When Leila hit the restart button on her life, she never expected things to get worse than they already were.
Once a victim of sadistic torture and torment, she had only one joy in the world. Her daughter, Bella.
Then one morning, all that changed.
Bella gets kidnapped, and Leila finds out from an ominous phone call that she has a week to identify and find the kidnapper, or her little girl dies.
She enlists the help of her best friends, Scott Harper and Darcy Grant, but Leila begins to understand that her closest allies seem to be harbouring dark pasts of their own. Pasts that connect them to whatever happened to Bella.
Leila soon realises that she's going to have to face the same fears she ran away from two years ago. Her past can never be changed, but she alone holds the power to alter the future, and she is going to have to fight her demons if she ever wants to see Bella again.
She needs to play the kidnapper's sick game and figure out who they are before it's too late.
PLEASE NOTE: Some phrases and words used may have been inspired from online sources, but the plot remains mine.
A criminal mastermind makes a bold move against a wealthy client to put himself in a position to retire in comfort. He has no idea what he's up against when a young widow, desperate to make ends meet, sets her eyes on earning the bounty set on his head.
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Newly widowed housewife Melody Scott needs to earn some major cash, fast. When her bright and busy children learn that a priceless ruby bracelet has been stolen and a six-figure reward is being offered, they convince her to try to do what the police, museum security, and the best private investigators have failed to do. Working against them is a notorious thief who has met people from around the world, but who has never once encountered a woman like Melody Scott. When the sweet innocence of the Scott family clashes against criminal forces more dangerous than they ever imagined, Melody is all too aware that a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do to protect her family.
The Widow, Melody Scott is a 2021 Watty Award Winner!
Content Warning: This story does contain depictions of stalking behavior.