Introduction

This is the first story in a series of stories that will use the same characters. I plan to change some of the characters and where they live. However, the core of the characters will stay the same.

Christien (Chris) Smith – 60 year old, movie producer/writer, husband of Bella, father of Zak, Birthplace: Sydney Australia, Home: Paris, France

Isabella (Bella, Izzy) Smith – 40 year old, actress/writer, wife of Chris, mother of Zak, Birthplace: Buffalo, New York, Home: Paris, France

Zakery (Zak) Smith – their 10 year old son

Jean – Isabella's sister

Bill – Christien's younger brother

Suzy – Johnny's wife, former friend Bella's, friend of Chris

Johnny – Suzy's husband, former friend of Chris, friend of Bella

Annie – Suzy and Johnny's daughter

Background Information

Chris is a hugely successful movie producer. Neither he nor Isabella has ever been to college. They both came from poor backgrounds. Both sets of parents are dead. They live in Paris, France to escape the media attention of the US. Chris tries to avoid the spotlight. They're not a typical Hollywood couple – both are well-grounded, avoid alcohol and drugs, and are very down-to-earth. Isabella's career took off after she and Chris worked on their first movie together.

Disclaimer - Any relationship to actual people and events is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1 - Unwelcome Surprises

April 2008 - A beautiful spring day in France.

"Izzy, I'll go and get the mail. Keep working on the new script!" Chris said as he kissed her on his way out.

"Love, you're such a taskmaster", Isabella says as she's working on a new script for their new movie. It had been almost 5 years since she had released a new movie and she was getting that feeling to start making movies and entertain her fans again.

Meanwhile, Chris went to get the mail. There was an envelope addressed to Chris from an unknown person. Usually, Chris would just throw it away, but something told him to open the letter. Chris opened the letter and it said "A wife for a wife..."

Paris, France Present Day, Isabella's House

Isabella was setting by the fireplace looking at list of possible producers that Luke Lewis had provided for possible replacements for Chris. She thought back to that spring day when her world had came crashing down....

Her friend Irene had come running to Isabella to tell her that she caught Chris in a compromising position with Suzy. Of course, she told Irene there was no way that Chris would do such a thing to her. She confronted Chris and he admitted that he wanted out of the marriage. He couldn't look her in the eye when he told her that he and Suzy had become more than friends. So, she took Zak and ran to Buffalo.

She and Chris hadn't talked much since that fateful May day - just about Zak's custody and that he wanted her to file for divorce. Every time he talked to her, he seemed so cold and distant. He went out of his way to avoid her. When they did come face to face, his beautiful blue eyes were cold as ice. When she came back to France, Chris avoided her like she had the plague. He was warm and loving with Zak, but he had built up a brick wall when she was around. She had tried going on a trip with Johnny to shock Chris and get some kind of reaction out of him, but what he told the tabloids that he didn't care if she dated other men. It had broken her heart more (if that was possible). She had tried dating other men, but they weren't Chris. She didn't understand how this could have happened to her and Chris. Why had it gone wrong?

Suddenly, there was a knock on Isabella's door. She walks over to open the door.

"Hello. Who are you?" Isabella says as she opens the door.

"Are you Mrs. Chris Smith?" Says the man in a thick Russian accent dressed in black.

"For another two weeks, I am."

"Good, may we please come in?"

"No," Isabella says as she starts to close the door. She has a weird feeling about these guys. Ted (her German Shepherd) comes running to her side on instant alert.

"Oh, yes, you'll let us in", the man says as he forces the door and he and his four companions enter the house. Ted goes crazy and attacks the men. The men shoot the dog in the head....