Chapter 1

I used to be Boston's star detective, but I was wrongfully imprisoned for eight years.

Furious victim families stabbed me eight times, demanding I pay with my life.

My parents disowned me.

I lost everything and I suffered through hell in prison.

When I got out, I disappeared to a remote fishing town on the Maine coast.

I thought life would finally be peaceful, but my ex-wife Serena's arrival shattered that.

She was now Boston’s most celebrated prosecutor, building her name on one high-profile conviction after another.

Rain pounded against my shack as neighbors crowded outside, whispering:

“Serena stayed single for eight years waiting for him, and Gideon still won’t see her? Ungrateful bastard.”

I watched her stand there, soaking in their admiration.

Almost laughed.

Eight years ago, the person who framed me to save her lover’s career was Serena herself.

......

My door stayed locked.

Outside, the neighbors felt sorry for Serena.

She looked calm, like she'd rehearsed the whole performance.

The noise kept getting louder.

Finally my boss Tom cracked. He stumbled out of the shack, practically bowing to her:

"Ms. Vance, please, we're just fishermen here. We don't want trouble."

"This town's too small for someone like you. If you don't leave soon with all these people, none of us will have work tomorrow."

He turned and yelled at my door:

"Gideon! The DA drove all this way. Get out here!"

"Leave him alone. Don't push him."

The moment I heard that voice, my hands froze on the net.

The nylon cord cut into my fingers, drawing blood I barely felt.

Eight years and that voice still got under my skin.

I knew she wouldn't leave until she got what she came for.

Tom had been good to me. He didn't deserve this circus.

I let out a long breath, stood up, and opened the door.

The reporters hit me like a wall. Microphones shoved in my face, cameras flashing, voices overlapping:

"How does it feel going from decorated detective to fisherman?"

"DA Vance stayed faithful for eight years. Why won't you see her? Still angry she turned you in?"

"Your former rookie's been chasing her. Any comment on that?"

They kept pushing closer. A microphone clipped my jaw. The questions got sharper, meaner.

I looked past them and locked eyes with Serena.

She was watching me with this cold, calculating expression.

My whole body went stiff.

I opened my mouth to speak. Nothing came out.

The reporters smelled blood. They pressed harder, one asshole nearly shoving me off the porch.

That's when Serena moved. She cut through the crowd and positioned herself between me and the cameras.

Her voice came out quiet but razor-sharp:

"That's enough. This is between him and me. It's private."

She turned to face the cameras with a sad smile.

"These men work hard for their living. Let them do their jobs. Everyone, please leave."

The reporters grumbled but backed off.

I turned to go back inside.

"Gideon."

I forced myself to look at her. Made my voice steady.

"What do you need, DA Vance?"

She flinched at the formal title. Good.

"These years... have you been okay?"

The question was obscene coming from her mouth.

I wanted to laugh. Instead she stepped closer and reached out.

I jerked backward. My heel caught the edge of a bait bucket.

Crash.

I went down hard, flat on my back. My bleeding hand smashed into the gravel.

"Gideon!"

She rushed forward, genuine concern flashing across her face:

"Are you hurt? Let me help—"

"Don't."

I scrambled back on my hands and knees, used the wall to pull myself up. Blood smeared the wood.

"I'm fine."

Tom was staring at me like I'd lost my mind.

"DA Vance, if there's nothing else, I need to go. Early start tomorrow."

Her eyes went soft. Wounded. She reached for my arm:

"Gideon, why are we doing this? We don't have to be so cold to each other."

"You don't know what these years have been like for me. I—"

"Mommy!"

A kid came running and crashed into Serena's arms. Eight, maybe nine years old.

Then I saw him. Captain Liam Jenkins, my former rookie, walking up with my parents on his arm. He took Serena's hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Serena, sweetheart, you should've told me you were coming up here."

He smiled warmly at my parents.

"Mom and Dad were worried sick when they found out you drove all this way alone."

Then he turned to me. That smile sharpened.

"No offense, Mentor. Kid really missed his mom. Plus she's pregnant again, so we gotta be extra careful. You understand."

My eyes dropped to her flat stomach. If he said she was pregnant...

I thought about what the reporters said. Eight years of devoted waiting.

What a sick joke.

Before I could process it, my parents went for my throat:

"Gideon Hale. You've got some nerve still breathing."

My father's voice could strip paint.

"You destroyed this family's reputation. Made us a laughingstock."

My mother jumped in, tears in her eyes but venom in her voice:

"Three years ago your father had a stroke. If Liam hadn't been checking on us regularly, hadn't rushed him to the ER, he'd be dead right now. Dead, Gideon."

I looked at them. Really looked.

Their hair had gone gray. Deep lines carved into their faces. They'd aged so much.

All those years I couldn't be there for them, couldn't take care of them, it ate at me every day.

But watching them look at Serena and Liam like they were the real family, like I was just some embarrassing mistake they'd made... that hurt worse than any shank I'd taken in prison.

If they only knew. If they knew Serena and Liam were the ones who framed me, who destroyed an innocent man to cover their own crimes...

What would they think then?

My father looked at me with nothing but disgust.

My mother's voice dripped pure contempt:

"We disowned you eight years ago. As far as we're concerned, you're not our son anymore."

She turned to Serena, her voice going soft:

"Serena, honey, you don't owe us anything. This person isn't worth your time. You and Liam, you're our family now."

Tom was watching this whole scene unfold. I saw the way he looked at me shift.

My hands were shaking. I shoved them deep in my pockets.

Serena sighed, all patience and understanding:

"Mom, Dad, don't be too hard on him. People have been talking about you both for years because of what happened. I get why you're angry."

She gently coaxed them toward the car.

But before she left, she turned back to me one last time:

"What happened back then... I know I owe you for that. If you ever need anything, you can call me."

Her voice was so sincere I almost believed it myself.