Novels by Mimisunshine

Three months after the custody verdict, I stood in the warehouse where everything changed.Not a fancy venue. Not a prestigious location. Just the converted warehouse in Brooklyn where Marcus and I had spent countless late nights planning. Strategizing. Surviving.It felt right to hold my first official fashion show here. Where the war was planned. Where Nott Designs was rebuilt from ashes. Where I transformed from victim to survivor to warrior.The space was transformed but still raw. Exposed brick walls. Industrial lighting. A runway made from reclaimed wood. Nothing polished or pretentious. Just honest. Real. Like the collection itself."Evidence of Survival." That's what I called it.Eight pieces. Each one telling part of my story. Our story. The destruction and the rebuilding. The pain and the triumph.Victoria stood beside me backstage. She'd stuck with me through everything. Kept Nott Designs functioning when I was too busy surviving to design. Now she was my co-creative direct

The courthouse was packed the day Judge Reynolds issued her ruling. Media filled the back rows. Sketch artists captured every moment. This case had become national news. The mother who survived everything. The daughter held hostage. The dramatic aquarium rescue.Everyone wanted to know how it would end.I sat at the plaintiff's table with Diana. Emma was not required to be present, thank God. She was at home with Marcus and Dr. Chen. Safe. Away from cameras and crowds and the legal proceedings that would determine her future.Brock sat at the defense table in an orange jumpsuit. Shackled. Two guards flanking him. He looked thin. Broken. Nothing like the man I'd married. Nothing like the man who held our daughter at gunpoint two weeks ago.He didn't look at me. Kept his eyes forward. Waiting for the judge.Judge Reynolds entered. Everyone stood. She sat. We sat. The ritual of court proceedings continued even when the outcome felt predetermined."I've reviewed all evidence presented in

Everything happened in fragments. Disconnected moments that my brain couldn't piece together fast enough.One second I was standing there, Brock's gun pointed at my chest, his finger on the trigger.The next second, the world exploded.A crack. Sharp and loud. But not from Brock's gun.Glass shattered behind him. The wall of the aquarium tunnel spider-webbed with cracks. Water started seeping through. Then spraying. Then gushing.Brock spun around, confused. "What—"A sniper. FBI had taken the shot. Not at Brock. At the glass behind him. Creating chaos. Creating an opening.Water exploded into the tunnel. Thousands of gallons under pressure. The force knocked Brock off his feet. Knocked Emma down. Knocked me backward.I hit the ground hard. My head cracked against the wet floor. Stars burst in my vision."Emma!" I screamed. But my voice was drowned out by rushing water.I couldn't see her. Couldn't see anything through the spray and chaos. Just water everywhere. Rising fast. Already a

Time slowed down in that moment. I could see Brock's finger tightening on the trigger. Could see the gun barrel pointed directly at my chest. Could see Emma's face twisted in horror.I should have been scared. Should have been thinking about my life flashing before my eyes. All the clichés people say about facing death.Instead, I was calm. Completely calm.Because I wasn't facing death alone. I was facing it for Emma. And that made all the difference."Brock," I said quietly. "Look at Emma. Really look at her."His eyes didn't move from mine. "I'm looking at you. The woman who destroyed everything.""No. Look at your daughter. See what you're doing to her right now."Something in my voice made him glance down. At Emma's face. At the pure terror there. At the tears streaming down her cheeks."Daddy, please don't hurt Mommy. Please. I'll do anything. I'll go with you. I'll never complain. Just please don't hurt her."Brock's face crumpled. "You'd go with me? Willingly?""If you don't h

I woke up in the hospital three hours later. My head pounded. My lungs burned from swallowing aquarium water. Every muscle ached.But I was alive. Emma was alive. That was all that mattered.Except the nurse's face when she came to check on me told me something was wrong."Where's Emma? Where's my daughter?""She's stable. She's in pediatrics. But Mrs. Nott, you need to stay calm. There's been a development."Marcus burst through the door. His face was white. Panicked."Beth. Oh God, Beth. You need to wake up. Now.""I am awake. What's happening?""Brock. He escaped."The words didn't make sense. "What? He was arrested. I saw them take him.""He overpowered a transport officer. Took his weapon. He's back at the museum. He has Emma."My heart stopped. "No. No, that's impossible. Emma is here. In pediatrics. You just said—""She was. They discharged her two hours ago while you were unconscious. Sent her home with a victim advocate. But the advocate wasn't real. It was someone Brock hire

The Natural History Museum was massive. Three floors. Dozens of exhibits. Hundreds of people. Too many places for someone to hide. Too many ways for something to go wrong.I walked with Emma's class as a parent chaperone. Twenty-three second graders wearing matching blue field trip t-shirts. Four teachers. And me. Plus at least ten FBI agents I could identify scattered throughout the museum, posing as tourists and staff.Agent Park's voice came through the tiny earpiece hidden under my hair. "All units in position. Stay alert. We don't know who Shaw's backup is. Could be anyone."Emma held my hand as we walked through the dinosaur exhibit. She pointed at the T-Rex skeleton. "Look how big, Mommy!""I see, baby. It's amazing."I tried to act normal. Excited about dinosaurs. But my eyes kept scanning the crowd. Looking for threats. For anyone watching Emma too closely. For any sign of danger.Marcus was positioned outside the museum. In a van with Agent Park. Monitoring all the security

Three months after the custody verdict, I stood in the warehouse where everything changed.Not a fancy venue. Not a prestigious location. Just the converted warehouse in Brooklyn where Marcus and I had spent countless late nights planning. Strategizing. Surviving.It felt right to hold my first official fashion show here. Where the war was planned. Where Nott Designs was rebuilt from ashes. Where I transformed from victim to survivor to warrior.The space was transformed but still raw. Exposed brick walls. Industrial lighting. A runway made from reclaimed wood. Nothing polished or pretentious. Just honest. Real. Like the collection itself."Evidence of Survival." That's what I called it.Eight pieces. Each one telling part of my story. Our story. The destruction and the rebuilding. The pain and the triumph.Victoria stood beside me backstage. She'd stuck with me through everything. Kept Nott Designs functioning when I was too busy surviving to design. Now she was my co-creative direct

The courthouse was packed the day Judge Reynolds issued her ruling. Media filled the back rows. Sketch artists captured every moment. This case had become national news. The mother who survived everything. The daughter held hostage. The dramatic aquarium rescue.Everyone wanted to know how it would end.I sat at the plaintiff's table with Diana. Emma was not required to be present, thank God. She was at home with Marcus and Dr. Chen. Safe. Away from cameras and crowds and the legal proceedings that would determine her future.Brock sat at the defense table in an orange jumpsuit. Shackled. Two guards flanking him. He looked thin. Broken. Nothing like the man I'd married. Nothing like the man who held our daughter at gunpoint two weeks ago.He didn't look at me. Kept his eyes forward. Waiting for the judge.Judge Reynolds entered. Everyone stood. She sat. We sat. The ritual of court proceedings continued even when the outcome felt predetermined."I've reviewed all evidence presented in

Everything happened in fragments. Disconnected moments that my brain couldn't piece together fast enough.One second I was standing there, Brock's gun pointed at my chest, his finger on the trigger.The next second, the world exploded.A crack. Sharp and loud. But not from Brock's gun.Glass shattered behind him. The wall of the aquarium tunnel spider-webbed with cracks. Water started seeping through. Then spraying. Then gushing.Brock spun around, confused. "What—"A sniper. FBI had taken the shot. Not at Brock. At the glass behind him. Creating chaos. Creating an opening.Water exploded into the tunnel. Thousands of gallons under pressure. The force knocked Brock off his feet. Knocked Emma down. Knocked me backward.I hit the ground hard. My head cracked against the wet floor. Stars burst in my vision."Emma!" I screamed. But my voice was drowned out by rushing water.I couldn't see her. Couldn't see anything through the spray and chaos. Just water everywhere. Rising fast. Already a

The Natural History Museum was massive. Three floors. Dozens of exhibits. Hundreds of people. Too many places for someone to hide. Too many ways for something to go wrong.I walked with Emma's class as a parent chaperone. Twenty-three second graders wearing matching blue field trip t-shirts. Four teachers. And me. Plus at least ten FBI agents I could identify scattered throughout the museum, posing as tourists and staff.Agent Park's voice came through the tiny earpiece hidden under my hair. "All units in position. Stay alert. We don't know who Shaw's backup is. Could be anyone."Emma held my hand as we walked through the dinosaur exhibit. She pointed at the T-Rex skeleton. "Look how big, Mommy!""I see, baby. It's amazing."I tried to act normal. Excited about dinosaurs. But my eyes kept scanning the crowd. Looking for threats. For anyone watching Emma too closely. For any sign of danger.Marcus was positioned outside the museum. In a van with Agent Park. Monitoring all the security

Alessandro was worried, and he didn’t know what he should do now. His uncle, Salvatore, had told him to calm down several times, but it wasn’t working on him. He didn't want an innocent lady dying over what she knew nothing about. Alessandro had already summoned his men, and they had split into searching all the warehouses in the area. If anything bad happened to Ruby, blood would flow in the streets, and most of it would be from the Donatello family. Alessandro had been calm for months, and he seemed to be taken for granted.“It makes no sense!” Alessandro exclaimed. “Those thugs of theirs died from trespassing. If they wanted revenge, our men should be their target. However, they dared to take Ruby and tie her down.”“Your relationship hasn’t been defined, boss,” Jax replied. “I am sure you are nothing but friends with both Ruby and Camilla. You need to make your choice quickly and stop keeping the other one in suspense. I say this for your own peace.”“Now is not the time for th

“You noticed I changed my perfume,” Ruby said warily, not sure where the conversation was going. It's been a long while since she changed her perfume."Of course, I did,” Alessandro replied with a confident smile. “This is not the scent you wore on the night we first met, and I must say, I loved that scent. You smelt like heaven.”It dawned on Ruby that he was talking about Camilla, and in as much as she wanted to frown, her face revealed a toothy grin. “Thank you so much for the compliment. Maybe I should wear it more often.”“Yeah. You should wear that every day. Not that the one you are wearing is bad, but that one is better.” He explained, “The lady at the bakery seems to be wearing the same scent that you wore that night.”“Yeah, I recommended the perfume to her. Just like you, she likes the perfume and asked me about it.”“What’s the perfume's name, and who made it?”Ruby swallowed. This was going to be much harder than she thought.“Uh, Magic…” she drawled. She wore a blank face,