Brief

After a horrible accident claims the life of her mother, RAVEN wakes up with amnesia two years later. She tries to resume her life with the help of best friend, JULIA. But as her memories come back, she begins to suspect that her mother is the victim of foul play and works to catch her murderer before it’s too late.

What We Liked

DECEITFUL INTENTIONS follows the same story structure as the popular thrillers, like WOMAN IN THE WINDOW or GONE GIRL. It follows a single character as she navigates a new world that doesn’t feel quite right to her. She follows her instincts and it leads her down a road of deceit and danger that’s tough to look away from, even if the story itself isn’t as fleshed as it perhaps needs to be.

Film: The story centers around a single mystery and follows the lead as she follows her instinct to prove that not everything is as it seems. It follows a similar structure as others of its kind, although it doesn’t always feel quite as meaty or dark.

TV: Given that the story centers around a single mystery that gets solved at the end, this story is probably best suited for a limited series. In that format, it has enough of a hook to sustain several episodes as the protagonist works to figure out the truth about her past, as well as assimilate into her new normal.

Key points:
Popular genre
Potential for diversity
Hints of romance
Female-driven
Deals with complex emotions

Synopsis

RAVEN is in a violent car accident with her mother, ALICE. She awakens in the hospital one year later, with one of her legs amputated. Her DOCTOR refuses to answer any questions about the accident and puts her into a medically-induced coma. After another year, Raven is taken out of the coma, is given a prosthetic leg and learns that she is strong enough to resume her life.

Raven takes the long drive back to her hometown. To help jog her memory, she looks at her high school yearbook. She finds a picture of her with her arm around PAUL MANFRED and wonders who it is. She finds another picture of her with JULIA JACKSON.
MURIEL MANFRED arrives at the house to greet Julia. Raven asks her to see the media coverage from the accident and she returns with it later.

Julia arrives and tries to catch Raven up to speed. Raven believes that Muriel Manfred and her husband, the police chief, are bad people. Julia begins taking Raven to places that she believes will jog her memory. At the local diner, they meet MARYANN PERKINS, and Raven learns that she’s with Paul. Julia fills in the blanks and tells Raven that Paul broke up with Julia when she decided to go to college, and began seeing Maryann soon after. After lunch, Julia takes Raven to the local high school. There, she has her first memory: of her mother telling her that she needs to have her oil changed before taking Raven back to school, and of her mother telling her that she made a doctor’s appointment to see about some stomach pain.

Back at home, Raven is visited by CHIEF MANFRED. He delivers several accident reports for Raven to look over. She notices that the mechanic who did the inspection after the accident was HENRY DUNLAP. Dunlap maintains that he’s never done an oil change on Alice’s car, but Raven begins to suspect that he’s lying.

Raven checks her mother’s calendar and verifies the oil change and a doctor’s appointment.

Julia takes Raven to see Alice’s doctor, only to learn that DOCTOR KIM doesn’t know what was wrong with Alice’s stomach. From there, they visit the medical examiner. But Raven learns that the autopsy is sealed, and she needs permission from Chief Manfred to access it. Raven decides that she wants to talk to Dunlap again. They arrive at the shop and find an active crime scene. Dunlap was a victim of a hit and run in the shop’s parking lot.

Paul pulls Raven aside and apologizes for their past. He tells her that, before the accident, his father was having an affair with Alice. Muriel knew about it, and threatened divorce. Once Alice died, the Manfred’s tried to put the affair behind them.
Julia teaches Raven to drive again. They run into Paul, and Julia begins to believe that he’s still in love with Raven. They visit Chief Manfred for permission to see the autopsy report, and find him in his office with Muriel. He gives permission, and Raven asks to talk to him in private. Muriel excuses herself to go bake muffins.

Chief Manfred confirms his affair with Alice, and tells Raven that he was in love with her. She tries to convince him to look further into Dunlap’s lies, but he refuses. At home, Raven finds Alice’s diary, and learns that she intended to marry Chief Manfred. Julia accompanies her to the medical examiners to go over the autopsy report. Raven begins to suspect that her mother was poisoned. Raven arrives home to find a basket of Muriel’s muffins waiting for her.

Raven brings one of the muffins to Chief Manfred and asks him to test it for poison. Meanwhile, he gets word that Henry Dunlap was about to go bankrupt when a mysterious customer paid to save his shop. At home, Chief Manfred notices a dent in Muriel’s bumper. Soon after, he learns that there is arsenic in the muffin. Paul calls to warn Raven, just as Muriel shows up at the house. She pulls a gun on Raven and tries to force her to eat the muffin. Julia rings the bell, and breaks into the house just as Muriel is about to pull the trigger. She tackles her, and Raven grabs the gun and shoots Muriel in the thigh. Paul arrives with backup and Muriel tries to pull the trigger on herself. Paul is able to stop her, only to realize that she ingested the arsenic herself. She dies on the living room floor. Paul and Raven reconcile, while Muriel’s body is taken away.

About The Author

Carlo Armenise has been writing for several years including short stories, screenplays and television episodes across different genres ranging from horror to comedy. Writing has always been Carlo’s passion.