Author's Note: Before I Begin

My name is Evelyn Rose Queen.

The second child of Robert and Moira Queen.

I'm two years younger than my brother Oliver, and 15 years older than my sister, Thea. I love my life. If anyone were to ask me if I'm rich, I'd say I'm comfortable, if not happy, 'cause that's what all rich people say. My dad, Robert, is a business-man who practically built his own enterprise, Queen Consolidated, and my mom helps him run the business, as well as helping take care of us rowdy group known as the Queen kids.

When I say rowdy I mean really rowdy. Oliver, or Ollie as I call him, is the eldest, and he's a real party animal. He gets drunk and wakes up in strange places all the time, mostly after a 'sleepover' with a girl he literally just met. At least, that's what it was called to deter my curiosity. Not that I didn't know what it meant, though. He's a playboy, or at least that's what Mom and Dad call him. He gets in heaps of trouble with the cops and stuff, though. I like to party, but not as much as Oliver. A good drink and some dancing normally gets me going. I hate boys that flirt with me excessively. Also, I know a tad bit of karate, which helps me get out of some sticky situations. Thea's the youngest, so she doesn't really party much. Not at all, actually.

I'm happy. I wouldn't trade my life for the world. I get straight A's, I'm a very good student and I love people, if they're not trying to get to me for my family's money in any way, shape or form. Good people can be hard to come by these days.

But things were about to change - and the day that I got the news that my brother Oliver's boat, The Queen's Gambit, went down in international waters 2,100 nautical miles east of Australia, that was the day my life changed...