SHATTERED LIES: SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER LEFT BURIED...

By Brooklyn Denaro

"THE TRUTH CAN DESTROY EVERYTHING".
Anna thought she had escaped her past, but when a shocking discovery is close by, her world begins to dawn. As she digs deeper, she realises that everyone around her is hiding something. Lies, betrayal, and danger lurks in the shadows. Now, Anna must confront the truth... before it's too late.

Main characters
Anna Vale
The protagonist. A woman haunted by gaps in her memory and the ruins of her childhood, Anna is forced to confront the truth about her family and the hidden system built around vulnerable girls.
Elise Harrow / Eva Marlowe
Anna's lost childhood companion and one of the system's survivors. Tough, sharp, and deeply scarred by what she endured, Elise becomes Anna's closest ally in exposing the network.
Major supporting characters
Jonah Mercer
Anna's trusted friend from Maple Hollow. Loyal, grounded, and brave, Jonah helps Anna navigate the danger around her and stands by her when the truth starts collapsing everything.
Gloria Bell
The fierce bookseller from Maple Hollow. Older, sharp-witted, and fearless, Gloria becomes a key supporter and moral anchor as the investigation widens.
Nessa
A relentless journalist with sharp instincts and no patience for institutional lies. She helps spread evidence fast enough to stop the truth from being buried again.
Cal
A practical, dependable ally who works alongside Elise and the others. He is steady under pressure and helps during the field confrontations.
Daniel Sayer
An investigator who takes the widening case seriously. He becomes one of the few official figures willing to treat the evidence as a network rather than a private family scandal.
Leah / Ruth
A survivor discovered at Wattle Creek. Once processed under the alias "Ruth," Leah becomes living proof that the repeated transit names belonged to real girls, not just records.
Central villains
Richard Vale / Rowan Vale
Anna's father and the principal architect of the hidden system. Wealthy, cold, and obsessed with control, Richard helped build the network that moved, renamed, and silenced girls across properties and institutions.
Dr. Adrian Thorne
The family physician and one of the system's medical enforcers. He oversaw sedation, compliance, and memory disruption while convincing himself he was merely managing outcomes.
Celia Rowe / Miss Celia
An administrator tied to Harbor House and the trust housing routes. She helped process girls under false identities and maintain the machinery behind "transitional" placements.
Mrs. Voss
The woman overseeing Wattle Creek. She hides cruelty behind routine, structure, and the language of care while actively trying to move girls when the system comes under threat.
Morally complex / compromised characters
Eleanor Vale
Anna's mother. She is not a villain, but she is deeply entangled in the system before trying to fight it. Her recording becomes the match that ignites the wider exposure.
Margaret Vale
Anna's aunt. She knew much more than she admitted and made choices she told herself were meant to contain damage. She is compromised, guilty, and still useful once the truth begins to break open.
Thorne's wider network contacts
These include trust lawyers, clergy, doctors, matrons, archivists, and administrators who each helped keep the machinery running through silence, paperwork, and euphemism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GXC7R4DR
• ISBN13: 9798257353956
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"