The Shadow of Blackwood

The house is a labyrinth of secrets. The heir is a prison of shadows. And the truth is the only thing that can save them both. Elara Vance is an architect haunted by a past failure, desperate for a professional win. Blackwood Manor, a sprawling, decaying Gothic estate on the fog-drenched coast of Maine, is her last chance. She sees the manor as a colossal structural problem to be solved, a brittle monument to be saved. But Blackwood is more than just stone and mortar. It is the fortress of Cassian Thorne, the estate's reclusive and intensely guarded heir. Cassian is a man who lives in the shadows, burdened by a generations-old secret he calls the "Shadow of Blackwood"—a curse that has driven his ancestors to madness and isolation. He is cold, controlling, and utterly convinced that he is destined for ruin. He wants Elara to fix his home, but he demands she stay away from its most forbidden corner: the sealed-off West Wing. As Elara begins her assessment, she discovers the structural decay mirrors the moral decay of the Thorne line. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes the sealed wall is a lie, a decoy to protect a far more dangerous truth. Forced to work side-by-side through shared danger and the oppressive atmosphere of the house, the professional friction between Elara and Cassian sparks into a raw, undeniable emotional intensity. Elara is determined to expose the truth and save the house. Cassian is determined to keep his secret and save himself from the light. Their slow-burn alliance is built on mutual need and suspicion, threatening to consume them both as they unravel a mystery that could either free Cassian from his self-made prison or destroy the fragile foundation of their connection forever. A moody, atmospheric dark romance about the weight of legacy, the architecture of the soul, and the terrifying possibility of letting the light in.