Chapter 4

Julian, his face a mask of false concern, suddenly "discovered" something in my discarded attendant' s jacket, which had fallen near my locker during the derailment.

He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

"Look at this!" he announced, his voice ringing with feigned shock. "It's a letter detailing a massive gambling debt Ethan Thorne owes to a notorious loan shark!"

He then produced a small notebook.

"And these... these are notes about Veronica' s schedule, her movements! He was stalking Ms. Vance!"

He turned to the terrified passengers, his voice dripping with accusation.

"He's desperate! He planned this derailment! He wanted to eliminate her family, then force her into marriage to pay off his debts and seize the Vance fortune!"

Mr. Charles Vance, Veronica' s father, a man easily swayed, stared at me, his face purple with rage.

"You monster!" he roared.

He lunged forward and struck me hard across the face.

My head snapped back, stars exploding behind my eyes.

"Stop! This is circumstantial! You have no real proof!"

A new voice, clear and strong.

Maya Rodriguez, the aspiring investigative journalist I' d noticed earlier, stepped forward.

Her dark eyes flashed with indignation.

"He was trying to warn us! You all heard him!"

Veronica, furious at this defiance, her face contorted with rage, turned to her security.

"She' s with him! Tie her up too! Traitors!"

The guards, brutish and unthinking, grabbed Maya. She struggled, but they were too strong.

They bound her hands and dragged her over to me.

Julian sneered, his composure regained.

"Traitors and lunatics. They deserve each other."

He gestured to a damaged train car door, hanging precariously open, revealing the harsh, snow-covered wilderness outside and the terrifying drop below.

"Let the coyotes and the cold deal with them!"

The guards dragged Maya and me towards the opening.

The wind howled, biting at our faces.

As they shoved me towards the edge, Veronica leaned in close, her breath warm against my ear, her voice a venomous whisper only I could hear.

"The alligators were too quick last time, Ethan."

Her eyes gleamed with a chilling understanding.

"Let' s see how you enjoy freezing to death, knowing you failed again."

My blood ran cold.

She knew. She remembered. She was reborn too.

This wasn't just cruelty; it was a personal vendetta, carried across lifetimes.

As I teetered on the edge, the icy wind whipping around me, I allowed myself a small, grim smirk.

They thought they had won. They thought this was the end.

"I already activated a beacon," I said, my voice loud enough for Veronica to hear over the wind.

"My father's people are on their way."

Hidden in my belt buckle was a satellite emergency device, a standard precaution for any Thorne.

A precaution that was about to pay off.