Chapter 6 - The Mountain Keeps Witnesses
The lift was not graceful. Survival rarely is. Gabriel shielded me from the wind with his body as the rope tightened. Pain tore through me when the harness took weight, but I stayed conscious because his voice kept cutting through the rotor thunder.
“Look at me. Breathe with me. Not the cliff. Me.”
I looked at him.
The helicopter rose just enough to clear the ledge, and the mountain dropped away beneath us. For one terrifying second, I saw the space Michael had meant for me to vanish into. Then the rescue crew pulled us toward the open side door, hands reaching, faces focused, no one treating me like a miracle because professionals understand miracles still need procedure.
Inside, a medic wrapped heated blankets around me and placed monitoring equipment against my belly. I heard the baby’s heartbeat through the roar. Fast. Alive. Real. I sobbed so hard the medic had to remind me to breathe.
On the ridge below, park rangers and law enforcement reached Michael and Ashley. Michael tried to point toward the helicopter like a grieving husband rescued from confusion. Ashley stood a few feet away, arms wrapped around herself, no longer touching him.
Gabriel leaned near the open door, watching them.
“He said I fell,” I whispered.
Gabriel looked at me. “Did he?”
“No.”
“Then say it again.”
I understood what he was doing. Not for drama. For the medic’s recorder. For the report. For the first clean line of truth before Michael could build a lie around my injuries.
“My husband pushed me,” I said. “Ashley was with him. They talked about the insurance money.”
The medic’s face changed, but her hands stayed steady.
May you like
Gabriel nodded once.
“The mountain heard you,” he said. “Now the record does too.”
