The Trials of Toby Steele. Hidden Truths - Ron Franklin

A boy on the run. A secret hidden in plain sight. A war he was never meant to fight.

Twelve year old Toby Steele has learned one brutal truth. Survival means staying invisible. Sent away for his own safety and trapped in an abusive home, Toby finally runs, only to discover that escaping is the least of his problems.

What Toby does not know is that his disappearance has set powerful forces in motion. His missing father is a covert operative hunted for stolen evidence capable of destroying a global criminal syndicate. That evidence is hidden in the one thing Toby never removes, an old pocket watch.

As corrupt police, assassins, and secret organizations close in, Toby is forced into a dangerous journey across the country where trust is rare, enemies wear badges, and survival requires more than luck. Each choice draws him deeper into a world of lies, betrayal, and buried truths about his parents, his past, and himself.

Fast paced, emotional, and relentless, The Trials of Toby Steele blends espionage and suspense with a powerful coming of age story where family can be a weapon, innocence becomes a liability, and one boy may be the key to exposing everything, or becoming the prize everyone is willing to kill for.