Deception - Vera LaFleur - Bog

Claire Whitney's tranquil life as a stay at home mom is upended when a friend and her young daughter inexplicably disappear. Invited with her own daughter, Jeanie, to attend a party to celebrate the fourth birthday of her friend's little girl, they arrive to find the front door ajar, the table set with cake and candles and the house eerily empty. Mystified, they return home as Claire considers whether to report them missing to the police. Dana, the missing child, is found asleep on Jeanie's bed, a note pinned to her chest. "Please keep my little girl safe," begs Felicia, the mother, "and do not call the police. They cannot help and will only make things worse."Conflicted over what to do, Claire enlists the help of a private detective friend. The information he uncovers is both shocking and unnerving. Nothing about her friend is as it seemed. With two innocent little girls to protect, Claire's life spirals into a vortex of evil as she becomes entangled in Felicia's life of gambling casinos, drug cartels, money laundering and kidnapping, each encounter more harrowing than the one before.