Twisted Lies (Twisted, #4)

Twisted Lies (2022) is a new adult contemporary romance by Ana Huang and the fourth and final installment of the Twisted series. The Twisted series is a quartet of interconnected love stories of four friends: Ava, Bridget, Jules, and Stella. The Twisted series is a TikTok phenomenon that has also become a USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and IndieReader bestseller. Twisted Lies is told from the alternating perspectives of Stella Alonso and Christian Harper; their simple fake-dating scheme to suit their individual goals drags both of them into various interpersonal conflicts involving a stalker from Stella’s past and an envious business rival seeking to dismantle Christian’s cyber security company.

This guide refers to the Kindle e-book edition self-published by Ana Huang in 2022.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss murder, death, violence, sexual assault, stalking, drugging and kidnapping, suicide, and panic attacks.

Plot Summary

Stella Alonso is a 26-year-old aspiring fashion designer whose dreams have fallen to the back burner in recent years. Instead, she works in Washington, DC, at a magazine called DC Style under a demanding boss who underappreciates her; she also works as a fashion influencer on Instagram. When she is fired from her job at the magazine, her only chance at paying for the expensive care facility where her childhood caretaker, Maura, lives lies in securing a Delamonte brand ambassadorship as a fashion influencer. Stella therefore makes a deal to fake date Christian Harper—the owner of her apartment building, The Mirage, and CEO of Harper Security. The ploy will practically guarantee viral content and higher engagement, which should boost her follower count enough to land her the ambassadorship. In return, Stella must accompany Christian to his company events.

Shortly after she posts about her “relationship” with Christian on her socials, an anonymous stalker from Stella’s past reappears. To protect her, Christian assigns her 24-hour security. When notes slipped into her purse turn into notes left inside her bedroom in her locked apartment, Stella moves into Christian’s penthouse for extra protection.

As Stella and Christian become closer, she develops confidence in herself and decides to pursue her dream of fashion design despite the disapproval of her family, who wish that she’d choose a practical, stable career instead. She begins formulating a business plan, sketching dress ideas, and sewing draft pieces for an eventual launch. Meanwhile, Christian’s accounts keep getting stolen by his business competitor, Sentinel. His friend and most trusted worker, Kage, helps mitigate further damage while also looking into the mysterious stalker threatening Stella’s safety.

When Stella gets the brand ambassador position with Delamonte, Christian begins accompanying her on various photo shoots, which take them to destinations such as New York and Hawaii. Each trip brings them closer together, and in Hawaii, they become intimate for the first time and realize their growing feelings for each other. Christian asks Stella to be his girlfriend.

When they return to DC, Christian meets Maura, and they get along well. Later that evening, Stella and Christian attend their first event as a real couple, and a man gropes Stella. The next day, Christian confronts the man who assaulted her and ends up killing him. Stella meets with a man named Julian, who claims to be a reporter with Washington Weekly. They do several rounds of interviews while Julian compiles enough information to do an extensive piece on Stella and her ambassador work for Delamonte.

Increased breaches in his security at The Mirage and the lost accounts to Sentinel become suspicious to Christian, who believes that he has a traitor in his company who is feeding information to Sentinel and is also connected to Stella’s stalker in some way. Fearful for Stella, Christian takes her on a month-long trip around Italy while he evaluates next steps. In Italy, they become even closer, and Stella tells Christian that she loves him.

Upon returning to DC, Stella uncovers a file of information on her that Christian has kept hidden in his desk. The information dates back years and goes extremely in depth, which is a severe invasion of Stella’s privacy. Stella and Christian break up after the discovery. In the following weeks, Christian lays a trap for the traitor in his company and discovers that it is Kage, who has become jealous of Christian’s success and betrayed him to Sentinel. While Christian kills Kage for his treachery, he receives a text from Brock, the man tasked with guarding Stella since their breakup. The text reveals that when meeting at a café with Stella’s family, Brock and Stella were drugged, and Stella has been kidnapped by her stalker.

Stella’s stalker turns out to be Julian—he is an old classmate of hers from Thayer University who has been obsessed with her for years. When Stella refuses to be with Julian romantically, he threatens her life, but Christian and his team soon find them. Julian is incapacitated, and Stella is saved from harm. Christian tortures and kills Julian for what he put Stella through.

Christian invites Stella to read the love letters he wrote every day since their breakup, and they are compelling enough that Stella forgives him; they get back together. They attend the wedding of Alex and Ava (from Twisted Love), who soon become pregnant with twins; Stella successfully launches her fashion brand; Jules and Josh (from Twisted Hate) get engaged; and Bridget and Rhys (from Twisted Games) have a daughter named Camille.