A Nick Stello Action Thriller
A widow abducted. A fortune hidden behind encrypted access. A dead man’s trail leading back to Prague.
Ten years ago, an operation in Prague ended Nick Stello’s life as Mason—the man sent in when something needed to be destroyed.
Now Nick builds instead.
The unfinished stone workshop taking shape in rural Vermont is supposed to be a sanctuary: a place governed by weight, balance, and rules he understands. Then three armed men abduct Kate Andrews and bring her there.
They believe they control the situation.
They do not understand the structure—or the man who built it.
Some Promises Never Release Their Hold
Kate is the widow of Scottie Andrews, Nick’s oldest friend and the man he could not save in Prague. Protecting her is more than an obligation. It is the last promise Nick made to the brother he lost.
But the abduction is not random.
Someone believes Scottie left behind access to a hidden fortune. Following that trail draws Nick, Kate, and her fifteen-year-old son, Noah, toward an encrypted asset, a concealed network, and unanswered questions surrounding the operation that destroyed all their lives.
To protect them, Nick may need the abilities he has spent ten years trying to bury.
Can Nick use Mason without becoming Mason again?
Who Is Nick Stello?
To most people, Nick is a quiet craftsman who understands stone, timber, force, and the unseen relationships that keep a structure standing.
To Kate, he is her husband’s oldest friend—and the man who returned from Prague when Scottie did not.
To those who once knew him as Mason, he is something else entirely.
The mystery at the center of Dead Load is not simply who took Kate or what Scottie left behind. It is the question concealed within Nick himself:
Who is Nick Stello—and what happens when the builder must become the destroyer again? Meet Nick Stello.
A Thriller Built Like a Structure
Dead Load begins a nine-book action-conspiracy saga about hidden dependencies, concealed damage, moral responsibility, and the terrible power of knowing where a structure is weakest.
The series unfolds across three connected trilogies:
- The first three books reveal the structure.
- The next three uncover who built it.
- The final three determine whether it deserves to stand.
Every clue carries weight. Every relationship bears a load. Remove the wrong piece, and everything can fall.
One Story. Two Ways to Experience It.
Dead Load is being developed as both a full-length thriller and a cinematic Visual Novel Game.
The novel tells Nick’s story as it is meant to unfold.
The game places you inside that story. You study the same evidence, make your call before Nick makes his, and discover how closely your decisions align with his. Those decisions also become part of your personal Agent dossier and help develop your ASSET Profile.
You do not control Nick Stello.
You discover whether you understand him.
Enter the World of Dead Load
The Visual Novel Game is currently undergoing invitation-only alpha testing. Public access is not yet open, but Founding Agent recruitment has begun.
Follow the mission, read the latest Field Reports, and learn when the next testing phase begins.
Read the mission. Study the evidence. Make your call.
Can you think like Nick Stello?