Chapter 1 Chapter 1

4:30 a.m.

The number thirty had always held a special significance for her. It was not a matter of luck—misfortune was far too familiar for her to believe in good fortune—but rather a question of precision. It was neat, rounded, and manageable. Thirty was the exact duration in minutes she permitted herself to stretch after her alarm sounded, the measured breaths she took between every routine element on the ice, and the silent rhythm that anchored her existence whenever reality felt unsteady. Only within those exact bounds did everything balance perfectly, offering her a few fragile seconds where the world felt securely within her grasp.

She silenced the alarm before it could ring a second time, the faint luminescence of the display serving as the sole illumination in the dark apartment. Silence reigned, broken only by the muffled hum of the sleeping city twenty-six stories beneath her. From this elevation, Boston resembled a structured grid of amber and white lights, while the Charles River wound through it like a slender silver ribbon reflecting the faint, bruised tones of the approaching dawn. High above the streets, everything appeared controlled, manageable, and distant.

She preferred distance. Distance meant safety.

Swinging her legs over the frame, her bare feet touched the deliberately chilled hardwood. The apartment was kept cold by design; warmth induced sluggishness, and sluggishness led to errors. She allowed no hesitation and no excuses. Framed within the floor-to-ceiling glass stood her reflection: long wavy hair already bound in a tight, neat knot at the base of her skull, an oversized BU sweatshirt hanging loose off one shoulder, and long, toned legs prepared for movement. The image in the glass did not smile, nor did she offer one in return. An unspoken understanding existed between them.

This routine predated her competitive career, her Olympic debut at age seventeen, and her family's move across the Atlantic for her father's career when she was sixteen. Her earliest coach had embedded the principle long before she understood consistency: routine established precision, precision generated control, and control prevented failure.

She struck each thigh twice with sharp, intentional taps, eliciting a slight sting to awaken her muscles completely. The sensation was familiar, grounding, and uniquely her own—a tangible reminder that her body remained entirely under her own command.

The kettle chimed softly as she began her warm-up exercises: deliberate neck rolls, slow shoulder circles, and ankle rotations. Every movement was strictly counted, her breathing held to a measured pattern—four counts in, four counts held, eight counts out. Beyond the glass, the distant city lights flickered, but she kept her gaze focused inward on the tension in her hamstrings, the pull in her calves, and the rhythmic beat of her heart adjusting to the effort.

Glancing toward the glass once more, the reflection presented a figure who appeared composed, refined, and entirely unbothered.

Good.

That was the only version she permitted the world to see.

The version that never faltered.

The version that never fell.

By 5:12 a.m., she stepped through the doors of the Walter Brown Arena. The rush of frigid air hit her face with a harshness she had grown to welcome. The ice resurfacer had just finished its rounds, leaving the frozen surface glistening under the bright overhead lights—pristine, untouched, and flawless. It belonged to her for the next fifty-eight minutes, before the hockey players arrived to claim it as their domain.

Here, numbers carried the greatest weight.

Here, she retained complete control.

For the coming hour, no lingering memories, anxieties, or ghosts could reach her.

Sitting in the locker room, she pulled her skates tight, verified the guards were secure, and checked the sharpness of her blades. 5:15 a.m. Stepping onto the rubber matting, she prepared her audio playlist but left it paused; she wanted to begin in total quiet today. She needed the kind of silence that allowed her to hear her own edges, her own breathing, and the precise scrape of steel that signaled everything was in order.

She was prepared.

However, the ice surface was not vacant.

Two dark shapes were already moving across the clean white sheet. One player fed pucks out from the corner while the other launched wrist shots toward the net, the sharp impact of sticks striking the surface echoing through the empty rink. They moved with fluid speed, sharing a joke she couldn't hear—easy, carefree laughter that disrupted the silence she had sought.

She paused at the entrance gate. A stray puck ricocheted off the goalpost and skittered straight toward her, forcing her to step back just in time. A second puck flew past a moment later, near enough that she felt the rush of air.

5:16 a.m. She had no intention of risking an injury from errant pucks. She tapped the toe pick of her skate against the boards—once, twice, and then harder a third time. They gave no response, not even looking in her direction.

5:18 a.m. Still no reaction.

5:20 a.m. Only forty minutes remained. She could feel her pulse rising in her throat—a persistent beat reminding her how little room for error she built into her day. She removed one earbud and raised both arms to catch their attention.

"Excuse me!"

The player nearest to her—tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair falling across his brow—finally turned around. He cradled a puck on his stick blade, casually flipping it back and forth as though gravity were irrelevant. Even from that distance, she caught the faint outline of a dimple as his mouth curved upward. His companion paused as well, resting against his stick as if observing a private comedy.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever this is," she called out, her voice cutting through the space sharper than intended, her clipped British accent sharpening with her rising irritation—the same accent her mother used to tease her about. "But could you please get off the ice? You've got it booked in—" She glanced down at her Apple Watch, which displayed a quick alert warning of an elevated heart rate. Brilliant. "—thirty-five minutes."

The dark-haired player skated over slowly, coming to a stop directly before the gate. Up close, his tall frame was even more pronounced, his green eyes bright beneath the arena lighting, and the smirk widening to reveal both dimples. He clearly recognized her; everyone on campus was aware of the figure skater who shared their facilities. Likewise, she knew his identity immediately: Cole Ramsey, the captain of the hockey team, an impending NHL star, and a walking ego clad in shoulder pads.

"Thirty-five minutes, huh?" he replied, his tone low, relaxed, and edged with amusemnt. "Are you counting down the seconds, Charity?"

She detested the manner in which he uttered her name—drawn-out and deliberate, as if testing it merely to provoke a reaction from her. As if he had any right to address her so casually.

"The time is reserved," she stated, maintaining a steady composure even as her grip tightened on the edge of the gate. "Figure skating runs from 5:12 until 6:10. Hockey starts at 6:10. That's how schedule allocations work."

He tilted his head slightly, his dimples still fully visible. "Rye and I just needed a little extra ice time. Rye got a new pad setup he wants to test. Won't be long."