Book excerpt: In a world where computers, cell phones, and distractions are commonplace, it takes only seven seconds for a child to disappear and a family’s life to be destroyed. “From the ashes of the unworthy, we shall rise” is the Phoenix Syndicate’s motto. Dive deep into the abyss of selling drugs, human organs, and designer babies to the highest bidder. This is the fate of one Chloe Rodriguez, a young girl whose life hangs in the balance. As she was abducted from her local supermarket, it falls to Leslie Parker, a young detective in the Atlanta Police Department, to find and save her before she is consumed by the flames of the Phoenix. How far will Leslie have to go to save her, and who will be waiting in the darkness to stop the young detective?