Hide her catfishing lie from her stepbrother while fleeing the crime family.
Five years into her mother's marriage to the Sterling crime dynasty, the narrator endures frozen silence from arrogant stepbrother Louis. A birthmark on him matches her online boyfriend Rowan, who sent intimate messages for two years. She recently lied about failing Harvard admission and ended things with Rowan to shield him from danger. Now packed and fleeing, Louis blocks her exit, laughing low and threatening exposure. The narrator must navigate the impossible overlap between her digital romance and her hostile new family.
Why it hooks you
- Birthmark reveals stepbrother is online lover
- Lie about Harvard triggers dangerous confrontation
- Crime family setting raises escape stakes
Intensity
Tension simmers beneath a veneer of icy hostility and hidden desire.
