Greetings From Witness Protection!

Born into a powerful mob family, Harriet Trevor’s real identity is Elena Cercatore Sicurezza. Elena was trained as a lawyer to support the family’s criminal enterprise. When she testifies against them in court, she’s targeted for assassination by her own brother and must find shelter in WITSEC with her husband and son. Elena becomes Harriet; Charlotte’s striking physical resemblance to Harriet allows the teen to pose as her daughter.

Harriet periodically frets about the danger to which she has exposed her entire family, but she has a strong sense of ethics. Doing the right thing matters more than doing what is convenient. In addition, she provides the wise mother figure that Charlotte never had. When Harriet finds Charlotte stealing her jewelry, she understands the emotional trauma behind the theft and forgives the girl. At the novel’s end, when the US marshals want to take Charlotte away, Harriet refuses to give her up and offers Charlotte a permanent home.

Harriet’s husband is Jonathan Trevor (formerly Pietro Sicurezza). Pietro didn’t come from a mob family but was third-generation Italian, so he was considered an acceptable match for Elena by her mafia relatives. Like his wife, he has a strong sense of ethics and supports Elena’s decision to testify against her relatives. He is patient with all the changes this brings to his family and seamlessly becomes Jonathan.

Like Harriet, he grows attached to Charlotte and soon regards her as his own daughter. At the novel’s end, he insists that the girl be placed permanently with his family, or there will be dire consequences. Jonathan becomes the stable father figure that Charlotte never had in her own biological parent.

The 12-year-old son of Harriet and Jonathan, Jackson Trevor (formerly Lucas Sicurezza) deeply resents the changes forced on him when his mother testifies against the mob. He’s even more resentful of Charlotte’s presence and refuses to accept her as one of the family. Jackson’s self-absorbed behavior puts the whole family at risk when he posts information on Facebook that might lead an assassin to the Trevors’ door. When Charlotte intervenes to save the day, Jackson is initially furious but eventually realizes that his fake sister is trying to save his life. In time, he comes to appreciate Charlotte and accepts her as a full member of his family.

The humorless US marshal Janice Stricker is assigned to the Trevor family. When she first meets Charlotte, she forms a poor opinion of the girl. However, as she observes Charlotte trying to master her role as guardian of the Trevor family, Janice’s attitude softens slightly. She even gives Charlotte a taser to use in case of emergency. This decision ultimately saves the lives of the entire family. At the novel’s end, Janice is ordered to place Charlotte back into the foster care system, but the Trevors object strenuously to this move. Janice admits that she’s glad Charlotte will remain in a real home at last and then arranges to relocate the entire family to Arizona for a fresh start.

The physically imposing Eddie Harkness is a US marshal who has a much friendlier attitude than Janice’s. He immediately seems supportive of Charlotte and tries to ease her transition into WITSEC. The mob assassin who wants to hunt the Trevors threatens to harm Eddie’s son if he doesn’t reveal the family’s whereabouts. However, Eddie refuses to reveal the Trevors’ secret despite the risk to his own family.

Harriet’s “sociopathic” brother, Arturo Cercatore, is also the Cercatore family’s assassin. He has always avoided conviction and is given the nickname “the BARD” (beyond a reasonable doubt) because he’s adept at manipulating the legal system to his advantage. Over the course of the novel, he patiently tracks down his sister’s whereabouts. When he’s on the verge of executing the entire family, Charlotte stuns him using a taser. He’s then arrested, convicted at last, and sent to prison.

Charlotte’s best friend at Loblolly Middle School, Britney Guthrie, presents herself as shy and withdrawn because her mother is so overbearing. The other girls in her class are rude and generally avoid socializing with her. Charlotte’s friendship allows Brit to come out of her shell and find acceptance among her peer group. In private, Brit is a whiz with computers and an expert online gamer who goes by the name of BritneySpeargun. She’s the only outsider who learns about Charlotte’s secret identity. When the Trevors are relocated to Arizona, Charlotte maintains an online connection to Brit.

The irrepressible and bubbly Holly Fiellera is involved in many extracurricular activities at school and wins the election for student council president. Charlotte foils a plot by another student to prevent Holly’s election, and Holly is grateful for her help. During Charlotte’s time at Loblolly, Holly helps make her feel welcome and includes her in social activities.

Loblolly’s resident mean girl is Deidre Mendelbaum. She’s in the seventh grade and dominates a group of other girls who travel in her orbit. Deidre maintains a blog that’s all about her. She routinely makes fun of Brit and tries to cultivate a friendship with Charlotte, which Charlotte rejects. Deidre runs against Holly for student council president and instructs her minions to stuff the school’s ballot boxes to discredit Holly. Fortunately, Charlotte foils her scheme.

A handsome, athletic seventh grader, Archer Brantley is interested in dating Charlotte. He spends so much time watching her that he observes her carefully cultivated mediocre grades and athletic performance. Thinking that he’s being helpful, he offers to coach her to improve her grades and basketball skills. After Charlotte performs well on the basketball court, Archer takes a photo of the Trevor family and posts it on the school’s website. He then refuses to take the picture down when Charlotte requests it. This action leads Arturo straight to the family.

Charlotte’s biological father, Christian Demere, is a career criminal who has been serving time in prison for robbery since Charlotte was six. Although his daughter assumed that he was still in jail, Christian was released when she was 11 but never came to find her. He becomes enmeshed as a convenient scapegoat in Arturo’s plans to assassinate the Trevors. When Charlotte finally confronts Christian, he makes excuses for his behavior. At the novel’s end, he takes Charlotte to the hospital to get her gunshot wound treated but leaves immediately to go on the run again. He’s soon caught and sent back to prison.