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Olympic champion Jewel Carlone is abducted to force her fiancé, epidemiologist Dr. Leal Trelles, to complete a covert “correction” scheme: selective sterilization hidden in global pharma supply chains. With 72 hours to stop an invisible threat Jewel turns captive into warrior as Leal’s rogue team races from Morocco to Austria to shut it down before choice itself is engineered away.
This book picks up from The Code Beneath Her Skin, Book 1 in the Shadow Files thrillers
ABOUT THE BOOK
When they took everything from her, she discovered what she was truly capable of.
Olympic gymnastics champion Jewel Carlone has the world at her fingertips—until a routine performance in Paris ends with armed men, a chemical-soaked cloth, and darkness. She wakes imprisoned in a fortress hidden in the Atlas Mountains, a pawn in a terrifying game she doesn't understand.
The target isn't Jewel—it's her fiancé, Dr. Leal Trelles, whose revolutionary fertility research has been stolen and weaponized by a brilliant geneticist with a god complex. Dr. Zain Kahale believes he's saving humanity from extinction through forced genetic "correction." His weapon: a compound that can selectively sterilize entire populations, deployed through legitimate pharmaceutical channels. His leverage: the woman Leal would sacrifice everything to save.
But Kahale underestimated his captive.
Jewel isn't waiting for rescue. Using the discipline that made her a champion and the intelligence that made her survive, she transforms from victim to strategist to warrior—leading scientists, defying guards, and planning an escape that will take them through burning facilities and impossible odds. Meanwhile, Leal assembles an unlikely team—a fierce human rights lawyer, a moral-compass scientist, a cyber-forensics genius, and a DEI agent who might be their only government ally—to stop deployment of a eugenic program that threatens millions.
From Moroccan compounds to Maltese warehouses to Austrian fortresses, they'll race against a 72-hour countdown, face impossible choices between love and humanity, and discover that stopping a villain who believes he's a savior might require becoming something they never imagined.
When the world needs saving, can an Olympic champion and a dedicated scientist become the heroes millions will never know they need?
Perfect for fans of A.G. Riddle, Matthew Mather, and Karin Slaughter—with the heart of Nora Roberts and the science of Michael Crichton.
Tropes You'll Love
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Kidnapped-for-leverage — heroine taken to coerce the hero.
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Partners-in-danger romance — love strengthens under fire.
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Countdown thriller — 72-hour ticking clock drives urgency.
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Found-team heist energy — lawyer, hacker, ethicist, insider.
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Saviour-villain — antagonist believes he’s saving humanity.
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Secret sibling reveal — personal stakes explode
Early Reader Praise
“Rocket-fuel pacing with a heroine I’d follow into fire. This thriller moves.”
“Ethical dread and big-hearted romance in one breathless, globe-spanning ride.”
“I came for the science hook, stayed for Jewel’s transformation and the found-family team.”
“The villain’s ‘I’m saving you’ logic is chillingly believable—couldn’t look away.”
“Cinematic set pieces, smart twists, and a final act that left me fist-pumping.”
