Chapter 1

The world was water and wind, a screaming chaos that had ripped Sarah Miller's life apart.

Hurricane Haven had devoured her small coastal Florida town, leaving nothing but ruin.

She was sixteen, orphaned, clinging to a piece of wreckage when strong hands pulled her from the churning water.

Ethan Harrison. His face, even then, was kind.

The Harrison family became her harbor.

Mr. Harrison, a retired naval officer with a quiet strength, made sure she had the best doctors.

Mrs. Harrison, who ran their family foundation, offered a gentle warmth Sarah hadn't known since her own mother died.

And Ethan, a young paramedic, was a constant presence, his calm voice a balm during her slow recovery.

The town whispered about Sarah, the girl the esteemed Harrisons had practically adopted.

She found a home, a family.

Four years passed. Four years of rebuilding, not just the town, but herself.

She was twenty now.

One evening, under a sky clear of storms, Ethan told her he loved her.

He pressed a small, handcrafted compass necklace into her palm.

"So you always find your way," he'd said, his eyes earnest. "Our way."

Hope, bright and fierce, bloomed in her chest.

That same night, the hope shattered.

The Harrison house, a place of laughter and light, became a tomb.

Thirteen people. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison. Ethan's aunts, uncles, cousins. Even the kind cook and the elderly gardener.

All dead.

Bludgeoned.

The weapon, they said, was an antique medical award statue. Mr. Harrison's.

And they said Sarah Miller did it.

Her, the rescued orphan, the adopted daughter.

The accusation was a physical blow, stealing her breath, her voice.

The compass necklace, a symbol of their shared journey, was ripped from her neck as they cuffed her.

The town that had embraced her now bayed for her blood.

Sarah said nothing.

What was there to say when the world had already decided?