Chapter 1 - The Descent into Darkness
The sharp metal blade sliced through the fibers of the rope with a horrifying, taut snap.
As Daniel stood at the edge of the roof, his eyes cold and void of any emotion, Evelyn felt the sudden, terrifying gush of wind beneath her back. Beside her, Martha—the faithful old maid who had served her family for over two decades—refused to let go. Even as they plummeted through the air toward the brutal concrete below, Martha threw her arms around Evelyn, twisting her own body in mid-air to shield Evelyn’s pregnant belly.
THUD!
They didn't hit the ground. By some miraculous stroke of fate, Martha’s feet got entangled in the iron railings of a third-floor balcony, snapping her ankles with a sickening crunch. Her old, arthritic fingers locked around Evelyn’s wrists like iron cuffs. Evelyn hung suspended in mid-air, four stories above the pavement, her heart pounding against her ribs.
"Hold on, child!" Martha gasped, blood dripping from her nose where Evelyn’s mother-in-law, Beatrice, had struck her earlier. "I won't... I won't let him kill your baby!"
"Martha, your hands are slipping!" Evelyn screamed, tears blinding her vision. She looked up. High above on the rooftop, two shadows stood against the gray sky: Beatrice and Daniel, holding the bloodied knife.
Daniel didn't look back. He casually tossed the knife into the gutter, turned his back, and walked inside. He was already planning his cover story.
"Martha, please let me go! You're going to fall too!" Evelyn sobbed.
"Never," Martha whispered, her face turning purple from the extreme exertion. "Your mother... she died protecting you. I promises her I would do the same."
With one final, desperate surge of strength, Martha swung her body, using the momentum to hurl Evelyn onto the balcony floor just as Martha’s feet slipped from the railing.
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"MARTHA!" Evelyn shrieked, crawling to the edge.
Martha fell two more stories, landing heavily on a parked SUV below. The glass shattered, alarms blared, and Martha lay motionless, pooled in blood, but still breathing faintly. Evelyn collapsed onto the balcony tiles, clutching her stomach, her world fading into absolute blackness as the sounds of sirens echoed in the distance.
