My Husband Gave My Anniversary Necklace to His First Love—So I Left Without Mentioning the Baby / Chapter 24 / 50

Chapter 24 - The Collision on Route 1

The impact sent the heavy Maybach spinning sideways across the slick asphalt. For a heart-stopping second, the world tilted on its axis as the tires lost traction, hydroplaning over a sheet of standing water. I threw my arms around Julian, pressing my entire body over his carrier to protect him from the violent G-forces as the car fishtailed dangerously close to the rocky drop-off overlooking the churning Atlantic.

Adrien’s hands flew across the steering wheel with expert precision, counter-steering into the skid, his eyes locked on the road ahead. With a roar of the supercharged engine, he regained control, snapping the car back into the correct lane just as the pursuing SUV tried to ram us off the road a second time.

"Are you hit?" Adrien shouted over the screaming wind and the screech of rubber.

"We're fine! Keep driving!" I yelled back, checking Julian. He let out a soft whimper at the sudden motion, but otherwise remained unharmed, his little hand clutching tightly to the edge of his blanket.

"They're trying to run us off the cliff," Adrien said, his knuckles white against the leather steering wheel. "We need to lose them before we hit the dead-end bridge at Cape Arundel."

"Is there an alternate route?" I asked, looking out the rain-streaked window at the dark, dense pine forest lining the highway.

"Only one. The old logging road about two miles up," Adrien replied, his eyes narrowing as he checked the side mirror. "It's unpaved, narrow, and choked with mud from the storm, but it leads straight through the reserve to the interstate. If we take it, their heavy SUV won't be able to follow us through the tight timber trails."

"Do it," I said firmly.

Two miles ahead, a rusted wooden sign marking the entrance to the state forest flashed past in the headlights. Without slowing down, Adrien jerked the steering wheel hard to the right. The Maybach left the paved highway, tearing off the asphalt and plunging onto the muddy, uneven terrain of the forest track.

Branches whipped against the side of the car like cracking whips, leaving white scratches along the pristine black paint. The SUV behind us tried to follow, but its heavy chassis was too wide for the narrow gap between the ancient oak trees. We heard a loud, grinding screech of metal against timber as the pursuer slammed into a tree trunk, getting wedged tight in the narrow pass.