Some stories don’t begin where you think they do.

The case you’ve already read — the storm, the knock at midnight, the desperate woman on the run — was never the true beginning. Long before Ivy pounded on Ethan’s door, the ground at Crestfield was already shifting.

My next psychological thriller steps back in time and shows you how it all started.

This new book is a prequel to the story you already know, pulling you straight into the secrets that shaped Ethan, Lila, Maddox, Vale, and the campus that never really stopped keeping score.

Sometimes, the simplest moments hold the deepest wisdom. Let your thoughts settle, and clarity will find you. Use this quote space to share something inspirational or reflective, perfectly aligned with the theme of your article.

Before Everything Fell Apart: Project Lazarus – Cycle 3

Years before the events of the current book, Crestfield University quietly hosted a “research initiative” almost no one outside a handful of faculty ever heard about:

Project Lazarus – Cycle 3

Officially, it was sold as an academic program about resilience, memory, and “second chances.”

Unofficially, it was something else.

In this prequel, you’ll see:

• Early mentions of Lazarus buried in emails and grant proposals.
• Strange disappearances shuffled away as “withdrawals” and “personal emergencies.”
• Students selected, monitored, and then… removed from view.

The prequel explores what “Cycle 3” really meant, and why, by the time Ivy ever shows up at Ethan’s door, he’s already a man crushed under the weight of what he couldn’t prove.

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Maddox Before the Mask Slipped

In the book you’ve already read, you see Maddox as the polished villain, the manipulator whose threads run through everything.

In the prequel, you see how he built that power.

Here, Maddox is:

• The charming architect of Project Lazarus.
• The man who decides who qualifies as “promising,” “expendable,” or “useful.”
• The one quietly removing girls from campus under the guise of opportunity, intervention, or discreet help.

You’ll watch how:

• He tests how far he can push policy.
• He rewrites paperwork to make disappearances look voluntary.
• He identifies which faculty will look the other way and which ones need to be neutralized.

By the time the current book begins, Maddox’s trail looks like static and rumor.
In the prequel, you get to see the pattern in motion.

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Lila Before She Became a File

In your current book, Lila’s presence is haunting: photos, clippings, fragments of who she was and what she might have known.

The prequel gives her a voice.

You’ll follow Lila when she’s:

• Still on campus, still alive, and starting to notice… things that don’t add up.
• Drawn toward Project Lazarus by curiosity, guilt, and a temptation she doesn’t want to admit.
• Keeping her own quiet record of odd meetings, missing classmates, and conversations that end too quickly when she enters a room.

You get to see:

• What Lila was working on.
• Who she trusted.
• The moment she realizes she’s in over her head — and what she does about it.

By the time you return to the timeline of the current book, you’ll understand why Lila’s absence hits Ethan so hard… and why certain files in his study look the way they do.

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Ethan Before the Rumors

When readers meet Ethan in the current story, he’s already haunted, isolated, and living like a man under siege.

The prequel shows you how he got that way.

You’ll see Ethan when he is:

• Still a rising academic, still occasionally invited to the table.
• Drawn into Lazarus as a consultant, asked to “review” data that never feels complete.
• Torn between the official story and the sinking feeling that what’s happening on his campus is not just ethically wrong, but dangerous.

You’ll watch:

• The first time Ethan pushes back and gets shut down.
• His early attempts to protect certain students — including Lila.
• The moment he realizes that if he keeps asking questions, he won’t just lose his reputation. He might lose people he cares about.

By the end of the prequel, you’ll understand why his house is full of clippings, why he checks the campus the way he does, and why Ivy walking into his life feels less like coincidence and more like a long-delayed collision.

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Enter Vale: The One Who Doesn’t Disappear

Vale takes on a central role in this prequel.

While other students vanish from files and rosters, Vale:

• Notices the gaps no one wants to talk about.
• Starts tracking who’s suddenly “gone home” or “transferred” with no forwarding details.
• Becomes the quiet, stubborn presence who refuses to accept the official version.

Vale isn’t a detective, a professor, or a cop.
They’re something more dangerous to a system like Lazarus:

A student who’s survived long enough to start connecting all the wrong dots.

Vale’s path crosses with both Ethan and Lila at crucial points, and the choices they make together echo all the way into the events of your current book.

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How the Prequel Connects to the Book You’ve Read

This prequel is designed to make your return to the existing story hit harder.

After reading it, you’ll see:

• Why certain rooms, halls, and basements feel cursed.
• Why Maddox seems so confident no one can touch him.
• Why Ethan clings to his files like they’re the only lifeline he has left.
• Why Lila’s name feels like an open wound instead of just another case.

You’ll recognize:

• Early versions of clues that resurface later.
• Small interactions that become huge in hindsight.
• The first time someone mentions a pattern of girls “leaving” Crestfield and never being heard from again.

The prequel isn’t just extra content.
It’s the origin story of the entire nightmare.

Want to Be the First to Step Into the Prequel?

This is just a taste.

As I draft this prequel to the current book, I’ll be sharing:

• Title and cover reveals.
• Early chapters featuring Lila, Ethan, Maddox, and Vale before everything collapses.
• Bonus scenes that bridge the prequel and the main novel.

If you want those before they show up anywhere else:

👉 Join the Sloane Halden newsletter for exclusive prequel excerpts, behind-the-scenes notes from Crestfield, and early access to launch details.

Because the story you know is only one cycle.
Project Lazarus started long before page one.