It was supposed to be a quick business trip but Detective Molly Rayne finds herself in the midst of a high-stake murder case with two strangers and collectively, they must uncover the truth before it reveals her hidden past and the murderer strikes again. -x-x-x- ❝Three Strangers. Two Secrets. One Key.❞ It was supposed to be a quick business trip, a bullet train ride from New York to Chicago. But the minute the train pulled out of the station, things started to go wrong. A person was murdered in the sleeper cabin, and everyone on the train was a suspect. Detective Molly Rayne, a tough-as-nails veteran with a dark past, was on board and found herself drawn into the investigation. With every mile that passed, the mystery deepened. As she uncovered secrets and motives among the passengers, Molly realized that the killer was more cunning and ruthless than anyone could have imagined. It was like something out of an Agatha Christie novel, only with a lot more blood and sarcasm. When the train arrived in Chicago, Molly was left with a body count, a trail of clues, and a nagging suspicion that one of her fellow passengers was more than they seemed. -x-x-x- wattpad ambassador select x1 | ONC shortlist qualified featured on @mystery profile's Murder reading list as of 04-07-2024 cover by @GraveyardSiren -x-x-x- highest ranking: #7 in onc2024 out of 567 stories #14 in mystery out of 27.5K stories #28 in detective out of 30.3K stories -x-x-x- Feel free to leave your suggestions/honest feedback/constructive criticism :D

Ever since her rich family disowned her, Amelie's been surviving as a part-time assassin. Her secretive nature leads her friends into thinking she's a recluse who desperately needs a boyfriend, but the fact is, she wants nothing to do with romance. At all. It's stupid. And annoying. Then she gets a new job: she has to go back to her father's mansion and kill his new & devastatingly handsome right hand man, who has the swoon worthy name of Alexander deBlanco. (What in the flying fishcake is this nonsense?) Worse yet, she has to do this without her family recognizing her or without falling for the dangerously charismatic man. Can Amelie guard her heart and finish her task? Or will she fail in the most spectacular of ways?

Iris's brother has done a stupid, stupid thing by challenging a shadewalker from the Veil family to a game of Creznen Roulette. Unfortunately, he won. Now, the shadewalker's older sister is demanding Iris's life in retribution. In desperation, Iris's father has gone to Adrian Colt, another shadewalker, begging him to protect his family. Adrian has agreed, but the price is that Iris must marry his son. Iris, however, has no intention of being married off - even if it is for her own protection. Special thanks to @plutointhestars for the gorgeous cover art! Author's note: This story is being written for ONC 2024 and is based on the following prompt: Prompt 88. Your father is forcing you to marry someone you have never met. The night before your wedding you tie your sheets together and make your escape through the window. Half way down you make eye contact with someone doing the exact same thing a few windows over.

~ONC 2024 Honourable Mention~ ~~~ Alaric, the King of Silmarea, recently married to his beloved husband, needs an heir of his own blood to secure the throne. With the help of Emrys, his court magician and best friend, he recalls his youthful escapades and discovers a daughter he once had with a woman he had loved in The World Beyond The Stones (our world). He sends an unlikely but trusted trio on a quest to find her and bring her home-- a brooding dragon shifter and Highlander who owes him a favor, a dashing elf whom he loves like the son he never had, and a loyal, kindhearted dwarf, the elf's best friend. Alaric, the last scion of the old gods, weary of ruling the country and ready to retire and enjoy his love life, doesn't know that this quest will bring much more than he ever bargained for, setting in motion events plotted by the destiny that will challenge his kingdom and legacy. ~~~ My ONC 2024 entry inspired by prompt 21: A dragon, an elf, and a dwarf embark on a quest to find the lost heir to the kingdom.

🏆 WINNER (2ND PLACE) - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A misfit of an aristocratic family must find out who is behind the murder at his university before he is disowned and falls victim to the murderer. ⋯⋯⋯ Arlo Crowhaven, a student of the prestigious Lyllan University of Magic, is poised to uphold his family's elite status. That is, until a classmate is murdered, and all of the clues point to him. With little time to clear his name, he must take the investigation into his hands, find the killer, and stop an even bigger secret from leaking out. After all, while Arlo likes keeping his hands clean, he may be entangled in a scheme even his family is not privy to. Now, Arlo must pull all the strings he can to foil the murderer's plan and save his skin. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 comes a story of privilege, wealth, and the divide between the elite and the common. Ideals are a salvation for many, but in the quest for freedom and power, sometimes, they are the first to go. AN INSTALLMENT OF THE LYLLAN UNIVERSITY OF MAGIC AND MISFITS SERIES ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [20,000 - 30,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 1 WINNER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

*ONC Longlist* It was her name that they were after, and so she promised to keep it safe. - Family, sometimes they stay close and connected, other times, all it takes is one to turn them against each other. So when 15-year-old Iris decides she wants nothing to do with bounty hunting, she becomes a huge target. Trying to maintain his honor, Jonathan will do anything to find his sister and bring her head back to the family. But what if he has a change of heart? Will he risk his name too, or will he go through with the assignment? ⚠️ Heavily Overwritten and Unedited ⚠️ Went exactly how I did not plan it...

Stories say that the Witch rained curses down on Devil's Corner, that she made the woods grow strange and wild, made shadows leap and dance and snatch up stray children for supper. In a small town on the edge of a dangerous forest, stories are never in short supply, and they are held dearer than truth. Thea lost her hand to the things that live in the wood, and she can't shake loose the voice that lured her there. But her Pa fed her tales of magic and heroes, and promises that even the darkest things have hearts. When her brother is attacked by the Witch's gruesome creations, Thea breaks into her cottage, determined to save him from a fate she knows all to well. Because in Devil's Corner, stories are true, and Thea knows the greatest one of all: the only way to break a curse, is to kill the witch. --- COMPLETE - 20,000 words Written for Wattpad's 2024 Open Novella Contest. ONC 2024 SHORTLISTER

Araminta was called a witch. Now she's gone. And the last person who saw her is looking for answers. *** A Good Girl's Guide To Murder x Wednesday *** Two years ago, Araminta Green disappeared. Her neighbor and classmate Jordan Thompson was the last person who saw her, walking through a graveyard in the early morning hours. Jordan was intimidated by Araminta. With her pale-powdered face, black lips, spider-web eyeliner, and her love for tarot reading, it was no wonder that people speculated that Araminta was a witch. But Jordan was also intrigued by her dark aura, sensing that she may be as lonely as him. Maybe if he had reached out to her back then, she wouldn't be missing now. When Jordan is tasked with creating an investigative podcast for a college course, there is no question about which case he wants to delve into. With his cat Kiki as his co-pilot, Jordan sets off to answer the question of what happened to Araminta, even as his recordings constantly get disrupted by a cawing crow in the background. Following the trail of Araminta, Jordan discovers truths both about his missing classmate and himself, because while he hasn't vanished he is definitely lost as well. Will he be able to find both himself and Araminta? *** An ONC novella using prompt #81: The town's witch has gone missing and no one is looking for her but her two familiars - a crow and a black cat, plus the teen who has always been scared of her.

ONC Ambassador's Pick & Shortlister! Rumors. Infidelity. Lies. Secrets. MURDER. And all before lunch time. Who knew being a socialite in 1951 could be so thrilling? ~~~ On a lovely June afternoon, as the oh-so-chic members of the Gilded Grove Ladies' Book Club gather for their scheduled luncheon, they are shocked to receive the news that their vice president, Camilla Otis, is unable to attend. Gossip ensues. What catastrophe could possibly have befallen her to warrant a last minute cancellation? The answer comes by way of two clever, dashing police officers. It seems Camilla Otis has had quite a busy morning, and that the truth behind her absence is far more scandalous than the Book Club ladies could ever have imagined. As the police dig deeper into the events surrounding Mrs. Otis' shocking crime, buried secrets about the other Book Club members begin to surface. None of the women in question are the fine, upstanding ladies of society that the public believes them to be. Each has tarnish on her so-called "sterling reputation." And no one has more to hide than club president Marcella Montgomery. Written for ONC 2024, this is a tongue-in-cheek "whodunit" (in reverse) that will leave you wondering just what a scorned woman *wouldn't* do for sweet, sweet revenge. ⚠️ Warning: many very nonchalant references to murder and death. Very ignorant (era-realistic), inaccurate comments about nationalities/cultures outside the US.