Althea Ralston:

Author.

Professor.

Icon.

Liar.

Fifteen years ago, Lila Parks was a bright, eager student at Havenport University—handpicked and mentored by the legendary Professor Ralston.

Lila believed in Ralston’s message.

She trusted her.

Worshipped her.

Then, everything fell apart.

Behind the curtain of Ralston’s carefully crafted illusion, the truth was impossible to ignore: Lila’s mentor built her empire on deception and betrayal.

Today, the world sees Althea Ralston as a legend. Lila only sees the lie.

When an invitation to celebrate Ralston’s lifetime of achievement calls Lila back to Havenport, she knows she shouldn’t go. But this might be her only chance to confront the woman who destroyed her.

Surrounded by thousands of Ralston’s adoring fans and the ghosts of her past at Addison Hall, Lila begins to dig for proof of what she learned back then, of the monsters buried beneath that perfect smile. What she uncovers is darker—and far more sinister—than she ever expected.

To expose Ralston for what she truly is, Lila finds herself in a downward spiral of paranoia and suspicion, desperately searching for the key to toppling Ralston’s meticulous house of cards. But with every wrong turn, she finds herself closer to crumbling her own world instead.

Set against a gothic campus cloaked in ivy and secrets, this chilling, slow-burn suspense from two-million-copy bestselling author Kiersten Modglin explores the blurred line between manipulation and brilliance—and what it costs to finally speak the truth.