Sunday, May 23, 2010

Novella


Fire Underneath the Ice, authored by Sharon Crawford and Rene Natan under the pen name R. S. Natanevin, is now available at Roguephoenixpress.com

Revenge is supposed to be sweet, but when Michael Hamming decides to take it out on the daughter of his nemesis, the sweetness is not what he expected.

Synopsis

MICHAEL HAMMING, 37, is a Toronto stockbroker with plenty of money but little social grace. Born in a family of modest condition and raised by a single mother, he has been able to attend university and get a degree in business administration thanks to the money that his mother’s lover, tycoon RICHARD MCDONNELL, had given her. Michael has always resented the way Richard treated his mother, coming to see her at any time of day or night, having sex with her in any corner of the house, and leaving money afterwards. Richard dies, leaving about a billion dollar to his offspring, GORDON and KARYN. After Gordon’s death in a car-racing accident, Karyn’s wealth is administrated by several people, and ultimately by an unscrupulous lawyer and gambler, JASON GREENE. Karyn’s wealth is frozen because of a complex international dispute. She mortgages the big family house to meet every-days’ payments. The story opens when Michael hears that Karyn is in serious financial troubles and that her fiancĂ© had left her only a few weeks before tying the knot. He asks her to drop by his office after hours. Now it is time to avenge my mother, Michael thinks. When Karyn enters his office Michael is struck by two things: the commanding presence the young woman has inherited from her father, and her exceptional beauty. Without preambles, and in a very award and rude way, Michael asks her to be his girlfriend; in exchange he will make the payments for the house mortgage. Karyn, who in secret likes Michael, is amused by the proposal. She refuses, playing offended. Her financial situation worsens and she realizes it isn’t safe to live alone in the family mansion, since the place is being cased. After much hesitation she contacts Michael and accepts his offer. Under the veneer of a shallow socialite, Karyn is a warm person who, however, doesn’t let Michael know how much she likes him. Michael is taken by her, day after day, more every day. Revenge is set on the back burner… Karyn’s assets are partially cleared. She will soon regain possession of all her wealth. While on a vacation on a yacht near Vancouver’s Island, Karyn is kidnapped by two accomplices of Jason Greene, who plans to ask for a ransom to pay his huge gambling debt. For two days Karyn is kept prisoner in an old shed. As the police do not take prompt action Michael goes to her rescue. He rents a speedboat, and, in the company of the yacht’s skipper, VINCENT ONOFRI, he patrols the shoreline where a piece of Karyn’s housecoat has been spotted. Once more the police are alerted, and an RCMP-team is dispatched. Karyn escapes, hiding in the thick, nearby woods. Jason’s Greene and the two accomplices recapture her, but meanwhile Michael has located her and goes to her rescue. Soon after the police arrive and arrest Jason and his accomplices. Karyn and Michael, finally reunited, return to Toronto. It’s fall 2008 and the stock market has reached a record minimum. Within a few weeks, Michael is in financial troubles. It’s Karyn’s turn to bail him out and lend him money—in secret, however. But Michael’s financial advisor gets wind of the transaction and informs Michael. Seated on a sofa, Michael asks Karyn about her recent investments; Karyn responds only with monosyllables and smiles. So Michael says, “Fine. We should keep a few secrets for our children to come.”