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      • SHAYLA GARDEN CHRONICLES
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    • THE MERIDIAN PROTOCOL
      • MERIDIAN INITIATIVE
      • LIVE DOSSIER
      • DOSSIER VAULT
  • Home
  • BOOKS
    • BEHIND THE BADGE SERIES
    • STAND-ALONE NOVELS
    • ALL NOVELS
  • THE HEART BEHIND THE HEAT
    • MARIA L. WALLACE BIO
    • SHAYLA GARDEN CHRONICLES
    • CHASING GRACE
  • CONTACT
  • THE MERIDIAN PROTOCOL
    • MERIDIAN INITIATIVE
    • LIVE DOSSIER
    • DOSSIER VAULT
Maria L. Wallace, Author

Stand-Alone Novel

-Pinnacle of Deception-

To take down corrupt officers, she became what they feared most. A woman with a badge, behind bars, with nothing left to lose.


Riley Dawson walks into Pinnacle Reclamation Center knowing she’ll bleed for the truth. She’ll starve, suffer, and endure because someone has to. But Pinnacle is more than a broken system. It’s a pulpit for cruelty disguised as redemption. And it’s soaked in the kind of power that won’t go quietly. To expose it, she’ll face violence, betrayal, and trauma that reignites memories she buried long ago. Through it all, she’ll have to decide whether to trust the one man who could be her salvation or her undoing.


Justice Stryker is all hard lines and haunting silence. A man who sees too much and says too little. His presence steadies her. His restraint infuriates her. And the closer he gets, the more her mission starts to blur with intimacy that’s more than just escape.


Fear is the fuel Pinnacle feeds on. And the longer people look away, the more bodies pile up.


This isn’t just a story. It’s a reckoning. A romance born in blood and forged in fire. Read it for the vengeance. Stay for the healing. Fall hard for the man who dares to stand between her and ruin. 

HEAT INDEX AND TRIGGER WARNINGS BELOW

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

Heat Index

Trigger Warning

 This book contains adult themes that may not be suitable for all readers.  

  • Physical assault or abuse
  • Torture or coercion
  • Kidnapping or captivity
  • Weapons violence (guns, knives, etc.)
  • Graphic injury or blood
  • Death or murder
  • Car accidents or explosions
  • Suicide mention or implication
  • Self-harm mention or implication
  • Sexual assault or attempted assault
  • Coercive sexual dynamics
  • Toxic or manipulative relationships
  • Power imbalance in romantic or intimate settings
  • Explicit sexual content
  • Sexual trauma aftermath or healing themes
  • Mention of pregnancy
  • Mention of abortion
  • PTSD, anxiety, or panic attacks
  • Gaslighting or psychological manipulation
  • Institutional abuse (correctional, governmental, or medical)
  • Depictions of trauma recovery
  • Corruption or abuse of authority
  • Human trafficking or exploitation
  • Imprisonment or systemic injustice
  • Moral ambiguity or betrayal by trusted figures
  • Animal harm or death
  • Descriptions of confinement, isolation, or sensory deprivation


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Maria L. Wallace, Author

Copyright © 2025 Maria L. Wallace, Author - All Rights Reserved.

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