The Family Secret

Chapter Two (#u7700f822-3b61-5deb-b4e6-3b4d83c78fa5)

Chapter Three (#u3c38fe3a-3877-57f3-a18a-d99e57cb0859)

Chapter Four (#u2f2bea54-0942-5aa3-bd68-2cac6f60b870)

Chapter Five (#u39eb9a37-42e7-5b45-a00d-dbae95012bbe)

Chapter Six (#udea3ae58-ad70-50f0-8c8f-03ed23123e9d)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Letter to My Readers (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading… (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Tracy Buchanan (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue (#ulink_aa5837f2-6bec-57f5-bed7-af0201782927)

She scrabbles at the broken ice around her to try to pull herself from the frigid water. But her fingers are like frozen wood, the ice brittle as it snaps at her touch.

She looks around frantically. She knows how this can end, has heard it a million times from people: ‘Don’t risk walking across the lake, it’s not worth it.’ But how else was she to get away?

She kicks her legs in the water, but already they have grown so weak. Just a few seconds in the icy depths and her body is beginning to shut down. She manages to twist around anyway, searching for help on the lake’s banks. And oh God, there’s somebody there!

‘Help,’ she screams. ‘I can’t get out.’

He steps forward and relief floods through her. But then he stills.

‘I’m serious!’ she shouts, icy water flooding into her mouth.

But he just continues staring at her. What is he doing? She peers behind him towards the lodge which is sprawled out on the lakefront. Golden lights glimmer, a huge Christmas tree adorns a vast window. Surely someone else can see her?

As she thinks that, two faces appear in one of the windows.

She frantically waves. ‘Help,’ she screams, voice warped with the cold. ‘Somebody help!’

But they too just stand there, motionless.