showing me that he loved me, and I appreciated it.

When he came back down he took my hand and led me to the car.

Into the Rabbit Hole

Vandervilles #3

Chaos Reigns

Wade’s been arrested, a killer is on the loose, and Ben’s crimes are catching up with him. Will anyone in this family emerge from the chaos unscathed?

Murder Mystery

Chloe and Wesley dig deep to discover what is really going on and to prove Wade’s innocence. The deeper they dig the more the shocking truth becomes visible. Will they discover the man behind the drama? What happens if they do?

No Longer Hidden

The light finally shines of the crimes that Ben has committed, but unleashes more trouble. As always Regina is caught in the middle, but this time it’s worse. She doesn’t know where she’ll begin to fix things.

Forgive and Forget?

Can Taylor forgive, forget, and finally move on? Will she be able to see the world with the fresh clear eyes that only forgiveness of a betrayal can give? Will she be able to trust again?

Kiss and Make Up

Can Chloe accept Wade’s past and all the chaos ebb to allow the deep, romantic love they so richly deserve?

Follow the twists and turns to the stunning conclusion of Into The Rabbit Hole!

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She didn’t deserve to die.

She was a nice person.

Merissa.

Her family would be devastated. I could just imagine the tears and the heartbreak. They may never get over her death.

I understood. I’d never been able to get over my mother’s death.

Time never healed me; it only made my loss feel worse. Every day was worse. Maybe it would have been different if my mother had died of natural causes. Maybe I could have accepted that and tried to move on.

But murder…

Murder was different; it meant she had a chance to live, but someone else took it from her.

They called me a psycho. Maybe I was. I certainly thought like one, but they made me that way. Benjamin Vanderville made me this way, so they could all thank him.

Admittedly I no longer saw the boundaries that existed to keep right and wrong separated. I just saw revenge; everything else was details. However, I did feel for Merissa because of all she’d been through with her involvement with Wade Vanderville and the loss of their baby.

I’d been on the fence for a long time on her part in this game. In the end I’d decided that her death was necessary.

Merissa was a sacrifice for a cause. A necessary sacrifice.

My cause might not have been her cause, but she served her purpose well.

It was time to speed things along and really get my plan in motion. It was time to get serious and up the game.

The time for simply scaring them all was over.

I answered my phone and pressed it to my ear as it rang.

“What’s next boss?” said my truly psychotic partner in crime.

If people thought I was a psycho I wondered what they would think of my friend. This man had no heart and could kill without blinking an eye, or having any form of afterthought.

Life and death were nothing to him.

Our stories were similar: both were products of revenge. Merissa’s was, too. Revenge was the essence of what we had in common. That was why they were so easy to recruit for this grand scheme.

However, only this guy could have killed Merissa so effortlessly. There was something soulless about him that didn’t care about right and wrong. He’d offered straightaway to kill her without any thought to it at all.

“Come back here, we have things to do,” I said into the phone and lowered it back to the table when my friend hung up.

On the flat screen TV before me the press were having a field day.

Wade Vanderville arrested for murder.

That was the headline, and boy was it on every single channel. I’d flicked through a few minutes ago and yes, every channel was reporting the latest Vanderville scandal.

I’d timed it perfectly with Taylor’s little tryst a few days ago. That had been for fun more than anything, but still timed perfectly. People like them did themselves in. I’d gotten to know their personalities and behavior over the time I’d watched them so knew what they were likely to do even before they thought about their actions.

That made me one step ahead of the game. Admittedly, Wade was a wild card because I never anticipated his return and that everything would play out so well.

I wondered what they’d all think now. Their precious Wade, arrested for murder. The guy had no alibi, no witnesses, nothing. My friend had left the knife right by Wade after he covered the thing with his fingerprints.

It was funny. And comforting. This plan couldn’t have gone better, even the mishaps were working in my favor.

My years of waiting were paying off dramatically, and finally I was beginning to feel some form of justice. It would never help with my loss, but it was something.

I could still remember the day when my mother was taken away from me.

That was always clear in my mind, as if it had only just happened.

I sat back in my chair and rested my head against the padded leather of its back. Images of her flooded my mind.

Images of her life.

Images of her death…

Next month would be twenty years since she was taken from me. Twenty long years.

She’d never had justice, never even had a proper funeral. Her family never got the chance to lay her to rest properly and say their goodbyes. She deserved so much more than that.

Aaron. That was my name. That was the name she gave me.

I’d gone by so many names since then that Aaron just seemed like another alias. Another alias for that time in my life when I’d been the talented son of Rachel Dean and the fallen marine Kennedy Bryce.

I remembered what it felt like to be their son. The same as I remembered that awful day of her death. As if it was happening right before my eyes.

The tenseness in the atmosphere. The smell of anticipation in the air. And… uncertainty…

And fear…

The day she died would always be burned in my memory.

I’d just turned seventeen and was studying extremely hard for my SATs. I was en- route to going to Harvard to study medicine. I wanted to be a surgeon.

That day she came home in a heated fluster. I was in my room going over some mathematical equations when I heard her come home. She would normally call out to me when she arrived but that time she didn’t. It was me that had to go to her. I found her in her room packing.

I closed my eyes and remembered it all…

Khardine Gray is a contemporary romance author who lives in England with her husband, two kids, and three crazy ferrets.

She is well traveled, cultured, and a woman with a passion for dancing and ice skating.

When not writing you can catch her shopping, indulging on pizza and hot chocolate, or hanging out with her family and friends.

No need to spend money on an airline ticket. Simply pick up one of Khardine's books to become immersed in the fascinating stories and characters she creates.

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