Silent Ruin
by
Yolanda Ivanov
Copyright © 2026 by Yolanda Ivanov
All rights reserved.
Published independently by Yolanda Ivanov
First Edition, 2026
Cover design by Zee studios
ISBN: 000-0-000-00000-0
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For every woman who’s ever been told to be quiet, and chose her voice anyway. You did the right thing by making sure to survive.
Power is easy. Choosing, when you could have anything — that’s the dangerous part.
SYNOPSIS
Elena Reyes has never owed anyone anything, until her brother’s reckless debt lands her in the world of Damien Voss.
Cold, controlled, and untouchable, Damien doesn’t deal in mercy. He deals in leverage. Elena is the collateral though: she’s to be confined to his world until the debt is settled, watched by a man who takes what he wants and has never once been told no.
Except, Damien doesn’t take her. He waits. Trapped between his mansion’s walls and the danger closing in around them both, Elena finds herself fighting a battle no one warned her about. Not against Damien, but against the want clawing its way out of her every time her irresistibly handsome captor looks at her like she’s already his. He won’t touch her without her asking, no, begging. So she has to decide how far she’ll let this go and how much of herself she’s willing to hand over to a man who could ruin her with a single word.
When the debt becomes the least dangerous thing between them, Elena realizes she was never really trapped by Damien’s world.
She’s trapped by how badly she wants to stay in it.
Silent Ruin is a slow-burn dark romance of power, restraint, and a claiming she chooses for herself. This book is perfect for fans of 365 Days and The Darkest Temptation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Novel Details
About the Author
CHAPTER 1: The Taking
Elena Reyes tipped her head back and laughed, the sound bright and unguarded as she pulled her friends into a tight group hug outside the cozy little wine bar downtown. The night air wrapped around them like a silk scarf. It was cool and crisp, laced with the faint salt tang of the ocean that lay just a few miles away. At twenty-four, she still savored these moments with a quiet thrill. She was doing it: paying her own rent on a modest apartment that smelled of turpentine and fresh canvas, restoring paintings in a small but respected gallery where the owner trusted her eye for detail, and carving out a perfectly ordinary life that felt, to her, like the purest kind of freedom.
No more relying on anyone else. No more chaotic family drama bleeding into her days. Just her, her art, her friends, and the occasional flirtation that reminded her she was young and alive.
“Text us the second you get home, El,” Nia said, squeezing her one last time. Her best friend’s eyes were warm with wine and affection.
“I will, babes. And you text me when you make it to Richard’s,” Elena replied, waving as she climbed into the back of the rideshare. She settled against the seat, already replaying the night. The handsome blond bartender with the easy grin and the way he’d leaned across the counter to talk to her and yes, she would definitely be seeing him again. Soon. The thought made her smile as the city lights blurred past the window.
The drive was short, barely fifteen minutes. She tipped the driver generously when he pulled up in front of her apartment building, then fished her keys from her purse, the metal cool against her fingers. The building was quiet, the way she liked it. Inside, her heels clicked softly across the worn wooden floors. She kicked them off with a contented sigh in the small dining area, poured herself a glass of cold water from the pitcher in the fridge, and started unzipping her little black dress as she headed toward the bedroom. The fabric whispered down her body, cool air kissing her skin. She felt light, a little buzzed, happy in the simple rhythm of her life.
She never heard him coming.
One moment she was alone, reaching for the light switch. The next, a powerful arm locked around her waist like a steel band, yanking her backward against a hard, unyielding chest. The glass slipped from her fingers and exploded across the floor in a spray of shards and water.
“Wh—!” The scream tore from her throat but was instantly smothered as a large, calloused hand clamped brutally over her mouth.
Terror detonated inside her chest, white-hot and blinding. Elena thrashed like a wild thing, her nails raking desperately at the iron forearm pinning her, legs kicking, heels scraping uselessly against the floor. Her heart hammered so violently she thought it might burst. ‘Oh heavens, oh God, this isn’t real. This can’t be happening to me.’ Every survival instinct screamed at her to fight, to scream, to do something, but the man behind her didn’t even seem to feel her struggles.
“Shh,” a low, dangerously calm voice breathed against her ear, the words laced with terrifying composure. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, little one.”
Cold dread flooded her veins, turning her blood to ice. For a split second she went rigid, paralyzed by the primal fear of the unknown.
Then fury and desperation surged back. She twisted violently, trying to bite the hand over her mouth, wrenching her head side to side, bucking with every ounce ...