At age 20 Elizabeth Rainery had grabbed the world by its horns and believed herself on the right track

to achieving her lifes goals and so soon in life. But the love in her heart was not enough to keep her from experiencing the power of hate and its many repercussions. The 2am phone call was not a first for her but the threat behind the words this time were enough to not only instill fear into her heart, mind and body but to also shake the need to wait for God to deliver his vengeance to those who hurt his children; and instead to make revenge one of her highest life goals. Revenge is a dish best served cold but the kind of revenge she had planned was the best kind, the kind that need not hurt others but the kind that shows the world that not only is karma a BITCH but also honest success can be a balm to the soul against ones wrongdoers.

Chapter one Stephen Montgomery stopped in his tracks and believed himself to have encountered a ghost. The moons silver glow over flaxen hair swaying in the breeze and the cloud of cold air within his field of vision only added to his fright. The face into which he stared could only belong to one woman. Her disappearance so many years ago had shaken him but this sight made him feel faint. are you all right? He held his breath, the voice was the same, but how he thought, 26 years later and she has not aged a

day. Elizabeth, oh God Elizabeth as he swayed on his feet his arm was suddenly grabbed by the younger version of himself standing beside him. The womans face wore a puzzled look and he thought she has not changed a bit, he could clearly remember that look, the same one she bore the first time he ever asked her on a date, even the first time he had told her that he loved her. He reached for her arm which she immediately shook off daring him with her eyes to try it again before she walked away in the opposite direction. Three days later Stephen sat in his office awaiting the arrival of the president of Marsden Inc, the company which had thankfully come to the firms aid at a time where aid was not only hard to come by but also an absolute necessity in order to keep the business alive and many of the towns citizens employed. The cost of the aid had been high but a necessary evil. What a way to think about his new partner. At last his secretary rang to inform him that the President had arrived. He did not look up for a few seconds after his guest entered, but when he did his shock of a few days before returned for there in the door way she stood, now with the suns rays giving the neatly coifed hair delicate streaks of the palest blond and platinum. Elizabeth. The name was on the tip of his tongue but he could not get the word out.

Before he could say anything, and without knowing the thought he had had in his mind. I am not Elizabeth Mr. Montgomery she said crisply but with a wry twist of her lips, a smirk like all of her other mannerisms which she picked up from her mother so many years ago. Thoughts of her mother and her reason for being here only added to the mystery of the thoughts to which the rooms other occupant was not privy to. When her mother had told her the story of her life before meeting Frank Marsden Duquet, Eloise had been livid and given her temperament which was as volatile as the father she had never met her first thought was to strip Stephen Montgomery of his birthright and eventually deliberately run his company into the ground for she now thought of him as the enemy, as the man who had hurt her mother so badly that not even her father had been able to heal her fragile heart before he died so suddenly before her own birth. And although her mother loved herself and her brother and had given them the love and devotion of two parents there was always a sadness, a pathos that had never been removed from her heart, which although the outside world was not privy to it was only those whom she had allowed into her heart which numbered a few; who knew the pain she lived through every day. Eloise had since wondered why her mother being the powerful woman that she is today had not taken that power and used it to destroy those who had hurt her so terrifyingly. Although initially after that frightening night she had sworn vengeance, her belief in the Lord had

held true and his gift of Frank Duquet and the children he gave her had been enough to strip her of her need and want for vengeance, but the pain of her first love had not been healed enough before Franks sudden death. That death blow made her wary of bringing more people into her inner circle so that it only numbered her children and the loyal household staff who had held her through her grief, brought her out of the brink of despair and given her the strength to not only live but to do so successfully and with a clean heart. Eloise was brought out of her musings when Stephen stood and blocked some of the suns harsher rays which had been blinding her during her introverted musings. Not one to waste her time Eloise decided to get right to the point and give the man one of the biggest shocks of his life. Mr. Montgomery please sit down she said coldly, closing the office door and taking a seat herself. Although during the signing and preliminary meetings you met and spoke with Aaron Duquet my brother, I am the President and C.E.O of Marsden Incorporated. I am Eloise Duquet, Elizabeth is my mother and from the photographs which I have seen of her when she was twenty I understand that I can pass as her identical twin. But that does not matter, this is business and had I allowed personal matters to dictate business decisions to be frank, pun intended, if you knew my father, we would not both be sitting here about to discuss saving this company rather I would be laughing in your face while I recited to you all that had been done to ensure that you and all those who work for

you suffered, be they tarred with the same brush as your familys, and if you want to know what for then I suggest you ask your mother, I am only sorry that your father is not the one to whom I would have been speaking. Also in your favor is that my mother is not the type of person to seek revenge, myself like my dead father however do and I will not hesitate to do so to anyone seeking to make trouble for either my mother, myself or my brother. The power we now wield in this town far surpasses that of your familys. Theres a new Queen in town but you might want to keep that to yourself.

He phoned a friend from Harvard and asked Jim have you ever heard about a woman named Elizabeth Duquet? she apparently owns a company called Marsden Inc. Jim laughed My friend you have been in your little town a little too long, asking about a woman like Madame Duquet is like asking a Democrat who our current president is. Jim why dont you answer the question? Well how do I put this? The gorgeous Madame Duquet is so rich and has her hand in so many pies that she can take a third world country and make it a serious business rival to the US government. How you could not know about a woman like that is beyond me. You thinking of asking for some help with that lodestone your father left you, I mean if you did you

would be set for life. I dont know about the set for life but it appears that she now owns 54% of my lodestone as you call it. How did that happen, I would think that you would want to retain control if you sought out a partner? Howd you even get into business with her without even knowing who she was? I was approached by Marsden Inc, which is apparently run by her daughter Ah the equally beautiful and classy Eloise Marie Genevieve Duquet, from all accounts she is as ruthless in business as her father Frank Duquet, but she does it with the most angelic smile on her face. Ive heard stories of men trying to screw up her businesses believing that shes a mere woman and only got her positions because of her mother, but not only does she have her mothers business acumen and drive considering that she learned from the best but also her fathers cunning, guile and ruthlessness. That is one woman you do not want to make angry. Remember the stock market crash the ruined Trenton Incorporated a couple years ago.Yeah, why? Trenton Junior and senior tried to ruin Mademoiselles reputation personally and financially, but she protects herself so well that whatever she did bought all their debt, called all of it in and caused the companys stock to become so worthless that they had to file for bankruptcy. But what about the employees and all the stock holders innocent of any wrong doing. Oh dont worry, she and Madame started another company from scratch that took in almost all of those who lost their jobs and even gave Trentons stock holders the first option for refusal of stock in the new company and judging by the recent Wall Street Financials the companys worth more

than three times what Trenton was worth when it was its most profitable. You said most, what happened to the others Some employees found new jobs before the company was incorporated and those who were a part of what the Trentons was doing, well some are still unemployed.