The Cartel: The Apprentice, Volume 1 (Twelve Systems Chronicles #1)

Lilian should have died for her father’s crimes.

When her father’s crimes destroy the Grey Gyre Cartouche, Lilian loses everything in a single brutal stroke. Her family name is ruined. Their fortune seized. Their allies scattered. To protect the last of her family, Lilian accepts a three-year Trial by Ordeal under the authority of Monsignor Lucius Mercio, ruler of the powerful Serengeti Group.

In the Twelve Systems, commerce is war, and power belongs to the cartels.

Lucius Mercio did not build his empire through mercy. Ruthless, brilliant, and feared across the systems, he rules Serengeti with absolute control. Political rivals, economic warfare, and hidden enemies surround him on every side.

What he does not expect is Lilian.

Beneath her quiet obedience lies an extraordinary mind, one capable of uncovering patterns, conspiracies, and threats his enemies worked desperately to conceal. As counterfeit vistrite spreads through the systems and powerful forces move against Serengeti, Lilian may become Lucius’s greatest advantage.

And his most dangerous weakness.

Drawn into a world of cartel intrigue, brutal hierarchy, and scorching desire, Lilian finds herself trapped between survival and temptation. The closer she grows to Lucius, the more impossible it becomes to separate fear from trust, power from protection, and possession from devotion.

In the Twelve Systems, love is never safe.

And power always demands a price.