Lena Brooks believes she has finally outrun grief when charismatic developer James Collins sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and ferries her to a secluded honeymoon cabin high in the mountains. To friends, their love story reads like a fairy tale. To Lena, it feels like a second chance—until the white rose under glass begins to wilt, doors she was told to ignore start thumping at night, and a hidden phone flashes a video of a bride who looks disturbingly familiar.

As winter seals the cabin off from the outside world, James’s tender devotion curdles into practiced control: strict schedules, odd rules, a basement that “isn’t finished.” Each new restriction chips at Lena’s confidence, but she isn’t the naive newlywed he expects. She has come armed with her own secrets—and questions about a missing woman named Mira whose life appears to have ended where Lena’s honeymoon begins.

Driven by equal parts fear and determination, Lena must untangle James’s ledger of lies before her identity, and perhaps her life, disappears like the brides who came before her. Yet every clue she uncovers leads back to a single, chilling truth: the most dangerous stories are the ones we tell ourselves.

When vows become cages and love is weaponized, how far will Lena go to rewrite the ending James planned for her— and what will she lose when the final lock clicks open?

Margot Elise Winters

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