Queenie Landgraab cruised along the highway at her usual luxurious pace; with her husband by her side and her daughter behind her as they inched ever closer to their new life in Sunset Valley. ‘Are we there yet?,’ asked her teenage daughter, Nancy as the countryside slowly became sparser and more and more houses and factories could be seen along the sides.

Queenie sighed while Chester said, ‘No, darling, not yet, it’ll take us another half an hour, at most to get there; it’s nestled far away in the hills.’ ‘Yeah, fine,’ said Nancy as she plugged in her MP3 and stared mutely outside. Chester always took up responsibility when he knew that Queenie was on a short fuse.

Nancy had whined a lot as they left from home; she loved it there, and was NOT looking forward to her new life here. Queenie had finally yelled at her daughter to get dressed and packed; and the entire mood of the trip had soured because of the argument.


As the sun reached it’s midday peak, Queenie finally drove past a sign saying, ‘Welcome to Sunset Valley,’ and there, before them, lay one of the most beautiful valleys she’d ever seen. She and Chester gasped; even Nancy couldn’t help herself; she gaped at the scenic beauty of the little town; closeted away from pollution; isolated from rest of the world, almost like a secret haven.

As she drove deeper into town, she realized why she had been asked to relocate here in the first place. Though the valley had superb beauty, and would be a huge attraction for anyone wanting to settle down, everything was old and derelict. Not one park lay in sight, not a single lake or somewhere where people could enjoy themselves or take a little break from work existed.

‘We’re here!,’ she crowed in a cheery voice, as they finally reached the house that Victor had indicated was for them.




As they stood before the entrance, Queenie looked at her daughter while Chester gazed around at the huge house; all smiles. ‘Well, what do you think?,’ asked Queenie.


‘Beautiful,’ said Chester with a sigh. A smile lit up Nancy’s features. ‘Awesome. Where’s my room?,’ she said with a grin. The tension broke as everyone laughed.


Suddenly; Queenie’s mobile began to ring. ‘Whoops, urgent call, have to take that, you guys go exploring,’ she said as she flipped her phone open. Nancy rolled her eyes and went in to the kitchen while Chester went to check out stuff upstairs.


‘Hello, Queenie. Did you and your family reach safely?,’ asked The Richest Man in Sunset Valley in his warm, mellow voice.


‘Yes, Mr. Goth, we did. The house is beautiful, thank you!’
Victor Goth laughed. ‘My pleasure, Queenie. Now, you do remember why you’ve been asked to come here? Did you pay close attention to the area around you as you got into town? What did you think?’


‘Ermm…,’ Queenie stuttered. She didn’t want to seem rude on her first day in town and at work. ‘Well, it was…quaint.’ Static crackled as Victor sighed. ‘Queenie, you will be of no use to me if you hide the truth. I’ve asked you to come here because of your proficiency and skill in the area of designing; as well as aptitude for such things. Don’t kid me. We both know the town looks like shit.’


Queenie smiled. The fact that Victor was so ready to take criticism and accept whatever she had to say made her job here so much the better. She laughed; her high, social laugh, and Chester peeked across the corner at her for just a second then walked off.

‘Come, Mr. Goth, you’re being too hard on yourself. I’m sure with a little bit of renovation; paint jobs, and a couple of parks here and there would really make a huge difference to the place. I’m sure Sunset would attract more people eventually.’


‘I’m sure you’re right, Queenie. Now, about the business that you plan on beginning…. I’ve got a building ready for you. It’s the Doo Pease Cooperate Tower. What would you plan on calling your business, then?

‘Laangraab Industries,’ said Queenie succinctly. ‘I plan on selling…Well..EVERYTHING that I have to offer. You know how successful we are; our other branch is supervised by my husband’s brother….’

‘Yes, yes, I’m aware….when does work begin, then?,’asked Victor cautiously. He needed some one hard working and dedicated for this particular job. Queenie’s reputation preceeded her; and that was why he had hired her in the first place. ‘Why, as soon as possible! I’m planning on going to inspect Doo Peas the first thing tomorrow morning!’ ‘Good!,’ said Victor, well pleased.’


‘Also, Queenie, I wanted to update you on the present situation in town. Most of the families here have either died out, or have migrated elsewhere, and hence, Sunset Valley is almost on the brink of being completely deserted. That’s why we need people like YOU to improve this town and bring in more people around these parts…’

‘As you know, there are us, the Goths, we also have The Darlings, and newly married couple; THe Clavells.. All the other townies are just your average people, employed by me to keep this town atleast partly alive, and to ensure that everyone has all the services they require…I hope you really can improve things here, Queenie…’

‘Don’t worry about a thing, Mr. Goth. Within a while, we’ll have an astounding little town ready to absorb new immigrants…Together, we can make this place..perfect.’


‘I am sure of it, Queenie. I have complete faith in you. I have great visions for this place. I know you will help me and we will achieve this together. Now, I’m a bit busy, so that’s goodbye for now.’ ‘Goodbye Mr. Goth,’ said Queenie and the line went dead.


The Goths had been in Sunset for the past three generations; Victor’s grandfather, a very wealthy trade merchant, had retired and settled down in the scenic valley to live life large; and that he did, to the fullest possible.


The Goth Mansion; a large, imposing structure; built by Victor’s grand father, stood very close to the cemetery; casting it’s long shadows like outstretched fingers scrabbling for purchase, reaching towards it. It’s vast and spacious grounds and luxurious interior made it one of the most desirable lots in Sunset… But the Goths would never give away their ancestral home to anyone, for any price.

Gretle and Victor Goth were happily married for more than ten years now; and in that time, had been blessed with two lovely children; Gunther and Frida.


Gretle was a stay at home woman; but these days since the town had nothing and no one else around; she didn’t have much to do, apart from caring for her youngest daughter, Frida, who was just a couple of months old.


Gunther, on the other hand, attended The Community School For The Gifted; and, as expected of any Goth, excelled in all fields, from his education to most of his extra-curriculars.

Nothing disturbed the Goths, and they seemed like the epitome of the perfect family in Sunset Valley. Little did they know that soon; one member’s decisions and choices would change the rest of their lives forever…..

Unbeknown to our ambitious entrepreneur and powerful landholder, however, Queenie Landgraab’s popularity had already begun to attract families to Sunset; as quickly as bees to honey. Most people who had heard of the famous Mrs. Landgraab knew that wherever she walked, prosperity generally followed.


Eustace Kennedy smiled as his wife tickled their year old daughter and she giggled. Looking around, he felt that he had made the right choice, applying for the post of Squadron leader to Sunset’s Military Base.

Mainly due to with Queenie Landgraab’s move to Sunset, coinciding with the job offer, Eustace, didn’t regret his decision. He and everyone else around knew that the town would soon be seeing a lot of changes for the better, and it was best to relocate now, before there were no longer any lots available.


His wife also held a position in the force as a flight officer, and he knew that together, they could help prep up Sunset’s limited youth and defenses against anything any foreign bodies had to offer. Queenie’s secretary had already called him up, requesting a meeting between the couple and herself within the week.

Eustace sighed. He knew that he could begin a beautiful new life here, with his wife and little Erin by his side. Had he known the crucial role he would soon play in making and breaking the fortunes of some families and the trouble he’d attract because of it, he’d have carted his family and headed right back the way he came from, without giving Sunset Valley a second glance…


‘So WHAT if he winked at me?! I’m a damned waitress; it’s part of my job to ignore such shit and forget about it! Why the hell are you so fucking over possessive?! This is the last time I’m explaining this to you, Buster!,’ screamed Bessie Clavell in frustration. Her husband, Buster glared at her in anger and said, ‘Quit the job, Bess. I’m tired of the same crap day after day after day. You’re my wife; not some slut. I can’t take this anymore!’

‘Buster, how many times do I have to tell you? WE. NEED. THE. MONEY. This isn’t only about You and what YOU want! Can your income as a security guard pay the rent?’ When Buster didn’t meet her eyes, she crowed triumphantly. ‘I thought so. Until you get that promotion that you’ve been saying has been coming for the past 5 months, we’re stuck with this and we have to handle it,’ she hissed venomously.


‘Don’t you dare start on my job!,’ yelled Buster in reply. ‘That promotion is coming my way any day now. I’m trying the best I can, and if that’s not good enough, you can just go sell yourself to your friend at the restaurant, see how much he pays you for your additional ‘services.’’ With that, Buster tromped out of the room, leaving Bessie stunned into silence.

‘Where the hell do you think you’re going?’ she screamed hysterically. ‘Some place SANE,’ he muttered back.…’And far away from…this….’ He waved vaguely in the general direction of their tiny house, and to her. With that, he walked out of the door, leaving Bessie all alone in the quiet hallway.


She couldn’t help it; she ran to their room and curled up in a ball and cried….She couldn’t understand how it had all gone so wrong so fast… She almost laughed remembering their silly teenage plans of an easy and happy marriage, children born into a rich and prosperous family, and how they never, ever even once thought of how they would pay their bills, how they had to struggle to fill their plates each day, and the number of sacrifices they would make….just to eke out a living for themselves…


A tear trickled down her cheek as the light from the tiny window dimmed even further. She wished things could be easier; she wished there was some thing better out there, waiting for her to come and grab the opportunity by the horns. She wished…she could be happier.

Note:- Guys, hope you're all enjoying the read so far I've tried my level best to make the characters look as close to those on the sites as possible. Some of the pictures don't seem close because the sims died due to old age; whereas here, I needed them younger.... Any comments and reviews are welcome; I love it when you guys do that This story is MY version of what happened in Sunset Valley...I hope you like the story :D