Prologue

Elara Voss sat on the floor of her small apartment surrounded by crumpled papers and unpaid bills. The city lights outside her window blurred through tears she refused to let fall. Everything she had built was gone.

Derek had destroyed it in weeks. After she caught him with another woman, he had called her exhausting. Too bright. Too hopeful. Then he quietly ruined her reputation in their shared circles. Lies about missing money and failed events spread fast. Contracts disappeared. Her team was let go. Her savings ran dry.

Rent was due in ten days. She had sold her camera and most of her equipment just to eat. Every door in the city slammed shut.

Then the email came. A three-week event planning job at Pine Ridge Resort in Colorado. Decent pay. A chance to rebuild her portfolio far away from the mess. It felt like running away, but staying meant losing everything.

She packed warm sweaters, sturdy boots, and her notebooks full of ideas that still made her heart race. Standing in front of the mirror, she whispered to her reflection, “I will not let you break me.”

The mountain road was dark and snowy. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as doubts swirled. What if this place was another mistake? What if she could no longer trust herself?

When the lodge finally appeared — warm lights glowing against tall pines — her stomach twisted with nerves. She parked and stepped out into the cold. Snow crunched under her boots.

A tall figure stood on the porch, arms crossed, watching her approach. Even from a distance, she felt the weight of his stare.

Whatever waited inside Pine Ridge, she had no choice but to face it.