

Eight months along and already in early labor, Sophie Lane fights for her life in the delivery room, only for a single callous decision by the family patriarch to leave her newborn daughter abandoned on the edge of death.Her husband Ethan Carter, kept in the dark, is told both mother and child are gone. He carries that grief alone for years. Then one day, the truth cracks open: the daughter they told him he lost is alive, raised against all odds by Sophie, who never stopped fighting for her. Guilt, love, and years of lost time flood through him all at once. He sets out to reclaim what was stolen from all three of them, vowing to spend whatever remains of his life making them feel safe, seen, and whole.

Phoebe, heiress of Caelon's wealthiest family, teaches in a mountain village. During a patriotic lesson, a video of the Jovian invasion terrifies Vivian Smith—her father's fiancée—and her son, born to a Jovian spy. Seeing him cry, Vivian, blinded by anger and guilt, humiliates Phoebe. Only when she realizes that Phoebe is Alfred Green's daughter does regret hit.