Chapter 15 - The Ledge Beneath the WavesAva lay on the narrow ledge as the collapsed wing snapped in the wind behind her.
Her left shoulder burned.
One ankle throbbed.
Dirt covered her cream suit, and a long tear ran across the side of her blazer.
But her abdomen remained protected.
She pressed both hands against it.
“Please.”
The baby shifted.
Ava closed her eyes.
Relief lasted only a second.
The ledge was unstable.
Cracks ran through the dirt near the cliff edge. Each impact from the waves below sent a faint vibration through the rock.
Ava looked upward.
The slope above her was almost vertical.
Roots and stones protruded from the soil, but she could not climb safely with her injured ankle and pregnancy.
She looked toward the ocean.
No beach extended below.
Only black rock and violent surf.
The helicopter circled again.
It flew lower this time.
Ava saw the open door.
Ethan stood inside.
The pilot appeared to be fighting him away from the controls.
Ava reached for her wrist device.
The display was dark.
The second transmission had consumed nearly all its power.
One tiny light remained.
No confirmation.
No location response.
No sign that anyone had heard.
Ethan leaned through the open doorway.
The helicopter banked toward the ledge.
Ava understood immediately.
He was no longer trying to escape.
He was trying to finish what he had started.
The rotor wash struck the cliff.
Dust exploded around Ava.
The collapsed wing lifted violently and dragged her toward the edge.
She caught a root with one hand.
The fabric harness tightened around her body.
Ethan watched from above.
His expression held the same terrible triumph he had worn before pushing her from the cabin.
Ava stared back at him.
Then a voice erupted through the helicopter’s external speaker.
Not Ethan.
The pilot.
“Get away from the edge!”
May you like
Ava wrapped the wing lines around a stone and held on.
👉 Ethan had returned to kill her—but the pilot was about to risk the helicopter to stop him.
