Maria Dominguez: Prequel | A Jelena Cohert Origin Story

Maria Dominguez: Prequel asks one haunting question — what makes a woman change her name, her career, and cut off everyone she loves?

María Dominguez is a bright, passionate Latina fresh out of college and ready to change lives as a new social worker. Her heart breaks for the children on her caseload, especially the twins who remind her why she chose this work. Her father is proud, her brother protective, and life seems full of promise.

Then, her father sets her up on a blind date.

The relationship moves fast — too fast. Marriage, expectations, exhaustion. Between a demanding husband and a draining job, María’s life begins to unravel. The woman who once helped others now finds herself trapped, unheard, and dangerously close to losing control.

When she reaches out to her family for help, they don’t believe her. So, María takes matters into her own hands.

Defending yourself doesn’t make you a victim. It makes you a fighter.

But the moment she realizes what her husband has done — something she can’t forgive — everything changes.
She’s done being the daughter, the wife, the one who pleases everyone.

She’s sick of her husband.
She’s sick of her father.
She’s sick of her brother.

Death to María Dominguez. Long live Jelena M.D.

⚡ What to Expect

• 💔 Domestic suspense meets psychological drama

• 🔥 A woman reclaiming her power through pain and survival

• ⚖️ Feminine rage and rebirth in the face of betrayal

• 🩸 The moment that birthed Jelena Cohert — before the FBI, before the vengeance

• 🕯️ A dark, emotional origin story that redefines what it means to fight back

💬 AUTHOR NOTE & TRIGGER WARNING

Written by Ashley Johnson, Maria Dominguez: Prequel is the emotional origin story of Jelena Cohert — the moment a victim became a fighter.

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: domestic violence, emotional abuse, language, sexual situations, trauma, and self-defense violence. This novella contains mature themes and raw emotional intensity. It’s intended for adult readers

The Jelena Cohert Series is best read in order to experience Jelena’s full transformation:

• 0.5 – Maria Dominguez: Prequel → Before she became Agent Cohert, María Dominguez was a social worker pushed to the edge—and forced to start over.

• 1 – Serial Killer, Con Artist, and Jelena → The case that defined her career and nearly destroyed her sanity.

• 1.5 – Jordan Romano: A Jelena Cohert Novella → Told through the eyes of a charismatic wolf shifter caught between loyalty, lust, and revenge.

• 2 – Shifter, Killer, and Jelena → When the supernatural collides with the criminal, Jelena faces her most dangerous case—and the darkness inside herself.