When Rosalie Winthrop, an earl's daughter, writes letters to her future husband, she doesn't expect him to be a penniless orphan. *** Sheltered by her father, Lord Samuel Winthrop, in Grenledge Manor all her life, twelve-year-old Rosalie longs to travel the world or at least go to London more than once a year. But when she finally leaves England for a trip to colonial Hong Kong with her father, she meets and befriends Maximilian Walker, a street urchin who's on the run from a troubled past. The two become fast friends, but they are torn away from each other by cruel fate. Soon, they learn that more than an ocean voyage has drawn them together--it's also their intertwined family histories. Neither of their backgrounds is what they appear. Will Rosalie ever meet Maximilian again--or her future husband? And what happens if the two are one and the same? Content warning: This story contains themes of child abuse, racism, implied sexual harassment, and mentions of drug use. This story is now available on YONDER, your next-generation reading app from the Wattpad family. Join me on YONDER today! Find it now in your app store. 2021 WATTYS WINNER 1ST PLACE WINNER OF WALK BY FAITH AWARDS 2021 Check out the lovely trailer made by @kirstyt97

[ORIGINAL DRAFT SAMPLE] She is twenty-nine when the FBI comes for her, but Catherine Themis was only seventeen, grieving and naive and angry, the first time she wiped someone else's blood from her fingers and felt the snake rise in her chest. She was seventeen when she stepped into the dark and never looked back. ***** By day, Catherine Themis is an unassuming civilian administrator for the Dedwich Police Department, but by night, she is a notorious vigilante known as The Hangman. Struggling with her violent urges and the psychological cost of her actions, Catherine becomes the target of an obsessive serial killer and a relentless FBI agent, and as the hunt for the Hangman intensifies, Catherine must decide which life she wishes to live and what she values more: vengeance or her fading humanity? A psychological thriller in the vein of MINDHUNTER and HANNIBAL, SERPENT HEART is a deep-dive into the life and history of a conflicted vigilante forced to confront her inner demons and evade a national manhunt. Catherine questions the efficacy of her own convictions as the FBI closes in and a vindictive murderer puts her family, love, and identity in jeopardy. With everything on the line and time running out, who will Catherine Themis become? --- [[AVAILABLE ON AMAZON]] [[REMOVED 24 DEC 2021]] [[2019 Watty Winner - Mystery & Thriller]]

Darren dropped the note addressed to the "Prince Charming wannabe" and announced "Well then Cinderella, I propose a game. If I win, you must come away with me. If you win, I leave and never return. The game itself is this: I have to find you."