CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS
Melissa Grant – Protagonist
Melissa Grant, 30, looks like she has it all together—fit, radiant, the picture of composure. But beneath the polished exterior lives a woman at war with herself. Every careful adjustment of her hair, every forced smile, hides the gnawing self-doubt she refuses to let the world see. Her trusting heart, her greatest gift, has also been her deepest flaw—leaving her open to those who would exploit her kindness.
Yet Melissa’s compassion is fierce, her selflessness unwavering. She’s a devoted single mother to an energetic five-year-old boy, anchoring her life in love even when the ground beneath her feels unsteady. When romance finally blooms, it carries the promise of redemption—a chance to begin again. But just as the light breaks through, shadows from her past return with ruthless force.
Suddenly, Melissa is thrust into a labyrinth of betrayal, deception, and systemic corruption. What begins as a fight for survival becomes a battle for justice, as predators circle and institutions designed to protect her instead conspire against her. In the crucible of loss and betrayal, Melissa discovers a hidden steel within herself. Once underestimated, she transforms into a force of resilience and defiance—willing to risk everything for her child, her future, and the truth.
Her journey doesn’t just test her endurance—it redefines her power. One by one, Melissa faces down some of the most cunning and corrupt legal minds in the system, refusing to be intimidated, outmaneuvered, or silenced. Each hard-won victory becomes proof of her evolution: a woman who once second-guessed herself now outthinking, outlasting, and outmatching those who thought her weak. With every confrontation, she chips away at the very foundations of corruption, her courage rewriting the rules of a game rigged against her.
Mike Grant – Supporting Lead
Mike Grant, early thirties, is a quiet force—gentle in demeanor but anchored by an unshakable moral compass. His friends admire his loyalty, even if they occasionally roll their eyes at his uncanny recall of American history—he can’t help but correct them when they’re wrong. A Navy radioman and cryptographer serving aboard a nuclear submarine, Mike is approaching the end of his final tour. With his sights set on a new chapter as a federal marshal, he’s ready to trade classified codes for a life rooted in justice and purpose.
Physically resilient and mentally sharp, Mike’s military discipline has shaped him into both a protector and a partner. But it’s his deep love for Melissa—the woman who brought warmth and meaning into his life—that defines him most. Beneath his calm exterior simmers a quiet fury toward Ted Drake, the man who once harmed her. Resisting that rage is a daily struggle, but Mike never loses sight of what matters most: standing beside Melissa and being a steady, loving presence for her and her son, Isaac.
As their lives are upended by a web of corruption and criminal betrayal, Mike’s unwavering strength and devotion are put to the ultimate test. Through it all, he remains Melissa’s anchor—a man determined to shield his family and hold the line when the world turns against them.
Ted Drake – Principal Antagonist.
Ted Drake, Melissa’s ex-husband, is a man consumed by rejection. Unable to accept that she left him, he channels his bitterness into a calculated campaign to destroy her. On the surface, Ted is a successful master electrician with a thriving business and money to burn—power he frequently uses to manipulate others and bend situations to his will.
Despite his being overweight, with an inflated ego, Ted sees himself as irresistible to women. But beneath the bravado lies a dark truth: he’s a controlling misogynist whose charm quickly gives way to cruelty. When challenged or denied, Ted turns vindictive—and violent. His brutality knows no bounds, culminating in the cold-blooded murder of Ashley, a local prostitute who crossed an unseen line.
While he postures as a tough guy, Ted is quick to back down when faced with someone who can fight back. He’s not fearless—he’s a coward in a predator’s clothing. A textbook sociopath, Ted masks his viciousness behind a disarming smile, drawing people in with calculated ease before revealing the monster beneath. And for Melissa, he’s a threat that refuses to stay buried.
Ashley – Ex-Marine and Prostitute
Ashley, 29, is striking—tall, athletic, with a cascade of burgundy-red hair that leaves other women jealous. But behind her appealing physique lies a soul scarred by war and haunted by loss. Once a proud U.S. Marine, Ashley served with honor until her tour in Beirut ended in devastation. A barracks bombing stole the lives of her squadmates, leaving Ashley as one of the few survivors. What the blast didn’t shatter, survivor’s guilt did. Discharged with PTSD, she carried the unbearable weight of living when those she loved did not.
Adrift and untethered, Ashley spiraled—her self-worth eroded, her reflection in the mirror a stranger she no longer recognized. She resisted therapy, recoiled from help, and sought solace in all the wrong places. In her desperate search for affection, she turned to prostitution—not for money, but for the fleeting illusion of love and acceptance.
And then, meeting and having a few drinks with Ted Drake, turned into something she never expected.
Attorney Lyman – Melissa’s Attorney
Lyman is a young, high-strung, chain-smoking attorney with a ruthless ambition to rise to the top—no matter who he has to step on to get there. Flashy and image-obsessed, he parades in designer suits around his privately owned law office, a legacy left to him by a long forgotten relative but built on a foundation of deception.
To the outside world, Lyman plays the role of a polished legal professional. But behind the scenes, he’s anything but ethical. Melissa trusts him as her attorney, unaware that in the past he’s been making shady backroom deals—lining his own pockets while quietly sabotaging the very people he’s supposed to protect.
For Lyman, the law is less about justice and more about leverage.
Attorney Archer – Ted Drake’s Attorney
Archer is a powerful, well-connected attorney whose moral compass broke long ago—if it ever existed at all. Brilliant and calculating, he graduated at the top of his law school class, but it’s not justice that drives him. It’s money. For the right price, Archer will bend the truth, bury evidence and destroy reputations—whatever it takes to come out on top.
With a razor-sharp mind and a silver tongue, Archer moves easily through the local legal elite, rubbing shoulders with judges, prosecutors, and fellow attorneys over Sunday golf rounds or high-society charity galas. But beneath the polished surface lies a man with a dangerous vice: gambling. Poker is his game of choice, and it’s more than a hobby—it’s an addiction that’s left him vulnerable to the very kind of leverage he’s used on others.
Archer is the kind of lawyer who knows everyone’s secrets—and hides enough of his own to bring the whole system down.
Federal (ATF) Agent Fowler – ATF Agent Smith’s Partner
Agent Fowler, 30, is a rogue ATF operative with a checkered past and a reputation that makes fellow agents uneasy. Charismatic but volatile, he walks a fine line between law enforcement and lawlessness—a man who’s just as comfortable bending the rules as he is enforcing them. Though he wears a badge, Fowler’s loyalty is fluid, his motives murky, and his ethics long since compromised.
In the recent past, he crossed paths with Attorney Bernie Lyman at a small, second-tier college known more for partying than prestige. The two struck up a friendship rooted in mischief and mutual ambition. Lyman went on to climb the legal ladder; Fowler slipped through the cracks of federal recruitment, his background conveniently sanitized—perhaps with help from his old friend.
Now, Lyman comes calling, and Fowler owes him. Big time. The job he’s being handed isn’t on the books, and it reeks of corruption—but out of loyalty, Fowler doesn’t hesitate. He brings in his partner, Agent Smith—an older man with many more years on the job, and just as corrupt.
And with that single favor, the fuse is lit. A conspiracy begins to unfold, and Agent Fowler, with his unpredictable temper and deep-rooted ties to the wrong people, becomes the sharp edge of something much darker.
Federal (ATF) Agent Smith – ATF Agent Fowler’s Partner
Agent Smith, 50, is a seasoned ATF veteran with twenty years of service under his belt—and a growing sense that the system he once believed in is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Hardened by decades of bureaucracy, backroom politics, and half-fought wars on crime, Smith has become quietly disillusioned. He’s not bitter—just realistic. Retirement is on the horizon, and he knows the pension won’t cover the life he wants to live.
A steady, methodical presence, Smith serves as the senior partner and mentor to the unpredictable Agent Fowler. He’s taught Fowler how to navigate the agency’s gray areas, how to push just far enough without drawing too much attention. But somewhere along the way, the mentor stopped believing in the badge himself. These days, Smith supplements his income as a behind-the-scenes “fixer” for people with deep pockets and dirt to bury—judges, lawyers, politicians, anyone willing to pay for his silence or skill.
So when Fowler walks in with a lucrative job from his old college buddy, shady attorney Bernie Lyman, Smith doesn’t blink. He doesn’t ask questions. He knows what this is. He’s done worse for less.
To Smith, this isn’t corruption—it’s compensation. A reward for years of loyalty to a system that never played fair. But what he doesn’t realize is that this job will drag him deeper than ever before—into a conspiracy that might be bigger than either of them can control, and far more dangerous than anything he’s faced in his official career.
Megan Hill – The Siren with a Secret
At first glance, Megan Hill is every bit the alluring figure she projects—a 25-year-old exotic dancer whose confidence commands attention the moment she steps into a room. Standing at 5’7” with an athletic frame and striking dark hair, she knows exactly how to wield her beauty like a weapon. Men become pawns in her unspoken game, drawn in by her teasing charm and the promise of something more.
But beneath the surface of sultry glances and revealing clothes lies a woman of startling contradictions. Megan gives her time selflessly during the holidays, serving meals at soup kitchens and ringing bells for the Salvation Army, offering warmth to those who have nothing. It’s in those moments that her duality shines—the temptress who lives in neon-lit shadows, and the compassionate soul who still aches to do good.
Her relationship with Ted Drake appears steady, but Megan guards a darkness she’s not ready to share. A hidden rage coils inside her, restrained for now but destined to erupt when the right spark strikes. This shadowed part of her is tied to a tragedy from her college years—a turning point that forced her off one path and onto another, reshaping her into the enigma she is today.
Megan Hill is more than the role she plays in public. She is a survivor, a mystery, and a storm waiting to break—a woman who embodies desire and danger in equal measure.
(c) 2015/2025 Susan Langford