1
LENNOX
“This retreat idea is a waste of my time.”
Alan Gold’svoice sliced through the silence of the boardroom, sharp as the gleaming edge of the glass desk between us. His tone, flat and unyielding, hung in the air—a reminder that nothing in this room, not even the breath in my lungs, truly belonged to me.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. His amber eyes, a mirror of my own, bore into me with the weight of a lifetime’s expectations. His silver hair was perfectly trimmed, his suit an unblemished slate of charcoal gray, but beneath the polish lay the kind of ruthless ambition that built empires and destroyed anything that got in the way.
“If you wanted a chance to prove yourself, Lennox, you could’ve brought me something worthwhile,” he continued. “Instead, you offer me a wellness retreat run by three women with no real business experience.”
I swallowed, keeping my voice steady. “The Three Bears Retreat has potential. The wellness industry is booming, andtheir programs align with current trends. With the right investment, it could be a valuable addition to the portfolio.”
“What you mean is, it could be a valuable addition toyourportfolio. Let’s not pretend this is about me.”
Every conversation with my father felt like this—a game of chess where he always thought three moves ahead, where every word I spoke was a piece he could knock off the board. I knew better than to let emotion seep into my voice.
“I’ve done my research,” I said. “Their numbers show promise. What they lack in business savvy, they make up for in authenticity. Their guests aren’t just clients—they’re people whose lives have been changed by what these women built.”
A flicker of something—approval, maybe—crossed his face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He drummed his fingers against his desk, a steady, unsettling rhythm. “You’ll go. But not as my son. If they know who you are, they’ll tell you what you want to hear. I need the truth, not the curated version.”
“That was my plan.”
The silence stretched, cold and unforgiving. My father had built Gold Ventures on sharp instincts and an iron will. He was more than a venture capitalist—he was a predator, and every boardroom, every negotiation, was a hunt. The company structure reflected his philosophy: Alan Gold at the top, my brothers just beneath him, and the rest of us—myself included—were merely pieces on his board.
I had the look of a Gold—the deep golden-brown skin, the light brown eyes, the sandy hair, though mine hung in shoulder-length locs—but none of the hardness. Where my brothers had honed themselves into weapons, I had always been… different. I felt too much, and thought too much. My gift for numbers, my analytical mind—it had always been there. But so had the weight of my sensitivity, the quiet pull toward something softer, somethingreal.
For years, I’d tried to carve my own path. I’d found solace in the gym, weights becoming my refuge when my mother died. Her death had shattered me, and while my brothers turned grief into grit, I had turned inward. I’d dreamed of being a trainer, of helping others find strength in their own pain, but my father had dismissed it as a phase, a distraction from my ‘true potential.’
Now, here I was, standing in front of him, trying once again to find a sliver of approval in his cold gaze.
“I’ll take the fitness instructor position,” I said, slipping the idea in like it was an afterthought when it was anything but. I'd thought of this and knew that I truly wanted to fill that position more than anything. “They’re looking for someone, and it’ll give me access to staff and guests without raising suspicion.”
Even though the guest instructor position was temporary—in order to test out the program—I would enjoy every moment of it.
For the first time, my father’s expression softened. “That’s not a terrible idea.”
It was the closest I’d ever come to praise, and I hated how much I wanted it. How much I needed it.
I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me. “Lennox.”
I paused, my hand on the cool metal of the door handle.
“Don’t get comfortable,” he said. “You’re there to work. Not to find yourself at some summer camp.”
A thousand retorts rose to my lips, but I swallowed them down. Instead, I nodded, the gesture small, obedient, the son he wanted me to be. As I walked down the pristine hallway of Gold Ventures, the sound of my shoes against the marble echoed, each step a reminder that I was still under his thumb.
But as the elevator doors closed, I allowed myself a moment to breathe. The Three Bears Retreat was supposed to be a job, a chance to prove myself. But deep down, I knew it was more than that. It was a lifeline—the only chance I might ever have to escape the gilded cage my father had built around me.
And maybe, just maybe, it was the place where I could finally find out who the hell Lennox Gold really was.
2
LENNOX
The road to the Three Bears Retreat wound through the Pocono Mountains, a green labyrinth where civilization felt like a distant memory. I drove with the windows down, letting the crisp air push away the weight of my father’s voice still echoing in my mind.“You’re there to work, not to find yourself.”
The sign for the retreat appeared at the curve of a dirt road, modest and weathered, as if it had always belonged there. I turned into the gravel driveway, the crunch of rocks under my Grand Cherokee’s tires grounding me. The main lodge rose ahead, a blend of wood and stone, its large windows reflecting the forest’s lush canopy. It looked nothing like the sterile, high-end resorts my father favored. There was no glitz, no pretense—just a quiet invitation to exhale.
