A blizzard had buried the mountain, turning every road into a death trap.

Locals called it Deadman's Pass—seventy-two icy switchbacks with zero room for error.

As the only person who had ever made it through without a scratch, I'd just gotten a million-dollar rescue call from beyond the final curve.

Ten years ago, I went there once.

My seventeen-year-old daughter, Maya, was skydiving with her classmates when a violent air current forced an emergency landing.

The rescue came too late.

She died there.

Later, I learned my husband, Jayden Boone, had ignored Maya's safety.

He poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the rescue effort and redirected every team to save his ex's daughter instead.

The girl had only sprained her ankle on a hiking trip.

The day Maya died, I walked away from my career as a professor and stayed here, living as a broke driver.

I risked my life running Deadman's Pass again and again until I knew every turn by heart.

In the ten years since, no one else had died on that road.

Today, a friend shoved a million-dollar rescue job in front of me and told me to leave right away.

I looked at the face in the photo—the one I could never forget.

Then I smiled and tossed my keys onto the table.

"I can't take this job."

Celine was still riding the high of a million-dollar payout when she heard me.

She froze.

"Sonia, have you lost it? That's a million dollars! We've been stuck in this nowhere town for ten years and haven't made half that. And you're just walking away?"

We'd spent years working side by side, surviving one disaster after another. She couldn't believe I'd pass up a chance like this.

She hurried over and blocked the door. "Did you hit your head or something? Go wash your face and think it over.

"Ten years ago, you showed up here with nothing. Your ex-husband threw you away. Now you finally have a shot to turn things around.

"Don't you want to make him regret it? Don't you want him begging for another chance?"

I pulled my arm free. "I don't need anyone's regret. I've already made up my mind. Stop trying to convince me. I'm leaving."

"Sonia!" Frustration had sweat beading on her forehead. "Even if you won't take it, give me a reason. I don't believe you'd just stand there and let someone die."

I stopped and looked at her.

"Maybe I would."

She stared at me, breathing hard. "We've known each other for ten years.

"You've never turned down a rescue. You're always the first one out there. Doesn't matter how bad the storm gets or how dangerous the route is. Even when the whole crew tries to stop you, you always say a child's life matters more than your own.

"How can you say this now? Why?"

"There is no why. Find someone else. I can't do it."

I headed for the exit.

Celine followed, dragging both hands through her hair. "Mount Ashen gets worse every year. A few drivers tried that pass over the last couple years. None of them came back.

"If you don't go, nobody will. Are you sick or something? Fine, I'll come with you. I'll handle the rescue. You just drive.

"But you owe us an explanation. The team's broke. Everyone's been waiting for a chance like this. They deserve to know why."

I looked toward the snow-covered peaks in the distance and thought about what had carried me through those seventy-two deadly turns for the last ten years.

My daughter.

The sound of her crying in my dreams.

"Mom, save me."

I'd survived by clinging to one impossible belief—that she was still alive.

Even when I was close to dying myself, I forced my way forward.

I couldn't let another mother lose her child like that.

I swallowed the tears burning behind my eyes. "I'll explain it to everyone. Just stop."

Something in my expression must've shaken her.

She finally stepped back.

"I don't understand it," she said quietly. "But you're my friend. I know you have your reasons. I'll talk to the others."

Before I could leave the garage, my phone lit up.

A number I would never forget.

"My wife and I are almost at Mount Ashen. I want to know why you refused the rescue. Is the money not enough? I'll add another million. Or anything else you want. Just save my daughter, and I'll agree to whatever you ask."

Even after all these years, that familiar arrogant voice still cut straight through me.

My grip tightened around the phone.

"I don't have any conditions. I can't save your daughter."

Jayden didn't recognize my voice.

His tone sharpened, thick with panic and tears.

"You sound old enough to have children. Don't you? If your child were trapped somewhere that dangerous, could you really stand there and do nothing?"

Stand there and do nothing?

A bitter laugh slipped out.

When I found out Jayden had pulled every rescue team away to save Cassidy Yard's daughter, I'd asked him the same thing.

How could another kid matter more than his own daughter?

Back then, he'd been terrifyingly calm.

"I looked at both girls' conditions. Maya was in better shape than Tina, so Tina needed help first. None of us wanted Maya to die. It was an accident. I'm devastated too."

Devastated.

Yet after I filed for divorce, he married Cassidy without looking back.

Now I asked, "Mr. Boone, Tina isn't your biological daughter, right? If it were your own child up there, would you go?"

"Of course." Not a second of hesitation. "Biological or not, she's my daughter. I already treat her like my own. If it were my biological child, I'd give up everything I own. Even my life."

Then he laughed coldly. "You looked into me, didn't you?

"Since you know I'm the chairman of Boone Corp, you should understand this is a good deal for you. I can make it five million. Someone like you won't see that kind of money in a lifetime.

"Be smart. Take the opportunity instead of dragging your husband and kids down with your pride."

I smiled. "You're a devoted father."

I've dreamed of Maya more times than I can count.

Every time, she asks the same question.

Why didn't Dad choose me?

Why did he save someone else's daughter?

I never have an answer.

Because I know the truth.

He never loved me.

And the child I gave him was never going to come first.

"Five million is a lot," I said. "But I don't need it. Find someone else."

I hung up and switched off my phone.

The second I stepped outside, the rest of the team rushed over.

Faye blocked my path. "You can't leave. Do you know whose daughter is trapped up there? The Boone family's. The Yard family's. We can't afford to make enemies of people like that."

Of course I knew.

Jayden and Cassidy's marriage had been celebrated all over the internet.

Nobody remembered Maya.

Nobody remembered me.

"Jayden Boone may be Tina's stepfather, but he treats her like his own. He runs Boone Corp. He's the richest man in Aster City. Cassidy Yard is a famous doctor. People like them could crush us without even trying."

Celine's eyes were red.

"They found out about Andy's kidney failure. They promised a transplant within a week if you take the rescue."

Wanda pulled her son forward, tears streaming down her face. "Ms. Steele, please. I'll do anything. He's my only child. Please save Andy."

Andy was pale and painfully thin.

He wrapped his arms around my leg.

"Ms. Steele... I want to live."

Jayden hadn't changed.

He still knew exactly where to press.

And he was still just as ruthless.

I lit a cigarette. My voice came out hoarse. "My daughter died on this day."

Faye immediately nodded. "We know. After the rescue, we'll all visit Maya together."

"Please," Wanda sobbed. "You've saved so many children. Save Andy too. This is his only chance."

Before I could answer, an engine roared nearby.

A car pulled up in front of us.

The door opened.

Jayden stepped out, his sharp gaze locking onto my face.

A flicker of disgust crossed his face.

He didn't recognize me.

I hadn't cared about my appearance in years. Ten years had passed. I was no longer the professor people admired—the woman with light in her eyes.

Now I wore a worn-out leather jacket that hadn't been washed in days. Years of cold wind had left my face rough and lined.

Standing next to his tailored suit and polished shoes, I probably looked like dirt.

"So you're the only person who's ever made it through Deadman's Pass unharmed?"

A faint, mocking smile touched his lips.

"Do you know what five million dollars can buy? A hundred lives like yours."

I took another drag from my cigarette.

I didn't answer.

The passenger door opened.

Cassidy stepped out. Her eyes swept over me.

Her expression stayed calm, but the superiority in her voice was impossible to miss.

"My husband may sound harsh, but he's right. You work all year and make what? Twenty, thirty thousand? Five million won't just change your life. It'll put you in a completely different league. Are you really going to keep being stubborn?"

I smiled. "My answer hasn't changed."

"Why?"

"I don't have a reason."

Jayden's patience vanished. His gaze turned cold. "I don't believe that. Everyone has a reason. If you're refusing, it's because my offer isn't high enough."

Cassidy's expression darkened. "Don't get greedy. Greedy people end up with nothing. People like you, trapped in poverty, don't you want status? Success? I can give you all of it. Money. Influence. Power.

"Not just for you. For your husband too. Any position in Aster City—name it. Your children can attend the best schools. Study overseas. I'll pay for their wedding, their future, everything."

I let out a quiet laugh. "Wedding? Children?"

I remembered something Maya once told me.

When she was little, she watched a cartoon where grown-up kids got married and left their parents behind.

She'd cried and buried herself in my arms.

"Mom, I'm never getting married. Then when you and Dad get old, I can stay with you forever."

Someone from the crew answered before I could.

"Her husband cheated on her. Her daughter's dead."

Jayden raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. The look he gave me said everything finally made sense.

"Your husband made the right choice. A woman cold enough to let someone die? Any random woman off the street would be more responsible than you.

"And your daughter died too."

He tilted his head.

"Let me guess. Was it your fault?"

My fists clenched.

I stared at him.

He didn't look away.

Instead, his voice grew even sharper. "When your daughter was dying, were you like this too? Cold. Stubborn. Unable to make a decision? Did your hesitation get her killed?"

"Shut up."

The words scraped out through gritted teeth.

The hatred surging through me was almost impossible to contain.

Cassidy immediately stepped in front of him. "Sorry. My husband is emotional."

Her tone was detached. "But you're a parent too. You should understand how desperate we are."

She checked her watch. "The blizzard arrives in thirty minutes. After that, the rescue becomes even more dangerous. Your life will be at risk too.

"Making us beg once or twice might be smart. Keep pushing, and it becomes stupidity.

"I want you on that road. Now."

When I didn't respond, Jayden suddenly pointed at Wanda. "You can keep refusing. But can you really abandon the people you've spent years with?

"If you offend me, her son will never get a kidney."

His gaze swept across the entire crew.

Cold.

Mocking.

Threatening.

"And unless you can guarantee none of them will ever get sick, no hospital in Aster will treat them.

"And no company will hire them."