The small plane touched down on a private airstrip carved into the Colorado mountainside, and my stomach lurched—not from the landing, but from what I saw through the window. Jagged peaks stretched endlessly into a steel-gray sky, their snow-capped summits disappearing into low-hanging clouds. My fingers dug into the armrest as vertigo hit me even from inside the aircraft.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gabriel's voice held an edge I'd never heard before, sharp as the mountain ridges surrounding us.

I couldn't answer. My throat had closed up the moment we'd begun our descent through the mountains. He knew—God, he knew—how heights paralyzed me. How I'd spent our honeymoon in Switzerland locked in our hotel room, unable to even look at the Alps through the window.

"Come on, Tessa." His hand closed around my wrist, firm but not quite gentle. "We're here."

The cold hit like a physical blow as we stepped onto the tarmac. March in Colorado was brutal, the thin air making each breath feel insufficient. A black SUV waited nearby, engine running, and Gabriel guided me toward it with that same insistent pressure on my back.

"Where are we going?" I managed to ask as we climbed in.

He didn't answer immediately, checking his phone instead. Another message from Olivia—I could tell by the way his jaw tightened, the slight curve of his lips. When he finally looked at me, his eyes held a strange intensity.

"There's something I need you to do," he said. "For us. For our family."

The SUV wound up narrow mountain roads, each turn revealing drops that made my vision blur. I pressed myself against the seat, eyes fixed straight ahead, trying not to see the guardrail-less edges where the road fell away into nothing.

"Gabriel, please. Where are we going?"

"To prove a point." His voice was calm, reasonable, as if we were discussing dinner plans. "Olivia wants to try wingsuit flying. Do you know how dangerous that is?"

My heart stuttered. "What does that have to do with—"

"Everything." He turned to face me fully, and I saw something desperate in his expression. "She won't listen to me. Says I'm being overprotective. But if she sees someone else try it, sees how terrifying it really is..."

The realization hit me like ice water. "No. Gabriel, no. I can't—"

"Just once." His hand found mine, squeezing too tight. "One demonstration. That's all I'm asking."

"I'm pregnant!" The words tore from my throat. "I'm five months pregnant, and you want me to—"

"It's perfectly safe when done correctly." He squeezed harder. "There will be instructors, proper equipment. I just need her to see..."

The SUV stopped. Through the windshield, I saw a small building perched on a cliff edge, colorful parachutes and wingsuits visible through its windows. My whole body began to shake.

"I can't." Tears streamed down my face. "Gabriel, you know I can't. The heights, the baby—"

"Do this for our family." His voice softened, becoming the gentle tone I'd fallen in love with years ago. But underneath it was something else—a thread of steel that wouldn't bend. "Do this one thing, Tessa, and I promise you—I'll focus only on you. On us. On our child."

He helped me from the car, my legs barely supporting me. The wind up here was vicious, cutting through my coat like it was tissue paper. The building seemed to teeter on the edge of the world, nothing but sky and death beyond it.

"Mr. Bennett!" A man in his thirties approached, all smiles and enthusiasm. "Everything's ready as you requested. Your wife can suit up inside."

I grabbed Gabriel's arm. "Please. Please don't make me do this."

For a moment, something flickered across his face—doubt, maybe, or even guilt. Then his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and his expression hardened again.

"Think of it as conquering your fear," he said, guiding me toward the building. "For our baby. Don't you want to be brave for our child?"

Inside, the walls were covered with photos of people in wingsuits, arms spread like flying squirrels as they plummeted through clouds. My knees buckled, and only Gabriel's grip kept me upright.

"I'll be monitoring everything," he promised, his lips close to my ear. "Trust me, Tessa. Have I ever let anything happen to you?"

I wanted to scream that this was letting something happen. That asking his acrophobic, pregnant wife to jump off a mountain was insane. But the instructors were already approaching with equipment, and Gabriel's hand on my back was pushing me forward, forward, toward a edge I couldn't see but could feel waiting for me like an open mouth.

And somewhere in the distance, I swear I heard his phone buzz again.

The changing room smelled of rubber and fear-sweat from countless others who'd stood where I stood now. My hands trembled as I struggled with the wingsuit's zipper, the fabric feeling like a shroud against my skin. Through the thin walls, I could hear Gabriel's voice, low and urgent, speaking to someone on his phone.

"Just fifteen more minutes," he was saying. "Yes, she's doing it. You'll see."

My phone vibrated against the bench where I'd set it down. Harper's name flashed on the screen—seven missed calls. My best friend never called more than twice unless something was wrong. I reached for it, but the door swung open and Gabriel stepped inside, his eyes immediately finding my phone.

"You won't need that." He picked it up, powering it off with deliberate slowness. "This is about trust, Tessa. You need to trust me completely."

"Harper's been calling—"

"Harper doesn't understand us." He slipped my phone into his pocket, then moved behind me to help with the wingsuit's straps. His fingers were cold against my neck. "She never has. Always filling your head with doubts."

The instructor knocked and entered without waiting for permission. "Mrs. Bennett? We need to get you fitted with the parachute and helmet."

I wanted to tell him I'd changed my mind. That no sane person would ask their pregnant wife to do this. But Gabriel's hands were firm on my shoulders, and his reflection in the mirror wore that smile—the one that never quite reached his eyes anymore.

"The weather window is perfect," the instructor continued, oblivious to my terror. "Clear skies, minimal wind. Couldn't ask for better conditions."

They strapped the parachute pack to my back, the weight of it making me stumble. Gabriel steadied me, his breath warm against my ear.

"Remember," he whispered, "this is for us. For our family. One jump, and everything changes."

The helmet came next, fitted with an earpiece and small camera. The instructor explained the basics—how to spread my arms, how to control my descent, when to pull the chute. His words blurred together, meaningless sounds against the roar of blood in my ears.

"The landing zone is marked with orange smoke," he said. "Just aim for that. Your husband will be monitoring your progress from here."

Gabriel led me outside, where the cliff edge waited like an executioner's block. The wind hit harder here, trying to push me back, as if nature itself was warning me away. My legs locked, refusing to move those final steps.

"I can't." The words came out as a sob. "Gabriel, please. The baby—"

"The baby will be fine." His grip tightened on my arm. "Women do extreme sports while pregnant all the time. You're being dramatic."

He guided me to the jump platform, a wooden deck that extended out over nothing. Five thousand feet down, the valley floor looked like a child's model, tiny trees and a ribbon of river so far below they seemed unreal.

"On three," the instructor said, checking my straps one final time. "Remember, arms out, body straight. Count to ten before pulling the chute."

I turned to Gabriel, searching his face for any sign of the man I'd married. "Why are you doing this?"

For just a moment, his mask slipped. I saw something raw and desperate in his eyes, something that might have been guilt or fear or both. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket, and the mask snapped back into place.

"Because I love you," he said, stepping back. "Now jump."

The instructor began counting. "One..."

My heart hammered against my ribs. The edge of the platform seemed to pulse, drawing me forward even as every instinct screamed to run.

"Two..."

Gabriel's hand went to his pocket, touching his phone. Checking the time? Or something else?

"Three!"

I jumped.

The world exploded into wind and terror. The ground rushed up even as I seemed to hang suspended, the wingsuit catching air, spreading my arms into wings I never wanted. The earpiece crackled to life, and I heard Gabriel's voice, clear despite the roar of wind.

"Perfect, Tessa. You're doing perfect."

Ten seconds. The instructor had said count to ten. My hand moved to the ripcord, fingers closing around it. I pulled.

Nothing happened.

I pulled again, harder. The cord came free in my hand, severed cleanly as if cut with a knife. Through the earpiece, I heard Gabriel's voice again, but he wasn't talking to me.

"See what I mean, Olivia? See how dangerous it is? I tampered with the parachute just to show you what could happen."

The ground rushed closer, and I finally understood. This was never about trust.

This was murder.