Chapter 3
PART 3:
Two days later, Victor suggested a weekend in the mountains.
“Just us,” he said. “We need to reset.”
Elena almost refused.
But then she looked at Noah, who was excited about snow, sleds, and hot chocolate.
So she made a different choice.
She would go.
She would keep her eyes open.
And if Victor was planning something, she would see it before he could finish it.
The mountain lodge sat near Black Ridge, a brutal stretch of icy cliffs and narrow trails that locals avoided in late winter.
The first day passed quietly.
Too quietly.
Victor was attentive.
Helpful.
Smiling.
Serena, he claimed, was just a former consultant who meant nothing.
The policy, he said when Elena brought it up casually, was “responsible planning.”
He lied like breathing.
The next morning, he suggested a short walk to an overlook above the frozen valley.
Noah wanted to come.
Elena insisted on it.
If Victor wanted privacy, he wasn’t getting it.
The wind was sharp enough to sting.
Snow crunched beneath their boots as they moved along the narrow ridge path.
At the overlook, the valley dropped away into a field of white and stone.
Beautiful.
Deadly.
Victor waited until Noah ran a few steps ahead to toss pebbles into the snow.
Then his face changed.
No more smile.
No more charm.
“You should’ve signed the transfer papers,” he said quietly.
Elena stared at him.
So that was it.
Not just the policy.
Weeks earlier, she had inherited a small block of voting shares in Cross Atlantic from her late mother’s estate.
Victor had tried to pressure her into signing them over to a trust he controlled.
She had refused.
Now his eyes burned with open hatred.
“You chose pride over your family,” he said.
“No,” Elena answered. “I chose not to hand my father’s company to a liar.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You think anyone will believe you?”
Elena reached into her coat pocket.
She had already sent screenshots of the messages to a hidden email that morning.
Victor saw the movement and lunged for her phone.
Noah screamed.
Elena twisted away.
Victor grabbed her wrist hard enough to bruise it.
She lost her footing on the ice.
The edge beneath them cracked.
In one terrifying second, snow and stone gave way.
Elena slid over the side.
May you like
And Noah slipped with her.
👉 When Elena opened her eyes on the frozen ledge, she looked up and saw the man who could save them choosing what to do next…
