She finds herself at the top of an imposing tree, but its nearby branches offer a safe passage. As usual, she descends quickly, her eyes scanning all around. She knows that, somewhere on the edge of the lake, there is a man shrouded in darkness, wearing a hooded jacket. He is holding a piece of wood. Even though she knows it will cost her dearly to climb down, she continues. A sharp branch tears the skin of her right forearm, and she feels the warm blood seeping out, staining her dress. The pain is just a distant noise as she lands on the damp earth.

Her heart racing, she backs away, tripping over her own steps. She tries to stifle a scream, pressing her hands against her mouth, but it's too late. The man, who had turned away, now stares at her from the shore of the lake. He shouts her name.

His voice cuts through the night with fury, causing a fear to run through her skin. The man's face is obscured by darkness, but she can see the gleam of his cold smile. Without thinking, he starts walking towards her. The menacing glint in his dark eye makes her turn on her heels, and she runs towards a dirt road not far away. The path to it climbs a slight incline between the trees. She knows this road will take her straight home, so she runs as fast as she can. She hears the man shout her name again, his voice echoing too close. Her heart races, and her fear grows as he calls out, his growls coming closer and closer.

Her lungs burn with the effort, until the small rise between the trees comes into view. She slips on the dry leaves, and panic overwhelms her when she feels his huge hand grip her hair tightly. She lets out a scream, turning sharply as she struggles to free herself. His eyes gleam menacingly, and she sees the penknife flicker as it rises into the air. Her eyes widen, and she lets out another scream as she struggles frantically. With a desperate movement, her hair finally comes free of his hand. She takes a few steps back, dodging the blow, but the blade still rips through her abdomen, cutting through her dress.

She falls to the ground, the pain throbbing through her body, but she takes advantage of an instant of distraction from her attacker. With all her strength, she kicks him in the leg, knocking him off balance. He falls to the ground, rolling around in the dirt, spouting a torrent of swear words. Without wasting any time, she gets up with difficulty and runs as fast as she can until she reaches the road.

As she arrives, she sees the headlights of a car coming around the bend in the distance, heading towards the town. Desperate, she throws herself in front of the vehicle, waving for help. The blue truck brakes just a few centimeters from her. A man gets out angrily, but when he sees her, his eyes widen in terror. His face is indistinct and his name is unknown to her. Staggering, she goes to meet him, pressing one hand to her abdomen and the other to the cut on her arm, feeling the weight of exhaustion and terror.

— Please help me! – Her voice sounds like a desperate whisper, and he doesn't hesitate.

The car door opens and he carefully places her in the back seat. A brief relief takes hold of his tired mind, but soon the terror returns. Before the man could close the door, the figure that had been chasing her emerged from the shadows. In one brutal movement, he pulls her out with unconscionable force. She screams, but the sound is drowned out by the cold night and the pain that overwhelms her body.

— No!

She wakes up with a scream caught in her throat, her body bathed in sweat. The room is plunged into darkness, but the safety of the place doesn't ease the panic that still makes her heart beat fast. The nightmare was always the same, repeated so many times that it almost seemed real. But what she didn't know was that, in the back of her mind, it wasn't just a nightmare. It was a forgotten memory. A truth buried in the shadows of the past, waiting to be revealed.

New York, a year earlier...

Kyera Winter walked into the living room and saw her aunt Siena on the verge of collapse. Sitting on the sofa, her eyes lost in emptiness and a half-empty glass of wine in her hand, she looked more like a painting of suffering than a real person. Siena didn't notice Kyera's presence, and the silence in the room was so heavy that Kyera had to take a deep breath before approaching.

— Aunt Siena? Are you all right? – asked Kyera, cautiously, breaking the suffocating silence.

Siena turned around slowly, and the pain on her face gave way to surprise. Her red, swollen eyes stared at her, confused, as if she was deciding whether to be happy or annoyed by Kyera's presence. Kyera's heart raced, even though she didn't know why.

—  Kyera, darling, shouldn't you be at work? – murmured Siena, her voice filled with sadness and frustration.

— Phill decided to close early today, – replied Kyera, not understanding what was going on. – Auntie, what's going on? Why are you like this?

Siena hesitated for a moment before letting out a long sigh. Her voice shook as she spoke:

—  I can't keep this a secret any longer. – Tears began to roll down her cheeks. – Your mother, Kyera... She's gone.

The words hit Kyera like a punch in the stomach. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. The last time she had seen her mother, she had only been a child. Since moving to New York with her aunt, she had never heard from her mother or any of her other relatives from Lone Ridge. She had grown up without contact, but she had always hoped for a reunion, for answers that would explain why she had been abandoned.

—  What do you mean, my mother's gone? – Kyera's voice faltered, still unable to process what she had just heard.

Siena nodded slowly, tears welling up.

—  She died of cancer two months ago, in the hospital in Lone Ridge. She suffered a lot and the treatment didn't work. – Siena explained, taking a small sip of her wine before looking sadly at Kyera. – But know that, even from a distance, she loved you very much. She deeply regretted not seeing you for all those years.

Those words hammered into Kyera's mind. Two months. Two months and she only found out now?

—  My mother died two months ago and nobody told me? – Indignation exploded inside her, along with an urgent need to understand. – Why didn't you tell me before, Auntie?

Kyera's scream filled the air, echoing her frustrations. Hot tears began to roll down her face. Siena looked like she was about to fall apart.

—  Kyera, it's not that simple. There were reasons, good reasons. – tried to justify Siena, her voice failing miserably.

But Kyera could no longer control her anger. The whole thing felt like an overwhelming injustice.

—  Good reasons? How can you say that? – Kyera turned away, hurt. – My mother was ill, she passed away, and no one told me anything. What did I do to deserve this silence? Why did everyone leave me in the dark?

Siena got up and walked over to Kyera. Her face was so red that Kyera couldn't tell if it was anger or the effect of the wine.

—  Darling, I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know until it was too late. When she got sick, there was nothing left to do, – said Siena, running her hand over Kyera's face.

—  I could have gone to see her. – Kyera whispered, tears choking her voice. – I barely remember her face, but I loved her.

—  I know, darling, I know. – replied Siena, hugging Kyera as she had never done before. Siena had always been eccentric, fun, but Kyera had never seen her cry like that. He'd never seen her express so much feeling, except through her paintings.

—  I have to go there! – Kyera said suddenly, walking away. – I want to visit my mother's grave.

Siena frowned, staring at Kyera with her big green eyes, just like her own.

—  What did you say?

—  I said I'm going to visit my mother's grave.

Siena's expression changed. Something dark took over her face.

—  You're not going!

— What? Of course I'm going! Of course I'm going! I have the right to know more about my mother, to visit her grave.

Suddenly, Siena let out a growl that made Kyera flinch. She grabbed Kyera's arms tightly, shaking her.

—  You're not going, Kyera! I forbid you to go to Lone Ridge! –  shouted Siena, with a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes. – You have no idea what happened, the problems that surrounded your mother, why she sent you here!

The tears that Kyera had been trying to hold back began to flow freely. She didn't understand what her aunt was trying to hide.

—  What are you hiding from me? I have a right to know!

Siena let out a sigh, but didn't give in.

—  You're forbidden to go to Texas, Kyera. It won't do any good for you to go there. Your mother didn't want you to go, – said Siena, releasing her and slowly walking away. – Respect her wishes and stay away from that town. Live up to Sara's sacrifice.

Their gazes met in a silent confrontation, until Siena abruptly turned and left the apartment, leaving Kyera alone with a whirlwind of emotions. Kyera needed answers, she needed to understand what sacrifice her aunt was talking about and why she was acting like that. But at that moment, all she felt was the pain and injustice burning inside her.

New York, present day...

Kyera got out of bed, still reeling from the nightmare that had plagued her since childhood, when she first arrived in New York to live with her aunt, Siena Winter. She stretched out her arms to relieve the tension and ran her fingers through her vibrant copper-colored hair, while trying to dispel the dark images that swirled around her mind. The clock struck almost noon, and the rumbling of her stomach reminded her that she needed to eat. Cooking was not on the agenda that day.

Moving around the spacious apartment she had inherited from Siena after her tragic death in a car accident, Kyera pulled aside the heavy curtains of the bedroom window, revealing the grandiose landscape of New York, with its bridges and towering skyscrapers. The cloudy sky indicated the imminent arrival of more rain, intensifying the melancholy atmosphere typical of winter.

She thought fondly of her extravagant aunt. Siena, the only woman in the Winter family who had chosen a single life, far from the Texas countryside, where her sisters remained with their husbands. Siena had swapped rural life for art, living as a painter in New York. Although she wasn't famous, she made a comfortable living from selling her paintings. More than an eccentric, Siena was a free and creative soul.

Kyera sighed, moved away from the window and went into the bathroom. As she lifted her arms to remove the shirt she was wearing as pajamas, she noticed the long scar that marked the inside of her forearm, a memory she had never been able to understand. The scar, which ran from near his armpit to his elbow, was a mystery. Not even her aunt could explain it, claiming that Kyera had already arrived at her house with the mark, probably the result of some prank, since she was a restless child.

The strangest thing, however, was the persistent discomfort that scar caused her, as if it hid an important secret, buried deep inside her mind, which she feared to uncover.

Putting these thoughts aside, Kyera stepped into the shower. The hot water brought immediate relief, relaxing her tense body. After a while under the shower, she got out, put on jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket. Putting on her sneakers at the apartment door, she headed for her favorite restaurant, a few blocks away.

Lunch was a moment of peace, as she enjoyed the food and the silence. Afterwards, she visited a bookstore, and the books she bought excited her. Reading had always been one of her passions, an escape into imaginary worlds that helped her forget the challenges of everyday life. Racing at high speed was also something that fascinated her, and it was this passion that led her to learn to ride and buy a motorcycle.

Back at the apartment, Kyera snuggled up between the cushions on the sofa and lost herself in her favorite movies. The hours passed so quickly that she hardly noticed it was almost time to go to work as a bartender in a nightclub. She dressed quickly, put her hair up in a high ponytail and left. Outside, the city was already lit up, ready for New York's nightlife.

As she walked down to the lobby of the building, the heels of her boots echoed across the floor, drawing the attention of a few people in the foyer. Among them, Stephan, the night porter and a long-time friend.

— Good evening, Miss Winter. – greeted Stephan with a friendly smile and a slight nod.

— Good evening, Stephan. – Kyera replied, returning the smile. – How is your wife?

Stephan smiled gratefully.

— She's doing very well, thanks to you. Thank you for everything.

Kyera shrugged, modest about what she had done. A few nights earlier, she had witnessed Stephan's wife being attacked by a mugger near the building. Using her Krav Maga skills, Kyera intervened quickly, taking down the assailant, who was arrested shortly afterwards. Although Stephan's wife suffered minor injuries, she was now recovering well.

— It was nothing, Stephan. I only did what was right. – Kyera said humbly. – Tell Patricia I said hi, and if you need anything, you know where to find me.

— Thank you very much, Miss Winter. You're very kind. – said Stephan, with a smile. – Have a nice evening.

Kyera nodded and waved to the doorman before heading to the building's garage, where her motorcycle was parked. As soon as she stepped out, she was greeted by the typical chaos of Manhattan's avenues during rush hour. The streets were packed with cars as people hurried along, some looking for relaxation and fun after a long day at work, others longing for the comforts of home. And, like her, there were those who had just started their working day.

She accelerated the bike, feeling the adrenaline and freedom as she cut through the dense traffic with agility. She would soon reach her destination, where she would stay until almost dawn.