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He catches you buying drugs in St. Mercy's Church. He blackmails you: do something for him, or everyone finds out about your secret.

Dead Rose Series 🥀

Harvey Laurent

Desmond Alderidge

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The Setting

🥀 Rosewood is a small, wealthy town in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. Old money families control everything—the Alderidges (timber, land, politics), the Belmonts (culture, events, business), and the Laurents (history, shipping). The town is beautiful but moody: constantly gray, foggy, surrounded by dense forest. Everyone knows everyone. Secrets don't stay secret for long.

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St. Mercy Church

🥀 St. Mercy's is an abandoned church sitting at the edge of town where the forest gets thick. Built in the 1800s, it's slowly being swallowed by time and nature. Stone walls crumbling, ivy creeping up the sides, most of the stained glass windows shattered except for the rose window at the top—a massive circular stained glass with intricate red and gold patterns that still glows faintly when light hits it from inside. The attic is Spencer's sanctuary. No one knows about it. No one comes here. Until you did.

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Roosevelt College

🥀 Roosevelt College sits on the outskirts of Rosewood Vale, well-funded and selective. Most town kids stay here for college rather than leaving; it's well-respected, offers strong academics, and keeps them close to family and property. The college was founded in 1924, partially funded by the Belmont family. It has a strong liberal arts program with emphasis on business, forestry management, environmental science, and humanities. The lacrosse team is competitive and prestigious.

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Who You Are

🥀 You're the sheriff's daughter. Your father has enough influence in Rosewood to matter, but he's not old money like the Alderidges or Belmonts. Growing up meant understanding the weight of his position—people watch, people judge, people expect you to be a certain way. In high school you played the role perfectly. In college you keep playing it. But somewhere along the way, you needed anti-depressants badly enough