Unsolved Case Files of Barton: Moth to His Flame

Millford is the kind of town that pretends nothing bad ever happens.
But the missing‑persons reports say otherwise.

When another child disappears, Officer Nessa Hale is assigned to reopen the case everyone else wants buried. She's young, determined, and the only cop in Millford who refuses to look the other way.

Her first lead is a girl named Tiffany - supposedly twelve, quiet, harmless.
Except she isn't twelve.
She isn't harmless.
And she isn't lost.

She's working for Malachi Barton.

Millford's golden boy.
Brilliant. Charming. Untouchable.
And the mastermind behind a network of secrets woven through the town like a trap.

With Garrett, the newcomer who stumbles into the investigation, and Paul, the only one who remembers what happened the last time someone tried to expose the truth, Nessa begins to uncover a pattern that was never meant to be found.

Because Malachi doesn't chase his victims.
He waits.
He watches.
He lets them walk straight into his hands.

TW!!: This story is marked as Mature for the following reasons: Crime, Violence, crime, abduction, and dangerous situations, psychological manipulation and coercion, characters using false identities, strong language, and morally gray characters. Please be Advised.