The Forbidden Trilogy

By Carlos Segui

The Secret Map

That Almost Changed the History of Brazil

The year is 1822. As Brazil prepares to break free from the grip of the Portuguese Empire, a young cartographer named Estêvão Azevedo uncovers a secret map—one that charts invasion routes from Europe and Africa. The goal? Reclaim Brazil and crush its independence. The culprits? Exiled Portuguese nobles, British bankers, and infiltrated Brazilian officials.

Accused of treason, Estêvão becomes a hunted man—by land and by sea. But he's not alone. A fearless smuggler with noble blood and a retired Navy captain join him in a race against time to stop a national catastrophe.

A map, a conspiracy, and a country on the edge of freedom.
The truth lies beneath the waves—and it's written in blood.

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Kennedy Discovered a Forbidden Machine
Horror Beneath the White House

1962. Amid the tensions of the Cold War and the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, President John F. Kennedy is handed a classified report—one that speaks of strange energy readings detected deep beneath the foundations of the White House. Against the advice of his cabinet, he orders a secret excavation.

What they find is not Soviet. Not human.
An ancient machine, buried centuries before the birth of the republic, humming with life. It shouldn't exist. It shouldn't be awake.

Soon, strange dreams begin to haunt the president. Whispers echo through the halls of the West Wing. Staff disappear without a trace. And the deeper Kennedy dives into the mystery, the more he realizes: the true threat to America isn't out there—it's right below his feet.

History remembers the man.
It forgot what he tried to stop.
And some machines… were never meant to be switched on.

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The Temple of Terror
The Architect Who Unleashed the Forbidden God

Egypt, 1346 B.C. As Akhenaten's heretical reign challenges the ancient gods, a gifted architect named Menkheper is summoned to design a temple unlike any other—hidden in the desert, built not for worship, but for containment.

What he uncovers is a name erased from every stele, every scroll, every prayer. A god too ancient, too monstrous, too dangerous for even the oldest priests to utter.

But Menkheper builds it anyway.
And something answers.

Millennia later, in 1923, a team of British archaeologists uncovers the buried structure, still pulsing with unnatural warmth. What lies inside is not dead. Not dreaming. Just waiting.

Some temples weren't meant to be visited.
Some names weren't meant to be spoken.
And some architects… leave more than buildings behind.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Carlos Segui
• Release date: Apr 21, 2025
• ISBN: 9798230422488

Book preview

The Forbidden Trilogy

The Secret Map

That Almost Changed the History of Brazil

Kennedy Discovered a Forbidden Machine

Horror Beneath the White House

The Temple of Terror

The Architect Who Unleashed the Forbidden God

(c) Carlos Segui

The Secret Map

That Almost Changed the History of Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, 1822

The sun was just beginning to rise over Guanabara Bay, and the city was still stretching itself awake through the mist and the first chimes of the day. Seagulls soared above the colonial rooftops as the murmur of the Atlantic lazily licked the stones of the harbor. Rio de Janeiro, the tropical jewel of the Portuguese Empire, simmered with hidden tensions: whispers of independence, friction with Lisbon, and hallways filled with murmurs in the upper echelons of power.

Estêvão Azevedo made his way through the corridors of the Royal Library, still silent at that early hour. His stride was brisk but calm—like someone who had turned work into a ritual. At just twenty-six, he was already known for his surgical precision in crafting nautical maps, a skill he’d inherited from his explorer grandfather and perfected under the shadow of thousands of cartographic manuscripts sent from Lisbon.

That morning, however, something disrupted his routine. On his desk, next to his compasses and rulers, lay a package wrapped in weathered leather, with no sender. The wax seal was broken, and inside, carefully folded, he found a thick parchment with a salty scent. As he unfolded it, Estêvão felt his breath catch.

It wasn’t just any map.

It was a nautical chart of the South Atlantic, with carefully drawn routes from Cape Verde, Lisbon, and Madeira to various Brazilian ports. But the most alarming details were the black ink markings, accompanied by ciphered notes in the margins. Codes, abbreviations, and strange symbols that resembled those used by the Portuguese Navy… or by spies.

Three points were marked with a red circle: Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and Recife. Next to them, a word written in old Portuguese: Reconquista.

Estêvão leaned back in his chair, a chill creeping down his spine. Was this a threat? An authentic document smuggled from Lisbon? Or a trap? Whatever it was, the conclusion was terrifying: it seemed like a secret military operation was being prepared to take Brazil back by force—just as the country was moving toward independence under Dom Pedro.

Determined to act, he headed to the east wing of the library, where the high-ranking officials of the Royal Cartography Board worked. There, he asked to speak with the director, the stern and patriotic Tomás Valente. He was granted a brief audience.

Where did you get this map, Azevedo? Valente asked, brows furrowed as he examined the parchment under the dim light of his office.

I found it this morning. No sender. I believe it’s real. It contains covert military routes… and symbols used by the royal navy. This could be evidence of a conspiracy against our independence, Estêvão explained, his voice steady but edged with nerves.

Valente stared at him in silence for what felt like forever.

And you expect me to believe a document like this just showed up on your desk? he finally said, his tone ice-cold.

I’m not asking you to believe me. I’m asking that we verify it. We can’t ignore this, Estêvão insisted.

But Valente didn’t answer. He simply pressed a small silver bell. Within seconds, two soldiers entered the office. The director stood.

Estêvão Azevedo, you are under arrest for attempting to forge national security documents and for inciting panic. This map will be examined… but in the meantime, your access to the Library is revoked.

The young cartographer couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Before he could protest, the guards grabbed him by the arms and shoved him out into the hallway. The Library—his temple of knowledge—had suddenly become a disguised prison.

Hours later, locked in a cell at the local barracks, Estêvão mentally reviewed every line of the map. He knew it wasn’t a forgery. His instincts, sharpened by years of study, never failed. Something much bigger was at stake.

That night, thanks to a guard’s slip-up and the unexpected help of a young print shop apprentice who admired his work, he managed to escape through a back alley. Injured and penniless, he slipped into the dark alleyways of the city, while a ship bound for Salvador set sail from the harbor.

What Estêvão didn’t know was that he was already being hunted. His face had been handed over to undercover agents from Lisbon embedded in Rio, and a silent price had been placed on his head.

The cursed map had