All Chapters of The Deadly Drop: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

The wind was howling on the outdoor bungee platform, tearing at my clothes.I huddled in the furthest corner, my knuckles white as I death-gripped the railing. At eight months pregnant, gravity was already my enemy, and the dropping barometric pressure made my heavy belly feel like an anchor dragging me down.The cheap, generic safety harness strapped over my maternity clothes felt flimsy–laughable, really. It made the blood drain from my face.However, my husband, Julian Vance, stood just a few feet away, completely oblivious to my terror. His eyes were glued to his 'first love,' Lily Lane, the girl who had insisted that bungee jumping was the only cure for her blues.Lily leaned into him, putting on her best kicked-puppy act. "Julian, you're the best. You're the only one who lets me vent when I'm down. You're literally the only person in the world I can trust."Julian pulled her into a hug, his voice dripping with the kind of tenderness he had not shown me in years. "Don't worry

Chapter 2

For a second, panic flickered in Julian's eyes.He took a step forward, mouth opening to say something, but Lily lunged, grabbing my arm."Elena, let's go!"Because Lily had demanded a tandem jump, we were shackled to the same bungee cord. The moment she leaped, I was yanked off the platform like a dead weight.Gravity vanished. The massive inertia slammed into me, and my stomach lurched violently. Pain exploded in my abdomen. Even though I knew it was coming, I could not stop the scream."Ah! It hurts!"However, my cry was swallowed by Lily's euphoric shrieking."Wow! This is amazing! So this is what it feels like! Woohoo!"She had her eyes closed, arms spread wide like she was flying, basking in the adrenaline. Meanwhile, the rapid descent was tearing me apart from the inside. A sharp, tearing agony ripped through my lower belly. I looked down at my pants–blood."Stop... please, it hurts..."I gasped the words out, but Lily, high on the thrill, just glared at me."Elena, s

Chapter 3

Julian's face darkened instantly. He shot me a look of pure disgust."Miscarriage, miscarriage! God, from the moment you got pregnant, that's all you talk about. 'Oh, I'm going to miscarry.' And look? The kid is still fine."He walked over to where I was crumpled on the floor, looming over me. "Get up. Get off the platform. You're blocking the line for the other jumpers."My face was paper-white. I could not form words anymore. Shaking, I reached out and grabbed the cuff of his pants, gritting my teeth against the agony."Please... call 911... I'm dying..."Julian looked like he had stepped in something foul. He kicked his leg out, shaking off my grip. "No wonder Lily says you're a good actress. She nailed it. It's just a bungee jump, Elena. You're not dying."He sneered. "You're healthy as a horse. Who is this show for? It's pathetic. Honestly, looking at you makes me sick. You're not even half the woman Lily is."A tourist standing nearby could no longer wait on the sidelines.

Chapter 4

A dead silence fell over the crowd. Nobody wanted to see a tragedy like this unfold in real time.The staff member who had carried me down screamed at the paralyzed crew."Well? What are you waiting for?! Get her in the van!"As the paramedics prepped to lift me into the ambulance, Julian finally snapped out of his daze. However, instead of rushing to my side, he just stood there, looking at me with that familiar mix of skepticism and annoyance."Wait!" he shouted, marching toward us. "Elena, seriously? Are you faking it again? There are people watching, for god's sake. Stop doing this embarrassing stuff!"The nurse who had been checking my vitals looked like she was about to explode. She whipped around and glared at Julian. "Sir, I'm going to need you to step away from the ambulance. Now. We prioritize patients based on who is actually dying, not who's loudest. If you keep obstructing us, I'm calling the cops!"The crowd of tourists, who had seen the whole thing go down, instant

Chapter 5

I spent a few more days recovering in the hospital. In between naps, I contacted a partner firm in Harbor City that my old company used to work with. I emailed my resume at midnight and set up an interview for the following month.Then, I went scorched earth. I drained my bank accounts, canceled every card I shared with Julian, and bought a one-way ticket to Harbor City.Julian and I had been inseparable since college. We were put in the same study group because we had similar majors, but that was where the similarities ended. Julian was great at execution: the grunt work, but he had zero imagination. His software designs were clunky, outdated, and boring.I was the innovator. My designs won championships.Naturally, he latched onto me. We started a company together. It was brutal in the beginning, but we worked well as a team. He trusted my vision, and the company took off. Then came the confession, the wedding, the pregnancy. It felt like a fairytale.It was not until the day I

Chapter 6

Julian had called me exactly twice after I was rushed to the hospital. I had not picked up.To be fair, he was probably distracted. Lily had been putting on an Oscar-worthy performance, crying about how sad she was and threatening to hurt herself. Naturally, Julian did not have the bandwidth to care about whether his wife was alive or dead.It took a full week for Lily's 'condition' to stabilize enough for Julian to finally go home.He walked in, tossed his coat on the floor like he owned the place, and shouted toward the living room out of habit."Why isn't dinner ready yet?!"The house answered with a cold, heavy silence.Julian frowned. The vibe was off. He checked the living room, then the bedroom. He did a full sweep of the apartment before his brain finally caught up with reality: No one was there.I was gone.He yanked out his phone and dialed my number. Straight to voicemail."Damn it," Julian cursed, assuming I was throwing another tantrum. He decided he did not have

Chapter 7

Julian stood there, his world tilting on its axis."Impossible," he muttered. "How could Lily lie to me?"His phone buzzed again. It was the subordinate."M-Mr. Vance! When is Ms. Lane coming? We're under a cyber attack! The whole network is down, and the users are rioting!""Get the tech team! Get outside contractors! Can you people not survive five minutes without Elena?"Julian hung up, furious. He turned and sprinted toward the exit, but the elevator was taking forever. Impatient, he shoved open the door to the stairwell.He had only gone down two flights when he heard noises coming from the landing below.Gross noises.Specifically, the shameless moans of a man and a woman going at it."Oh, Doctor…"Come on, Reynolds, I've been giving you everything you want..." The woman's voice was wheedling, sickeningly sweet. "Can't you spice up my diagnosis a little? Just write that Elena drove me crazy. Say she pushed me to the brink of suicide."A man's voice answered, heavy with

Chapter 8

While Julian was running around like a headless chicken trying to find me, I was already settling into my new corner office at a top firm in Harbor City.When the new company saw my resume, they did not just interview me. The CEO cleared his schedule to negotiate in person. He told me to name my price.I just gave him a thin smile. "I don't need special perks. However, I can promise you ten major projects within the month."The CEO looked like he had won the lottery. He offered me a salary that looked like a phone number and a stake in the company.I took the deal. The very next day, I started dismantling Julian's empire.Those cancelled contracts? I brought them with me. The software that got flagged? I wrote the code, so I knew exactly where the vulnerabilities were. I pulled the rug out from under them before they even knew they were standing on air.In less than a month, I had absorbed nearly every major project Julian's company had. I was not just an employee at the new firm

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