Chapter 1

My husband, Daniel, the captain of a local mountain search and rescue team, insisted on dragging me and our frail ten-year-old son, Owen, up the Longs Peak winter route in Colorado.

He said it was about "building character."

But as a massive blizzard closed in, he suddenly started packing up his gear.

"Paige is my VIP client. She’s craving that limited-edition boba from Boulder, and the shop closes soon. I'm heading down."

I stared at him, sure the howling wind was playing tricks on my ears. "What did you just say?"

He shoved past me, eyes tight with impatience.

I grabbed his arm, my grip desperate. "Are you out of your mind? Owen’s lips are turning blue!"

He yanked his arm away.

His phone screen lit up. A voice message from Paige bled through the speaker, her tone dripping with a whiny pout. "Daniel, please... the shop is literally about to close..."

He turned toward the descent trail.

"Paige is getting anxious. I’ll have Eric meet you at the trailhead. He’ll be there in twenty minutes."

I watched Daniel’s silhouette vanish into the whiteout of the exposed ridge.

He never looked back. Not once.

The radio crackled with his voice one last time, breaking up through the static. "Claire, take Owen and slowly make your way down to a lower elevation. I taught you the route. Eric will be waiting at the bottom."

Owen’s cheeks were flushed a feverish red, but his lips were a terrifying, cyanotic blue. I pressed the radio button, my voice tearing from my throat. "Daniel! Owen is shivering violently! Come back—"

"Stop making a big deal out of nothing," he snapped. "Paige is in a hurry. The boba place is closing."

"You’re an adult! You can’t even walk your kid down to the trailhead?"

A sharp pop of static. The connection died.

Owen clutched the hem of my jacket, his small face buried in the hood of his down coat. His voice was muffled and weak. "Mommy... did Dad leave to get Paige a present again?"

Paige Nolan. A high-paying member of Summit Ridge Adventure Club, the outdoor guiding company Daniel ran. She complained about every blister and every gust of wind, yet she was constantly texting Daniel late into the night.

Daniel remembered exactly which boba tea she liked. He remembered it so well that in the middle of a high-altitude blizzard, he chose to abandon his wife and son, hike down the evacuation route, grab his truck, and drive all the way to Boulder just to fetch her a cup.

While his son stood on the edge of death.

My throat seized. I crouched down to hug Owen, only to feel his entire body vibrating with violent tremors.

The wind sliced across my exposed skin like a serrated blade. My fingers were already numb.

"We’re going down right now, baby. It won’t be cold once we get lower." I forced my voice steady. I pulled him close, wrapping my outer shell around him and sticking my last thermal patch to his chest to insulate his core. I didn't dare rub his limbs.

Daniel had insisted we pack light for this trip. To "toughen us up." He had even pulled my spare down jacket from my pack, claiming it was dead weight.

"Dad said I’m a boy. I can tough it out." Owen sniffled, trying desperately to stand up straight, but his teeth were chattering so hard he could barely speak.

My chest caved in.

"Let's go."

I shouldered the bulk of our gear, grabbed Owen’s freezing hand, and started down the evacuation route Daniel had so arrogantly pointed out.

The blizzard intensified. Visibility dropped to less than thirty feet. Our footprints vanished the second we lifted our boots.

We struggled through the drifts for what felt like hours. The whiteout swallowed all sense of direction.

Owen’s steps grew slower, his breathing heavy and ragged. Eventually, I was practically dragging him through the snow.

"Mom... I'm dizzy... I want to sleep..."

I stopped dead and cupped his face.

His lips were a horrifying shade of purple. His eyes were unfocused, rolling back slightly.

Severe hypothermia.

"Owen! Don't sleep! Look at Mommy!" Panic shattered my voice. I pulled him into my chest, shielding his core with my own body heat.

My phone had no service. The radio offered nothing but the hiss of dead air.

"Daniel! Come back! Owen isn't going to make it!" I screamed into the radio.

The storm howled back.

I don't know how much time passed. My phone battery plummeted to fifteen percent before a single, weak bar of signal finally flickered to life.

I instinctively opened iMessage, praying for a lifeline.

Instead, an Instagram notification popped up. Paige had posted a story a few hours ago.

It was a photo of a hand with perfectly manicured nails holding a warm cup of boba tea. The background was the glowing streetlights of the Boulder Pearl Street Mall.

The caption read: "Everyone says boba is unhealthy. But when someone remembers your order and drives all the way down a mountain just to get it for you... feels pretty good. ?"

I looked up at the raging blizzard, then down at my son. His breaths were growing terrifyingly shallow.

It was so absurd I almost laughed.

Owen slumped against me, his eyes half-closed, murmuring into the wind. "When is Dad... coming back? I want to go home..."

I held him tighter. Tears spilled from my eyes and instantly froze on my lashes.

"Soon... Dad will be back so soon." I choked out the lie.

I had warned him. I told Daniel that Owen wasn't strong enough for this. I told him the weather reports predicted a storm.

But Daniel always used his "experience," his title as team captain, his arrogant I know what I'm doing to bulldoze right over me. I compromised, again and again, until I walked my son into a death trap.

Suddenly, the radio crackled.

I slammed the talk button, clinging to it like a lifeline.

But it wasn't Daniel. It was Eric, his voice laced with a casual chuckle.

"Hey Claire, where are you guys at? Daniel told me to make sure you hike down on your own. Said it builds independence. He said Owen needs to tough it out."