Scorpio Series Boxed Set

by Monique Domovitch

  * * *

  Alex was lying in his hospital bed, watching the small television screen overhead when the nurse came in. “Good morning, Mr. Ivanov.”

  He looked up in surprise. She was an attractive middle-aged woman with blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun. “You’re not my regular nurse,” he said. “Where’s Louise?”

  “I’m taking over for Louise today. We switched schedules.” She smiled. “It’s time for your medication.” She handed him the paper cup and Alex brought it quickly to his mouth. “And here is your water,” she said sweetly as she handed him the glass.

  Alex picked up the glass and drank it.

  Suddenly, the door to the adjoining bathroom swung open and Miles rushed out. “You’re under arrest,” he shouted as he pointed his gun to Anne Turner.

  Behind him Lawson hurried over to Alex. “Are you all right, Mr. Ivanov?”

  “Sure,” replied Alex with a grin. He opened his palm, revealing the three capsules he had pretended to swallow.

  * * *

  EPILOGUE

  Sometimes Alex wondered what would have happened if Richard had not gone to the police with his story. Would he have died that day?

  No. I would have been suspicious, he told himself. Louise would have told me if she had changed schedules.

  Luckily, that was something he would never know for sure. I don’t think I’ll ever die, he reassured himself again. After all, he had evaded death five times already. Surviving two heart attacks, a car accident, a murder attempt, and now this, proved he could survive anything.

  “Would you like me to move your chair closer to the window, Sir?” asked his manservant.

  “No, I can see fine from here.” Alex leaned back in his wheelchair and looked out the window.

  Shortly after Anne Turner’s arrest, Alex had suffered a third, massive heart attack. From now on, the doctors told him, he would no longer be ambulatory. Since then he had been bound to the damned chair.

  It gave him some consolation to know that he had a son, and that this son had saved his life.

  See? Not everybody hates me, he thought. Richard cares for me.

  On the strength of Richard’s testimony, Ann Turner had been convicted and sentenced to eight years in jail.

  He testified against his own mother because he loves me. Still, Richard had not been to visit in nearly a month. He’s busy running Power Properties. He has no time, he told himself, choosing to disregard the fact that Power Properties’ headquarters were only a few floors below the penthouse in Power Properties Tower, where he now lived.

  Andrew and Natalia had not come to visit in a long time either. Gerald, I can understand. Since he married Brigitte, I couldn’t really expect h

  Alex turned his head sadly and looked at the painting on the wall. It was a stunning oil of an orchid, modern yet classic, bold yet peaceful. When he heard that Brigitte was painting again, he had sent Sam to the gallery to buy it for him.

  I hope she’s happy, he thought, already knowing the answer. He had caught a glimpse of his ex-wife on a television interview just before her first showing, and she glowed like never before. She looks happier than I ever remember seeing her.

  “Sam,” Alex called out. “I’ve changed my mind.”

  Sam came running.

  And well he should, for the money I pay him.

  “Move me closer to the window. A bit more to the left.”

  Alex sighed happily and smiled. Ah, this is better.

  From his vantage point, he could see clear across the city, all the way to Brooklyn. To the end of the world. “I made it, didn’t I, Sam?” he asked.

  “You sure did, Mr. I.”

  “Everything I touched turned to gold.”

  Sam nodded. “That’s a fact, Mr. I.”

  Alex laughed. “I’m a Scorpio, that’s why. Did you know Scorpios are the most ambitious sign in the Zodiac?”

  “I can’t say that I knew that, Mr. I.”

  “I sure was ambitious, wasn’t I, Sam?”

  “That’s for damn sure, Mr. I That’s for damn sure.”

  Book Club Discussion Guide

  The Sting of the Scorpio

  by Monique Domovich

  Pages: 166

  Format: Paperback, eBook

  Publisher: Lansen Publishing

  Website: http://www.MoniqueDomovitch.com

  Prepared by Novel Publicity, LLC

  About this Book

  In her first book, Scorpio Rising, Domovitch set the scene for Brigitte’s success as an artist and Alex’s determination to succeed in architecture. In The Sting of the Scorpio, readers are once more transported into the competitive worlds of real estate and art. Love takes center stage right along with business, betrayal, and an uncertain marriage.

  Brigitte meets a former movie star by the name of Natalia Berenson and hopes to launch her career as an artist in New York. Alex, however, undermines her every effort, insisting that she spend more time with him and her son, David. Desperate to keep the love of her husband, Brigitte Ivanov succumbs to his desires and gives up art. Domovitch does a lovely job displaying Brigitte’s sacrifice and how it still does not entirely please Alex. Rather than bring them closer, Brigitte’s capitulation seems to only stir Alex’s growing appetite for attention, and multiple affairs follow.

  Weaving sexual scandal and betrayal into The Sting of the Scorpio, Domovitch also presents her readers with some new, exciting and vivid characters. Natalia Berenson, the aging movie star, discovers Alex’s infidelity and, trying to be a good friend, she approaches Brigitte with the information. At first, Brigitte offers her husband the chance for redemption, but the Ivanov marriage has become empty. Brigitte soon recognizes that she has spent years devoting herself to a man who cannot love.

  Tragedy strikes when Brigitte’s son, David, dies of an epileptic seizure in the Ivanov’s pool. Brigitte’s catatonic response drives Alex to realize how much he loves her, and he forever ends his affairs with other women. Domovitch does not allow the Ivanovs any happiness, though. She artfully leads Brigitte to cheat on Alex with one of his partners of his real estate company, Power Properties.

  Alex attempts to redeem himself for all of his past wrong doings while Brigitte’s newfound affair transforms her into an unforgiving character. Domovitch’s questioning of love and marriage as a binding contract is subtle and captivating. Love and business work hand-in-hand to produce a compelling tale with vivid characters; as Power Properties grows, so does the lack of loyalty the Ivanov’s display toward one another.

  The Sting of the Scorpio is a fantastic sequel to Scorpio Rising. Brigitte and Alex bloom into compelling characters whose lives are torn apart by ambition and greed. The struggles faced by each character echo the kind of obstacles real people face every day. For this reason, The Sting of the Scorpio is a strong piece of Literary Fiction that should be on everyone’s shelf.

  Interview with the Author

  Q: David’s name and his epilepsy are hugely reminiscent of David’s struggle against Goliath. What do some of the other names you chose mean? Specifically, how did you decide what to name Brigitte and Alex?

  A: I struggled for a long time on selecting the names of my characters and finally decided to give them big names because they are such huge personalities. Brigitte is very French—think Brigitte Bardot. As far as Alexander—who was ever more powerful than Alexander the Great?

  Q: Brigitte put an enormous amount of time and effort into renovating the loft she and Alex rented at the beginning of The Sting of the Scorpio. Why did she put less effort into transforming the manor she and Alex moved into later? How does this describe Alex’s hold over her?

  A: Brigitte and Alex’s first home represents love and Brigitte’s hope for their future, but by the time they move to their mansion, the marriage is already an empty shell. Everything matters more for its appearance than for its content, and the mansion perfectly embodies that change.

  Q: Why did you choose not to include Lucien
in The Sting of the Scorpio? How would his presence have disrupted the symmetry of Anne and Brandon as antagonists?

  A: Lucien was no longer important to the story by the time Brigitte and Alex moved to New York. I wanted the sequel to be as strong a story as the first book and for that I needed to bring in some new characters and omit some older ones.

  Q: Alex is a Scorpio, but other than surviving his many encounters with death, he does not outright kill anyone or directly cause them harm. Where did the inspiration for the title The Sting of the Scorpio come from?

  A: In the sequel, Alex’s ambition drives him to sting all those closest to him. He takes advantage of friends, lovers, and even his wife. No one is exempt from his ambition. In the end, though, the greatest sting is the one Alex does to himself.

  Q: Brigitte and Gerald seem to be the only people who emerge happy in the end. Why did you choose them? Does Alex’s final scene show that Manhattan is not the amazing place he thought it was in the beginning of Scorpio Rising?

  A: It is my experience that terrific books often have a moral, and the message in The Sting of the Scorpio is that sometimes when we try too hard to achieve happiness, we overlook the obvious. Happiness is usually around us in those we love. In the final scene of The Sting of the Scorpio, I wanted to show how Alex is incapable of deep feelings. In the same way he never experiences real, deep love or happiness, he also cannot feel deep regret. He is a flawed individual. We all know people like that. People who hurt others deeply and who should—if life were fair—get their comeuppance. However, life isn’t always fair. Villains rarely suffer as much as they should.

  Q: Are you considering writing a third book for the Scorpio series? If so, on which characters would you focus? Would redemption and sin continue to be strongly explored through the characters?

  A: I am still uncertain whether I will write a third installment. Right now I am drawn to another series I’m planning, so that remains to be seen. Having said that, if I do write a third installment, I would concentrate on Richard Conrad. I would probably want him to see the mistakes of his father and perhaps attempt to live a better life. I suspect that the Son of the Scorpio would need to pay for his father’s sins in one way or another.

  Q: In Scorpio Rising, you explained that Lucien was your least favorite character to write. Conversely, in The Sting of the Scorpio, who was your favorite character to read? What kind of an impact did he or she have on you? What were some of the key differences between reading them and writing them?

  A: Here’s the thing; as much as I love, love, love it, writing is grueling work. It’s difficult for me to get a total picture of the characters and of the story itself until I’ve reread it usually about a month after it’s finished. By then, I’m far enough from the work to look at it objectively. I have to say that I absolutely loved reading it. I found myself laughing, cheering, and rooting for the characters just as I hoped my readers would. All in all, it’s a lot more fun to read than to write.

  Q: Business played an enormous role in character development. Many specifics of corporate life were discussed, such as hostile takeover bids, purchasing real estate, and company debt. What sort of research did you do to bring out the realistic concerns your characters faced as the partners of such an expansive enterprise?

  A: It may surprise some to know that I used to be a financial planner. I fact, I had my own financial advise television show and it aired nationally in Canada or four years. Also, my husband and I own a commercial real estate company, so business, real estate, and investing are subjects with which I am quite conversant.

  Q: Why did you choose The Sting of the Scorpio to take place over such a long period of time, while the majority of Scorpio Rising was only set over a few years?

  A: During their life, people change very gradually. For Alex and Brigitte to evolve as much as they did, the story had to be unveiled slowly, over a span of many years. So much happens; the building of an empire cannot happen is less than a decade or two.

  Discussion Questions

  1. In The Sting of the Scorpio, Alex Ivanov survives many encounters with death. He lives through multiple heart attacks, a car wreck, and an attempted murder. In reflecting upon Alex as a character, what does his survival mirror and what does it contrast?

  2. Brigitte attempts to abort David in Scorpio Rising, the prequel to The Sting of the Scorpio. In The Sting of the Scorpio, David dies through an epileptic episode. Discuss why Domovitch chose epilepsy as an aliment for David. Does David ever overcome the disease on his own? Other than the reaction seen in Scorpio Rising to one of David’s episodes, why does Brigitte try to convince everyone David has a heart condition?

  3. Brigitte fought Alex’s desire to build a swimming pool in the back yard and did not want David to learn how to swim. What is the symbolism of David dying in a pool? How does the pool relate to a womb? Does Alex’s presence during David’s death reflect the control he tries to have over Brigitte and David?

  4. David Ivanov’s death and Richard Conrad’s arrival are timed such that when David dies, Richard takes his place. Is Richard the prodigal son? Does he find redemption with Alex after saving Alex’s life?

  5. Richard’s relationship with Anne Turner is defined by their common desire for money, but in the end, Richard betrays Anne and saves Alex’s life. Could Richard’s betrayal be in response to his lust for monetary gain? If not, how does money play a role in Richard’s life and his goals? How does it shape him as a character?

  6. Throughout The Sting of the Scorpio, Alex’s continued affairs are obvious to everyone except Brigitte. When Brigitte does find out, she attempts to forgive him, yet has an affair with Gerald and leaves Alex. Describe how Brigitte’s lack of true forgiveness, even after her hospitalization and Alex’s attempt to redeem himself, characterizes her as a victim. After Brigitte’s attempt to ruin Power Properties, can she be considered a sympathetic character?

  7. Much like in Scorpio Rising, Domovitch intertwines power and sexual lust. Describe three differences between the role of lust in Sting and Scorpio Rising. What are some similarities? Do lust and power go hand-in-hand with every character, or is Alex the only one who depicts them?

  8. Domovitch threads Anne Turner’s involvement in Alex’s life delicately in the novel. Though Anne’s only interaction with William Brandon in the sequel is on page 160, how do she and Brandon seem to cooperate throughout the novel as antagonists? Other than revenge on Alex, what motivates them to try and destroy Power Properties?

  9. Brigitte and Anne appear to be polar opposites in the first novel. Anne has little to no love for Alex after he leaves her with a child, and Brigitte is madly in love with him. As The Sting of the Scorpio progresses, those differences dissolve. Anne and Brigitte become similar in what ways? Why do you think Domovitch chose to have such radically different women play such antagonizing roles in Alex’s life?

  10. One of Alex’s quirks is that he insisted on driving himself (pages 155-157). Does Alex’s desire to drive his own cars reflect upon his need for absolute control? Come up with five arguments against his controlling nature related to not hiring a driver.

  11. Much like Scorpio Rising, Domovitch expressed The Sting of the Scorpio through multiple points of view. Describe how the multiple viewpoints conflict with traditional works of Literary Fiction such as Jane Eyre or The Heart of Darkness. How does Domovitch’s portrayal of the story through many people relate to novels such as Mrs. Dalloway or As I Lay Dying?

  12. Does Alex’s purchase and display of one of Brigitte’s paintings absolve him of his sins? Is he trying to flaunt his attempt at redemption, or does he sincerely believe the presence of the painting means he has returned to his love for Brigitte?

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 15

 

 

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