Chapter 12 - The Cliffside TargetAva aimed for a patch of low brush above the cliff edge.
The smart wing guided her toward it, but the crosswind continued dragging her south.
Her right steering line vibrated.
A section had twisted during deployment.
The wing began turning too sharply.
Ava pulled the opposite loop.
Nothing happened.
The rotation increased.
The coastline spun beneath her.
She pressed her left hand over her abdomen and fought the control line with her right.
“Stay with me,” she whispered to the baby.
A kick answered.
Ava’s throat tightened.
Below, waves struck the rock shelf.
The impact sent spray thirty feet upward.
If she landed in the water near those cliffs, the current would drive her directly into stone.
She needed the ledge.
She needed height.
She needed the wing to respond.
Ava reached above her and grabbed the twisted line.
The pressure burned across her injured fingers.
She pulled until the line cut into her palm.
The knot shifted.
The wing snapped violently to the opposite side.
Ava swung beneath it.
Her body slammed against the harness.
Pain tore through her lower back.
But the turn stopped.
The brush-covered ledge moved into view.
It was smaller than she had hoped.
Barely wide enough for a controlled landing.
Sharp rocks bordered one side.
A vertical drop bordered the other.
Ava looked behind her.
The helicopter was still circling.
Its door remained open.
Something dark moved within the cabin.
Ethan.
Even from hundreds of feet away, she could feel his attention fixed on her.
He had not accepted failure.
He was watching for another opportunity.
Ava pulled both steering loops and reduced her forward speed.
The wing descended toward the ledge.
Her legs extended.
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The ground rushed upward.
👉 Ava had reached solid ground—but landing safely while seven months pregnant would be more dangerous than the fall itself.
