My breath hitched. Sienna? My husband’s supposedly platonic, overly-perfumed real estate partner? My mind violently tried to reject the words, but the sheer callousness of his tone pinned me to the spot. I clutched my stomach, a wave of nausea washing over me.
Before I could move, Carter hung up. He turned toward the partially open door, his face caught in the pale glow of his monitor. He didn’t see me in the shadows, but he stared right at the space where I stood.
A hollow, sinister smile stretched across his face as he whispered to the empty air, “Only a few more days, Audrey. Let’s hope you like the cold.”
Chapter 2: The Fall and The Miracle
The next forty-eight hours were a masterclass in psychological torture. I played the part of the oblivious, waddling wife, masking my paralyzing terror behind complaints of backaches and fatigue. I needed to get out, to run, but a blizzard had dumped three feet of snow over the Aspen valley, effectively burying the cabin. The roads were impassable. Cell service was miraculously, conveniently ‘down.’ I was trapped in a snow globe with a monster.
On the third afternoon, the snow stopped falling, though the sky remained a bruised, angry purple. Carter burst into the bedroom, his cheeks flushed with artificial excitement.
“Bundle up, babe,” he said, tossing my heavy down parka onto the bed. “The plow just cleared the main road up to the ridge. The view of the valley is incredible right now. A little fresh air will do wonders for you.”
“Carter, I’m huge. I can barely walk to the bathroom, let alone up a ridge,” I protested, my voice trembling.
“It’s just a five-minute walk from where we’ll park,” he insisted, his tone hardening just a fraction beneath the cheery veneer. “Come on. For me.”
I had no choice. Refusing him might trigger whatever horrific plan he had right there in the living room. At least outside, someone might see us.
We drove in agonizing silence up the winding, ice-slicked mountain road, parking near the edge of the Aspen overlook. The wind howled furiously at this elevation, whipping granular snow across the black ice that coated the rocky ground. Carter stepped out, came around, and firmly gripped my elbow, guiding me toward the edge. There were no safety barriers here; just a jagged drop into a deep, freezing abyss of granite and pine.
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