A Curve In The Road

Penelope Quinn once Penelope Nowak, a rich successful business woman hasn’t always been the independent rich successful woman she is. She is the daughter of a criminal minded art thief, working for her father as the Midnight Fox. Wanting a better life for herself she plots to leave home only to have her plans thwarted when her father contracts her to be married off. In an act of defiance, Penelope goes out to get drunk and has a one-night stand with a handsome stranger. He turns out to be Noel Greer, the man she was supposed to marry. Noel is furious to learn that his bride-to-be was the innocent blue-eyed, blonde princess who had seduced him the day before and he cancels their marriage. Heartbroken, Penelope runs away from home. A new start. Years later, Noel Greer wants Penelope back in his life and is willing to do anything to get her back – including blackmail. He wants to possess her. Soon after, her father comes back into her life needing her for one more heist. Someone is blackmailing him and he needs Penelope to help him. But there are obstacles. Albert Kowalski. Her father’s former right-hand man who says he is a friend but Penelope is not sure she can trust him especially when he has a seemingly successful business now. Another obstacle is the Phantom. No one knows who is he but seems to be the reason the chain of events begin unfolding in her life. Every road links to him, every heist points at him. He is neither enemy nor foe but he is dangerous nonetheless. Penny realizes old friends can't trusted when she suspects Noel may be her father's blackmailer. Or was it Albert the stunning, cool-headed ghost from her past?

Daisy: London's great. It's home. My home is exactly what I wanted it to be. What I wanted all my life. Away from my abusive father and down the road from every bookshop I could imagine. I love romance books like The Next Girl. I love cold nights and sweater weather season which is just around the corner. I love being in my own bubble while working at the library. My life for the past 2 years has been good. Smooth. So when I have my roommate telling me I have a visitor I could only imagine it was my father. I thought it was my father. But you know what thought did? That thought sold me to a sinner. The Don to the Italian Mafia because he owed them a pretty penny. My days are long gone and my nights become more terrifying than ever before. Good job I know how to defend myself against men like him. Antonio: Jerry Harrison. A useless human being who knows no limits. He owed us money and was willing to trade his daughter for his life. I took a gamble on a man who could have been lying to me, but he knew better than to lie to me. I own him the way I now own his daughter. It shouldn't matter to me. I don't feel and I don't love. After a day of travelling and watching my future wife-to-be, I couldn't wait any longer. A simple knock on her shared accommodation would be the end of my life. I didn't want a wife. I enjoy my own space. But one look at my Daisy Soon-to-be-Rosa and I'm done for. Beautiful is what she is. And Mine.

On Independence Day, I was on my way to my boyfriend's house when a car slammed into me. The stretch of road was deserted. The collision jammed my door shut, and the acrid smell of gasoline filled the air. My car was about to explode. I scrambled for the emergency hammer, only to find it had been swapped out for a pink toy mallet. Panic rising in my chest, I dialed my boyfriend's number. To my horror, his ringtone sounded from the very car that had crashed into me. He stepped out, arm wrapped around his childhood sweetheart. She put on a pitiful face, tears in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm so clumsy. It's my first time driving, and I hit someone." When my boyfriend realized the victim was me, he didn't hesitate to console her. "Don't worry. She must have collided with you on purpose." I pounded on the window, desperate. "Nick! The emergency hammer's been switched out. Help me get out of here!" His childhood sweetheart lit up with a mischievous smile. "Katie, I swapped it! Isn't the pink hammer super cute?" Disgust flickered across Nick's face. "It's just a little crash. Get out on your own." By now, thick smoke was pouring into the car, and the heat was searing my lungs. I begged him to save me. But the girl only giggled, covering her nose in mock annoyance. "Katie, why are you cooking in there? The smoke is awful." Then she patted her stomach. "Oops, my tummy is rumbling. Nick, let's go home and eat." He tightened his hold around her and turned to leave. "Enough already. Stop pretending. My parents are waiting for us at home." Just as suffocation closed in on me, I slammed my hand against the car's emergency distress button.