Forever Gone (Lee Danforth Suspense Series, #1)

A pulse-pounding suspense thriller about buried secrets, dangerous truths, and the price of justice.
Charleston real estate lawyer Lee Danforth has no interest in investigating the mismanagement of a local children's ranch—until she hears the horrifying allegations of abuse and the South Carolina solicitor's refusal to prosecute. Reluctantly drawn in, she soon realizes this case is far darker than financial fraud.
Lee has spent years burying the truth about her own seduction by Jack Marshall, the ranch's late founder. But with an anonymous tipster feeding her damning evidence, she discovers Jack's wife and son have embroiled the ranch in massive corruption and subjected the children to various trafficking schemes—and Jack's death was no accident. The police do nothing as local girls disappear, and another group of children is scheduled to be sold.
Pushing the solicitor for action risks exposing Lee's past, threatening both her career and reputation. But staying silent means condemning more victims to an unthinkable fate. As the walls close in, she must decide: protect herself or risk everything to bring down a powerful family.
Because some truths don't just set you free—they can destroy you.

R. S. Hampton is an attorney turned novelist, weaving suspenseful stories that unfold across various landscapes-bustling cities, quiet coastal towns, and places tucked just out of sight. With a legal career spanning three decades, her characters are often lawyers, their clients, and the people entangled in their search for truth-where morality is rarely black and white, and justice doesn't always follow the rules.A lifelong traveler, she is drawn to places that spark curiosity, places with history, edge, and unexpected depth. Her stories are shaped by the settings in which they unfold, each one becoming a character in its own right. Whether it's a courtroom in a city she once called home or a hidden alleyway in a country she's only just begun to understand, her novels reflect the intricacies of the worlds she explores.She and her husband split their time between multiple countries, embracing a multicultural life that mirrors the layered complexities of her fiction. When she's not writing, she's usually on the move-seeking out the next place, the next story, and the next unanswered question.