Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO DIE
The first thing I heard after landing was a bird.
A simple sound.
A normal sound.
But to me, it meant one thing.
I was alive.
I slowly opened my eyes.
My body hurt.
My shoulder felt like it had been hit by a truck.
But my hand immediately went to my stomach.
The baby.
Please.
Please be okay.
A few seconds later, I felt movement.
A tiny kick.
I cried.
Not because I was weak.
Because my child was still there.
We survived.
---
I knew Richard would think I was dead.
That gave me time.
Time was my only advantage.
I found my phone.
The screen was cracked.
But it worked.
The first call I made was to Evelyn.
She answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
Her voice was tense.
I whispered:
“He pushed me.”
Silence.
Then:
“Are you alive?”
“Yes.”
A shaky breath.
“Thank God.”
“Evelyn…”
“I know.”
“No. You don't understand.”
I looked toward the ocean.
“He tried to make sure there was no body.”
Her voice became cold.
“Then we stop protecting him.”
---
Richard arrived home that afternoon.
Security cameras captured him entering alone.
The grieving husband.
The broken man.
The man everyone would feel sorry for.
He called my family.
He called friends.
He cried.
He told everyone:
“There was an accident.”
An accident.
That word made me sick.
Because Richard was already rewriting my death.
---
But he made one mistake.
He forgot about the parachute.
And he forgot about me.
I stayed hidden while Evelyn contacted the authorities.
But we needed proof.
A powerful man with money could manipulate people.
A frightened woman with a story could be ignored.
We needed evidence.
Then Daniel found something.
Something Richard never expected.
“Mrs. Hayes?”
“What?”
“We found a payment.”
My heart stopped.
“From Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked serious.
“The helicopter company.”
I frowned.
“What about it?”
“The flight was scheduled under a fake name.”
My breathing changed.
Richard did not plan this alone.
---
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CHAPTER 4 END
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