The One
Fresh out of college and struggling to find her footing in NYC, Emily believes her luck has finally turned when she meets Marcus. He is the total package: a charming, wealthy British billionaire who quickly sweeps her off her feet with lavish dates and a voyage to his private Caribbean island.
But upon arrival, the fairy tale shatters. The crystal-clear waters and golden sands aren't a paradise—they are a prison. Emily soon realizes that Marcus has no intention of letting her return home. Instead, he is obsessed with molding her into his twisted vision of the perfect wife. Now isolated and powerless, Emily faces a terrifying ultimatum: become his ideal woman, or face fatal consequences.
- Marcus - Owner of Sterling Enterprises, 35
- Karyn - Marcus's first wife
- Emily - Protagonist, 22
- Bella - Emily's cat, remains unharmed
- Gia - Emily’s friend
- Carmen - Marcus's housekeeper
- Juan - Carmen's son and an employee of Marcus, 19
- Lucas - Marcus's security guard
- Heath - Marcus's business partner
- Elizabeth - Marcus's former girlfriend
- Sara - Marcus's first fiancée
- Agent Simms - Federal agent
- Chief Benson - Police office on Marcus's payroll
- Karyn betrayed Marcus when she was in New York, so he drowned her.
- Six months later, Marcus meets Emily in New York and thinks she will be the perfect, compliant wife he has been looking for.
- Heath and Gia also meet and start casually dating.
- After a few dates Marcus invites Emily to join him on holiday on his private island in the Caribbean.
- As soon as they arrive on the island, Marcus reveals his true nature by dictating what Emily should wear and how she should act.
- Marcus is blackmailing his staff to receive their loyalty.
- Years earlier, Marcus’s girlfriend Elizabeth died on the island after slipping on a trail during a nighttime hike.
- Marcus sends Lucas to dispose of all of Emily’s belongings in New York and to bring Bella to the island.
- Marcus tells Emily that she won’t be leaving the island until she is his wife.
- Marcus flies to the states for work and sees a doctor while he’s there for daily migraines.
- He gets an MRI and the doctor says he has an aggressive, inoperable tumor.
- The doctor says a biopsy should be done right away but Marcus refuses.
- Gia confronts Marcus about why Emily hasn’t called. Marcus claims Emily is happier now that she’s no longer in Gia’s shadow.
- Lucas confides that Karyn planned to leave Marcus, told the wrong person, and Marcus killed her because of it.
- Lucas says he wants to help Emily get away from Marcus.
- Marcus returns to the island and he and Emily get married.
- Marcus tells Emily about his brain tumor.
- Marcus tells Emily that Sara died in a boat explosion while on vacation, and that he knows his mother hired someone to kill her to maintain control over him.
- When Marcus and Lucas travel to another island, Marcus stages a robbery to kill Lucas after learning from Carmen that Lucas and Emily have been talking.
- The feds show up to investigate since Lucas was an American citizen killed on foreign soil.
- The next morning, Chief Benson calls Marcus, saying he believes the feds lied about Lucas being dead, though his whereabouts are unknown.
- Emily realizes the seaplane must have a radio so she sneaks out there to try and use it to call for help.
- Marcus catches her and take her back to the house where he physically abuses her.
- Marcus slams Emily's head on tile and she bleeds profusely.
- Marcus thinks she is dead and instantly regrets it and decides he doesn’t want to live without her.
- He grabs his gun, kills Carmen and Juan, and decides to burn the house down to destroy everything.
- Emily wakes up and discovers Carmen and Juan's bodies.
- The gun is lying next to their bodies so she takes it.
- Emily steps outside and finds Marcus and shoots him and then passes out.
- Agent Simms shows up and calls for medical help.
- In hospital, Emily tells Agent Simms her story and Lucas ends up corroborating it.
- Emily inherits one billion dollars and extensive assets from Marcus's death.
- One year later: Emily is living in a penthouse in New York. She has been donating a lot of Marcus’s money to charities.
- Lucas breaks into Emily's house and he tells her the FBI suspects Marcus in the deaths of Karyn, Elizabeth, his parents and Sara.
- Emily is grateful Lucas corroborated her story but furious and scared that he broke into her home.
- Lucas tells Emily he wants her, revealing his fixation.
The One by T.A. Caldwell is a gritty take on the stranded-on-an-island trope. Once Emily arrives on the island, the suspense and tension reach an all-time high, creating a suffocating atmosphere in what should have been a two-day island paradise holiday.
Be warned, though: this book goes into some dark places, so check the trigger warnings if you need to. It doesn't pull any punches regarding the brutality of her situation. Just when I thought I knew how it would resolve, the last few paragraphs hit me with a twist I absolutely didn't see coming. It was the kind of ending that leaves you staring at the wall for a moment. If you want a survival story with high stakes and a shocking finish, this is it.
- Emily - Alive - In therapy and recovering from the trauma, spending most of her time indoors
- Karyn - Dead - Drowned by Marcus
- Elizabeth - Dead - Killed by Marcus, method unclear
- Sara - Dead - Killed by Marcus's mother
- Lucas - Alive - Eager to step into Emily's life and take Marcus's place
- Carmen - Dead - Shot by Marcus
- Juan - Dead - Suffocated by Marcus
- Marcus - Dead - Shot by Emily
- Gia - Alive - Growing closer to Heath
- Heath - Alive - Assisting Emily with the responsibilities she inherited after Marcus's death
- Physical violence
- Emotional violence
- Domestic violence
- Dubious sexual consent
- Manipulative male main character
- Age gap
Publisher: Inkubator Books
ISBN: 9781837566242
Publication Date: October 2, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
