A Dark Secret

A Dark Secret
Casey Watson

Just when Casey thinks her foster care duties are done, she’s asked to look after Sam, a troubled nine-year-old with a violent streak who drove his previous guardians to release him of their care. It soon unfolds, however, that this is no simple case.Determined to get to the root of Sam’s behaviour, Casey is committed to uncover his mysterious past only to find out something far darker than she ever imagined…Having recently said goodbye to their last foster child, Miller, the Watson family are taking a bit of a break. But it’s while Casey is having fun catching up with her friends that she receives a call from her new link worker. Social services are desperately trying to find a settled home for nine-year-old Sam, who has Autism and some serious behavioural problems.Removed from his mother less than a week ago, Sam has been staying with respite carers. But with two young children of their own, they now find themselves unable to hold on to the little boy as he is bullying them relentlessly. It’s not an isolated situation, either. Apparently Sam’s own siblings begged not to be placed with their older brother – they were both adamant that they were too afraid of him.The Watsons agree to accommodate Sam, who, despite his tiny stature, turns out to be quite the whirlwind – destroying anything and everything in his path. In addition to the outward behaviours, it quickly becomes evident that there is a much darker past that has blighted the boy’s life. As Casey tries to get to the bottom of it, she discovers there are no files on Sam; only the testament of his previous neighbour. Thankfully, Mrs Gallagher is only too happy to help. And to talk. But it soon transpires that there is a great deal more to Sam’s secret history…

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Copyright (#u10fc72b8-f762-5328-99ee-0081db1509d3)

This book is a work of non-fiction based on the author’s experiences. In order to protect privacy, names, identifying characteristics, dialogue and details have been changed or reconstructed.

HarperElement

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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London SE1 9GF

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First published by HarperElement 2019

FIRST EDITION

© Casey Watson 2019

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Cover image © Clive Nolan/Trigger Image (posed by model)

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

Casey Watson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008298616

Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008298654

Version: 2019-03-28

Contents

1  Cover (#ubcf0def9-37f8-5d3a-b046-dea114fb9caa)

2  Title Page

3  Copyright

4  Contents (#u10fc72b8-f762-5328-99ee-0081db1509d3)

5  Dedication

6  Acknowledgements

7  Chapter 1

8 Chapter 2

9 Chapter 3

10 Chapter 4

11  Chapter 5

12  Chapter 6

13  Chapter 7

14  Chapter 8

15  Chapter 9

16  Chapter 10

17  Chapter 11

18  Chapter 12

19  Chapter 13

20  Chapter 14

21  Chapter 15

22  Chapter 16

23  Chapter 17

24  Chapter 18

25  Chapter 19

26  Chapter 20

27  Chapter 21

28  Chapter 22

29  Chapter 23

30  Chapter 24

31  Chapter 25

32  Epilogue

33  Also by Casey Watson

34  Moving Memoirs eNewsletter (#u33de48a2-0cda-5554-813c-2b06f7880fb8)

35  About the Publisher

LandmarksCover (#ubcf0def9-37f8-5d3a-b046-dea114fb9caa)FrontmatterStart of ContentBackmatter