Chapter 3 3

The ravine was a jagged scar in the earth behind the estate. The overlook was a wooden platform that jutted out over the drop, neglected and rotting.

Jane arrived breathless but focused. She scanned the ground. The wood of the railing was gray and splintered. She took out the wrench and knelt by the main crossbeam. With quick, silent turns, she loosened the rusted bolts holding it to the support posts, leaving them clinging by only a few threads. The metal groaned softly. It wouldn't fail on its own, but it wouldn't withstand any real pressure.

She knelt on the path leading to the platform. She tied the fishing line between two saplings, low to the ground, hidden by the overgrown ferns. It was invisible in the moonlight.

She heard the crunch of gravel. High heels.

Jane stood up. She walked to the edge of the platform and stood with her back to the path. She waited.

"You actually came."

Alejandra's voice was mocking. A beam of light from a flashlight cut through the darkness, blinding Jane.

Jane turned slowly, shielding her eyes. "Alejandra? You said you had something to show me?"

Alejandra clicked the flashlight off. The moonlight was enough. She walked closer, her silver dress shimmering like fish scales.

"I do," Alejandra said. "I want to show you your place."

She stepped onto the platform. The wood groaned under her heels. She stalked toward Jane, her face twisted in a cruel smile. "You think because Daddy pays your tuition, you're one of us? You're nothing. You're a stain on this family."

Jane took a step back, feigning terror. "Please, Alejandra. It's dangerous here."

"Only for you," Alejandra spat.

She lunged. It was clumsy, fueled by champagne and entitlement. She reached out to shove Jane toward the railing, intending to scare her, to make her scream.

Jane didn't scream.

At the last possible second, Jane pivoted on her heel. It was a move from a self-defense class she had been forced to take in her past life after a mugging. She stepped aside with the grace of a matador.

Alejandra pushed empty air. Her momentum carried her forward. Her foot caught the fishing line Jane had strung across the entrance.

Alejandra gasped. She pitched forward, arms flailing. She slammed into the railing with her full weight.

The wood cracked. The loosened bolts groaned and sheared off.

There was a sharp snap, like a gunshot. The railing gave way.

Alejandra clawed at the air. Her fingers brushed the hem of Jane's jacket. Jane took a calm half-step back, out of reach.

Alejandra screamed. It was a long, thin sound that was swallowed by the darkness.

She fell.

Jane stood at the edge. She heard the body hit the slope below, the sound of tearing fabric, and then a sickening crunch as Alejandra landed in the rocky creek bed.

Silence.

Then, a moan. "My leg... oh god... my leg!"

Jane looked down. She picked up the flashlight Alejandra had dropped. She clicked it on and aimed it into the abyss.

Thirty feet down, Alejandra lay twisted among the rocks. Her leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Bone protruded through the skin, white against the red blood.

Alejandra looked up, her face a mask of agony and shock. She saw the light.

"Jane!" she shrieked. "Jane, help me! Call an ambulance! I'll give you anything!"

Jane stared down at her. The light didn't waver.

"Jane!" Alejandra sobbed. "Why aren't you moving?"

Jane clicked the flashlight off. The ravine plunged back into darkness.

"Calling for help," Jane whispered to the night air, "is an extra charge."

She knelt and untied the fishing line, winding it back onto the spool. Down below, Alejandra continued to scream, but to Jane, it sounded like the opening notes of a symphony she had waited ten years to conduct.