Chapter 1 – The Edge of Forever
The ocean roared beneath the cliffs like it was hungry.
Violent waves slammed against the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below the marble terrace of the Ashcroft Estate, sending white foam high into the air. Thunder rolled across the dark sky while guests inside the grand ballroom laughed, drank champagne, and celebrated the Ashcroft family's annual charity gala.
No one noticed the woman running toward the terrace.
Not until they heard her scream.
"Somebody help! Please!"
Grace Ashcroft stumbled onto the rain-soaked marble floor, one hand clutching her swollen stomach while the other desperately reached for the stone railing.
She was twenty-seven years old.
Twenty-two weeks pregnant.
Carrying quintuplets.
The doctors had warned her to avoid stress at all costs.
Tonight had become nothing but stress.
Her foot slipped on the wet marble.
The cracked railing gave way beneath her weight.
Everything happened in a heartbeat.
The stone shattered.
Grace's body pitched forward over the edge.
She managed to grab a broken section of iron railing with both hands, her entire body dangling over the cliff.
A terrified scream escaped her lips.
"No... no..."
Rain drenched her hair as icy wind whipped around her.
Below, the waves crashed against the rocks like they were waiting for her to fall.
Inside the ballroom, crystal glasses shattered as several guests rushed toward the terrace doors.
Someone screamed.
Someone else yelled for security.
Then a woman in a crimson evening gown pushed through the crowd.
Rosa Martinez.
Grace's closest friend.
Without thinking twice, Rosa dropped to her knees and crawled across the rain-slick marble until she reached the broken edge.
"Grace!"
"I'm here!" Grace cried, her voice breaking. "Please don't let me fall!"
"I'm not going anywhere."
Rosa stretched herself dangerously close to the edge and grabbed Grace's wrist with both hands.
"I've got you."
Grace let out a sob of relief.
"Don't let go..."
"I won't."
Every muscle in Rosa's arms strained as she tried pulling Grace upward.
But Grace wasn't alone anymore.
Five babies.
Her pregnancy had made lifting her nearly impossible.
"I need help!" Rosa screamed over the wind.
"Someone help us!"
Guests hesitated.
No one wanted to crawl that close to the collapsing terrace.
Then slow footsteps echoed across the marble.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The sound was calm.
Unhurried.
Almost elegant.
Grace looked up through rain-soaked hair.
"Eleanor..."
Eleanor Ashcroft.
Daniel's mother.
The elegant matriarch of the Ashcroft empire stood beneath a black umbrella, perfectly composed despite the storm.
Not a single strand of silver hair had escaped her flawless hairstyle.
Her diamond necklace sparkled beneath flashes of lightning.
She looked down at Grace with eyes colder than the ocean below.
For several long seconds...
She said nothing.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't a kind smile.
It was the smile of someone watching a problem solve itself.
Rosa stared at her in disbelief.
"Eleanor!"
"Help us!"
Instead of moving...
Eleanor slowly lowered the umbrella.
The rain soaked her expensive dress.
She didn't seem to notice.
Her voice remained calm.
"Let her fall."
The words froze everyone.
Rosa blinked.
"...What?"
"You heard me."
Grace's fingers tightened around the broken railing.
"Eleanor..."
The older woman looked directly into Grace's frightened eyes.
"You never belonged in this family."
Grace couldn't understand.
"What are you talking about?"
"You should have disappeared years ago."
Rosa's face turned pale.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Eleanor ignored her.
She stepped closer to the broken edge until she stood only inches from Grace's trembling hands.
"If you fall tonight..."
She looked at Grace's stomach.
"...every problem disappears."
Grace felt as though the air had vanished from her lungs.
"My babies..."
Eleanor's expression didn't change.
"They were never meant to exist."
Rosa shouted furiously.
"She's carrying your grandchildren!"
"No."
Eleanor's voice was sharp enough to cut glass.
"She's carrying the end of everything we've built."
Grace stared at her mother-in-law in horror.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
Lightning illuminated Eleanor's face.
"But you'll understand too late."
Behind them, frightened whispers spread among the guests.
"Did she really say that?"
"Oh my God..."
"Someone call the police."
Several people secretly raised their phones and began recording.
Others simply stood frozen.
No one could believe what they were witnessing.
Rosa dug her heels into the marble and pulled harder.
"Grace!"
"Give me your other hand!"
"I can't!"
Grace cried.
"If I let go I'll fall!"
Rosa looked over her shoulder.
"Somebody help me!"
Finally, two security guards rushed forward.
Before they reached the terrace—
A deep male voice echoed behind them.
"Stop."
Every head turned.
Daniel Ashcroft stood in the doorway.
His black tuxedo was soaked from the rain.
His usually perfect hair hung over his forehead.
His expression was unreadable.
Not panic.
Not sadness.
Nothing.
Grace felt tears stream down her face.
"Daniel..."
Her husband.
The man who had promised to protect her forever.
"You came."
Daniel slowly walked toward the broken terrace.
Each step echoed louder than the thunder.
Rosa looked relieved.
"Thank God."
"Help me pull her up."
Daniel didn't answer.
He simply stopped a few feet away.
Grace reached toward him.
"Please..."
"Our babies..."
For a long moment, he simply stared at her.
Then his eyes shifted to her swollen belly.
Something changed in his face.
Not hatred.
Something much more complicated.
Regret.
Pain.
Fear.
Finally he spoke.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I never wanted this."
Grace frowned.
"What?"
"I never wanted these babies."
Silence swallowed the terrace.
Rosa looked at him as though she didn't recognize him.
"Daniel..."
"What are you saying?"
He didn't answer.
Instead...
He reached inside his tuxedo jacket.
Guests gasped.
Several people instinctively stepped backward.
Slowly...
Daniel pulled out a long silver hunting knife.
Its polished blade reflected flashes of lightning.
Grace felt every ounce of hope disappear.
"No..."
Rosa shook her head violently.
"No, Daniel."
"Don't do this."
Eleanor folded her arms.
For the first time all evening...
She smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Finish it."
Several women screamed.
One guest yelled,
"Call the police!"
Another shouted,
"Somebody stop him!"
But no one moved.
Daniel stepped closer.
One step.
Then another.
Rain dripped from the tip of the knife.
Grace's breathing became ragged.
"Daniel..."
She couldn't stop crying.
"We're your family."
His hand tightened around the knife.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain!"
"I can't."
"You owe me that much!"
Daniel looked around at the dozens of terrified faces watching from the ballroom.
His breathing became uneven.
His eyes weren't focused on Grace anymore.
They were scanning the darkness beyond the estate.
The surrounding forest.
The cliffs.
The rooftops.
As though...
He expected someone else to appear.
Rosa noticed it.
"What are you looking at?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he raised the knife.
Guests screamed.
Grace squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm sorry..."
Daniel whispered.
No one knew whether he was speaking to Grace...
Or to someone else.
The knife began to descend—
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And at that exact second...
A deafening gunshot exploded across the estate.
