All The Missing Girls

When Emma's sister vanishes, she's thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse. A mysterious figure, hidden behind a mask, demands Emma play a twisted game of puzzles and clues to rescue her sister. With time running out, Emma must use her wits to unravel the mysteries and face the sinister forces behind the game. But as the stakes grow higher, Emma realizes the game is designed to test her limits, and the truth about her sister's disappearance may be more terrifying than she ever imagined. Will Emma solve the puzzles and save her sister, or will she become the game's next victim?

I survived three years under Adrian Blackwood's control by learning to disappear. He made me believe I was nothing, and I got so good at being invisible that I almost forgot I existed. Then three strangers showed up claiming to be my brothers. They said I was stolen from a family I never knew, a family that's been searching for me. Suddenly everything I'd buried came flooding back: wealth, danger, enemies, and a life that was supposed to be mine. Lucien, Marcus, and Elias dragged me into their world of power and secrets. They offered protection, but it came with strings attached. Rules I had to follow. A role I had to play. And then there's Rowan, my assigned protector who looks at me like I'm a puzzle he can't solve. Every word between us feels dangerous. Every look makes me want things I swore I'd never risk again. Trust. Connection. Something real. But Adrian won't let me go that easily. He's still out there, circling, reminding me that girls like me don't escape. Now I'm not just fighting to survive. I'm fighting to become who I was always meant to be, before Adrian, before the fear. The woman my family lost. The woman Rowan sees. Some secrets won't stay buried. Neither will I.

He calls himself my guardian. But I want him to call me a good girl. I moved in after my mother died. He opened the door — broad chest, deep voice, eyes that stalled when they dropped to my tits. He tried to be decent. Tried to be safe. But I’ve been wet for him since day one. He’s twice my age. Raised my half-sister. Taught her to say “Dad” like it was gospel. But I know what she really wants. I see the way she watches him. The way she watches me when I bend over the kitchen counter, tank top riding up, no bra in sight. This house is full of secrets, soaked sheets, and girls who know better. He pretends not to want it. She pretends she’s not touching herself at night. And me? I leave the door open and let them both fall apart. Because I don’t want to be loved. I want to be used. Ruined. Claimed in every room until they forget who’s the daughter, who’s the guest, and who’s in charge. He raised her. He took me in. But — who’s he going to fuck first?

The classified project I was working on wrapped up ahead of schedule, so I made sure to get back on my daughter's birthday. When I walked in, a girl I had never seen before was wearing my daughter's princess dress, a crown perched on her head. She sat in front of a cake as tall as she was, eyes closed, making a wish. I frowned and stepped closer. "Who are you? Why are you wearing my daughter's dress? Where's Heidi?" Before she could answer, two housemaids rushed out and started yelling at me. "Where the hell did you come from? How dare you talk to our boss's daughter like that? If you know what's good for you, get out! When the boss gets back, you won't like what happens." I stood there, confused. Boss? The boss's daughter? In this house, wasn't it just me and my daughter, Heidi Foster? I barely had time to speak before they shoved me toward the front door. In the middle of the pushing, something caught my eye. Off to the side, chained to a pillar, was Heidi. The girl I used to hold like she was the most precious thing in the world was now sprawled on the ground, digging through a dog bowl for food. A thick iron chain was locked around her neck, and her body was covered in bruises. My vision tightened. "Heidi, what happened to you?" The moment our eyes met, her hollow gaze filled with tears. She shrank back, then let out a soft bark at me, like a frightened dog. The maids looked at her with open disgust. One of them sneered, "Our boss said that that little thing was born to live like a dog. You have to keep her chained up if you want her to behave."

The dangers of social media, rebellion and fake friends all come into play in this novel. Chinyere Awaziem is a rebellious teenager and the youngest daughter of ten children. One day, due to Chinyere's rebellion and ignorance, she ends up being abducted and a victim of human trafficking. After being bought by a wealthy old man, she finds herself in a house full of women who went through the same fate. Chinyere is forced into marriage and plots to escape from her buyer's home. But what happens when she finds out that being bought by them is not just a coincidence? What happens when she finds out that their families are linked in more than one way? COMPLETED!

‘It’s not that there aren’t good people in the world. It’s that the bad ones are so much easier to find.’ A teen mother raises her daughter on a looping road trip, living hand-to-mouth in motel rest stops and backwater towns, stepping occasionally into the heat and chaos of the surrounding cities. A life without permanence, filled with terrors and joys, their stability is dependent on the strangers—and strange men—they meet along the way. But what is the difference between the love of a mother, and the love of a friend? And in a world with such blurred lines, where money is tight and there’s little outside influence, when does the need to survive slide into something more sinister? ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing