After nine years of a secret love, Madison Winters never imagined the man who once held her heart would return with secrets powerful enough to destroy her.When Jamie Dawson shows up in Vail, everything begins to unravel. His time away is cloaked in darkness, betrayal, and a past soaked in blood and corruption. The boy she once knew has become a man hardened by power struggles, inherited enemies, and painful choices. Jamie has returned not to rekindle love, but to protect it-from the shadows, from his family, and from himself.To shield Madison from the web of lies spun by the Dawson empire, Jamie must burn everything, including his own sanity. The cost of loving her could be fatal, but the cost of letting her go would be worse. He lives in silence, playing the villain to keep her safe, while the truth eats him alive.Madison, meanwhile, returns from a heated fallout with her editor at D. Montague Reviews, a prestigious journal that once shaped her career. She's humiliated, professionally threatened, and emotionally wrecked. But Vail offers no comfort. Instead, it greets her with rumors, icy stares, and a man who refuses to tell her why he's really back.Torn between salvaging her reputation and navigating the chaos Jamie drags behind him, Madison is forced to prove her worth in a world that would rather see her broken. Her writing becomes her only weapon, her voice the only thread keeping her together. But as she begins uncovering truths buried beneath Vail's snow-covered glamour, she realizes she's caught in a much bigger game-one of power, bloodlines, and sacrifice.And Jamie is at the center of it all.Their love was once innocent. Now it's dangerous.And in order to survive, one of them may have to fall.