Chapter 3

The sun rose over a scene of devastation.

The main lodge was a skeleton of charred beams and smoking rubble.

The once-pristine Montana wilderness was scarred black.

A fleet of luxury cars and black SUVs sped up the mountain road, sirens wailing in the distance.

The guests' families had arrived.

They spilled out of their vehicles, their faces masks of horror and disbelief as they stared at the ruins.

A woman in a tailored suit collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

A man in a golf shirt screamed into his phone, demanding answers.

They saw the burned-out lodge and assumed the worst.

That's when I emerged.

I walked out from a narrow, almost invisible trail leading from a rock outcropping, my face smudged with soot, my clothes torn.

And behind me, in a slow, steady procession, came the guests.

All two dozen of them.

Pale, exhausted, and wrapped in emergency blankets, but alive.

Every single one.

A wave of stunned silence washed over the families.

Sobs turned into gasps of relief.

The man on the phone dropped it.

They started forward, cries of "Mother!" and "Dad!" filling the air.

But before the tearful reunions could begin, another figure burst from the woods.

Caleb.

His clothes were ripped, his face was a theatrical mess of dirt and fake tears.

He pointed a shaking finger at me.

"She did this! She set the fire!"

His voice was a raw, accusing shriek that cut through the morning air.

"She wanted to let them all burn! She tried to kill me, too! She's crazy!"

As if on cue, my ex-brother-in-law, Brian Scott, rushed onto the scene, his face a perfect picture of shock and concern.

"Jennifer! How could you?" he bellowed, positioning himself between me and the families.

He gave Caleb a subtle nod.

Caleb fumbled with his phone and a small speaker.

And then, my own voice, cold and cruel, filled the clearing.

"...wishes they'd just disappear!"

The doctored audio. The same lie that condemned me in my past life.

The families' relief curdled instantly into suspicion, then into white-hot fury.

The tide had turned against me, just as they had planned.