When Alex was fifteen, he came home from school to find his dad butchered and his mum’s throat slit open. There were no traces of the killer except for a bloody message left on his bedroom wall— Tick Tock! A few days later, a man confesses to the murders and the police take him into custody. He was trialled and found guilty. Case closed.
Now, in the middle of his first year of university, Alex remains haunted by the events. Although they are not as bad as they used to be, his nightmares are still there and the bloody message incessantly appears in the back of his mind. On his nineteenth birthday, while getting his flat ready for his party, the afternoon news reports on a death that has Alex frozen to the core, as pictures of a kids bedroom wall appears, and in the centre, written in blood that’s dried, were two words that brought Alex’s nightmares to reality: Tick Tock!
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.