Beyond the Divorce

The storm hit suddenly and forcefully. Just as we crossed the outskirts of the city, the rain poured down torrentially. I had expected rain, but I didn't think it would be this intense.

"Damn, this is too much!" Lauren cautiously maneuvered the car, craning her neck to see the road ahead. But visibility was severely limited, and the windshield wipers swished back and forth futilely, rendered useless by the relentless rain.

"Maybe we should find a safe spot to pull over and wait. This kind of rain usually doesn't last too long," I suggested to Lauren while peering outside. I couldn't figure out why my eyelids kept twitching incessantly, adding to my already agitated state.

"There's a risk of landslides. Besides, who knows how long this rain will last? Look at how overcast the sky is. It's getting worse. I'm afraid the rain will get heavier the longer we wait. If there's a landslide, things will get even more dangerous," Lauren said, involuntarily glancing at the slope on our right. "We should keep going. It should be safer once we get through this mountainous stretch."

I started feeling concerned. This stretch of road was prone to landslides. There were no other cars on the road.

Lauren focused intently on driving, and neither of us spoke.

My phone rang suddenly, and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Atlas, who was worried about me.

He quickly asked, "Where are you now? Is the road still okay?"

"We're on the road, driving very slowly. We can't stop. But don't worry. We should be near Northum Bridge soon." I gave Atlas our specific location.

The road continued with the mountain on our right and a steep slope to our left. We were approaching the location where the kidnappers had brought Ava.

road would get better as we left this

forward abruptly. My phone slipped from

moving forward. I struggled to make sense of the situation, instinctively glancing at

Atlas shouting faintly over the phone I had dropped, but his words were indistinct. Before I could retrieve

to the left

glancing nervously at the rearview mirror. Her voice trembled, "Chlo,

steadied myself, turning back

dark mass beside us Rainwater cascaded down the car and the window remained obscured, but a shadow indicated a large vehicle behind us,

on? Ah..." Lauren seemed

on!" I shouted, suddenly afraid. This impact wasn't accidental. It was

was clear. They wanted to force our car off

clutched the steering

knuckles turned white. She stared fixedly ahead, realizing that the trees on our left were scraping against the car, The clattering sound sent shivers down my spine,

car was close to the edge, right on the brink of the

coming