Once Upon a February

Twenty years ago, on a bitter winter night in Lake Merrian, five teenage girls made a split-second decision that changed everything. Shannon Marks went into the freezing water. The others survived by agreeing on one story—and by never telling anyone what really happened.

They have spent two decades keeping that promise.

Georgia has built a quiet life running a bookstore in the town she never quite managed to leave. Emily is a successful Manhattan attorney with a husband, children, and far too much to lose. Marcy, now a yoga instructor and former dancer, has reinvented herself more than once. Tamsin runs a thriving catering business with her boyfriend and has no intention of letting the past wreck what she's built.

Then Lila Harper comes home.

In high school, Lila was the beautiful, fearless center of their group—the one who knew how to dare, how to charm, how to make the others follow. Now she has made herself famous with Radical Truth, a brand built on confession, exposure, and the ruthless idea that secrets should never stay buried. When she begins contacting the women one by one, it becomes chillingly clear that she remembers everything, including secrets about their pasts —things that could destroy marriages, careers, and reputations.

Before Lila can say exactly why she has returned to Lake Merrian, she is found dead. As suspicion spreads through the town and Detective Alan Harris begins asking questions, the four women are pulled back into the nightmare they thought they left behind. Because Lila was not the only one keeping secrets. And whatever happened the night Shannon died may not be the only reason someone wanted Lila silenced.

This domestic suspense thriller is about female friendship, buried guilt, and the way secrets deepen, multiply, and turn corrosive over time. Because the past is never as finished as it seems—and the truth can destroy far more than one life.