The night grew deeper as a thick blanket of fog descended to shroud the black asphalt across the northern mountain region. The atmosphere surrounding the winding road was profoundly desolate, eerie, and practically devoid of any signs of life. To the left of the road, towering stone cliff walls rose rigidly high, while to the right, a pitch-black abyss stretched out wide without adequate guardrails, swallowing every beam of light attempting to pierce its depths.

Amidst the pitch-black night and a light drizzle beginning to dampen the windshield, a luxury sedan drove at a moderate speed. Behind the wheel, Aileen sat with an expression of absolute calm. Her face was illuminated by the dim glow of the dashboard lights, displaying a cold expression completely devoid of any trace of fear in her eyes.

She glanced toward the rearview mirror. Several hundred meters behind her, a pair of headlights from a black SUV appeared to be tailing her with aggressive intent. The glaring lights burned brightly, cutting through the night fog as though impatient to devour their prey.

It was Rehan's car. The man had swallowed the bait raw, blindly repeating the exact same rotten scenario from three years prior, down to the very place and time mirroring a dark destiny.

Inside the cabin of the speeding black SUV behind her, Rehan gripped his steering wheel with both hands slicked in cold sweat. His breathing came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving as he fought a cocktail of rage, desperation, and an ambition that had thoroughly corrupted his sanity. He glared at the rear of Aileen's sedan ahead with eyes blazing a furious red.

"You won't escape tonight, Aileen!" Rehan growled with consuming hatred, talking to himself inside his car. "All of this wealth belongs to me! If I have to destroy you a second time just to get those documents, then I'll do it!"

With trembling hands, Rehan grabbed his phone resting on the passenger seat. He dialed a secret number—the contact of the hired truck driver syndicate he had paid handsomely to execute this deadly plot.

The call connected after a few rings.

“Hello, Mr. Rehan? We’re on standby at the coordinate you specified,” a rough voice answered from the other end of the line.

Rehan spoke in a heavily emphasized whisper, trembling violently. "Listen to my instructions carefully! The target has entered the northern mountain pass. Bring your large truck out right now, block her path, and make sure her car gets sideswiped straight over the edge into the ravine!"

“Got it, boss. Per our old agreement. We’ll make it look like a fatal single-vehicle accident caused by driver negligence. Have the remaining balance ready tomorrow morning.”

Click. The call was terminated unilaterally.

Rehan tossed his phone haphazardly onto the car seat, letting out a short, hysterical laugh of sheer madness echoing inside the SUV cabin. He felt completely triumphant, convinced that within minutes, his wife would vanish forever and all corporate assets would fall into his hands without a single remnant left behind.

Yet, Rehan remained oblivious to one critical detail: tucked inside Aileen's coat pocket, a specialized encrypted phone linked directly to a military-grade security network burned bright with activity.

Aileen glanced briefly at the small screen of the encrypted phone resting on the center console. Green dots marking the positions of Damian's tactical protection team moved in precise formation around the mountain area, monitoring her every move from a safe distance.

The corners of Aileen's lips curved upward into a subtle, cold, and mocking smile.

"Go ahead, Rehan," Aileen whispered softly to herself inside the silent car cabin. "Enjoy these final seconds of illusory triumph inside your head. Because tonight, I am going to personally escort you straight to hell."

She continued driving her vehicle along curve after curve growing increasingly steep and sharp. The night fog grew denser, severely restricting forward visibility. Relying solely on her high-beam headlights, Aileen maintained a steady, unwavering grip on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, as her vehicle approached a sharp S-curve near the Wind Valley—the exact spot where her life had been ripped away three years ago—the atmosphere abruptly turned spine-chillingly ominous.

From the dark bend ahead, without flashing high beams so as not to startle its prey, a pair of massive, blindingly bright headlights snapped on forcefully, flooding Aileen's entire windshield.

BZZZTT!

The glare was so searingly bright it forced Aileen to blink rapidly to adjust her vision.

Behind that blinding radiance, a massive, heavy-duty dark truck hurtled forward at breakneck speed from the opposite direction. The truck deliberately veered across the middle of the road, rocketing straight toward Aileen's sedan without leaving an inch of room to evade.

SCREEECH! FRANTIC TIRE SCREAMS!

The giant truck slashed across the lane brutally, forcing Aileen to jerk her steering wheel hard to the left.

Crash!

Aileen's tires smashed against the wet asphalt edge. The vehicle slammed violently toward the roadside, halting right along the fragile guardrail line with its right tires dangling over empty air—precisely at the brink of the deep, pitch-black abyss.

Inside the tilted car cabin, Aileen felt a violent shock, yet she maintained her composure entirely. She drew a deep breath, feeling the biting night wind rushing through the cracked window glass.

Behind her, the black SUV driven by Rehan screeched to an abrupt halt with a piercing squeal of brakes. Its doors flew open roughly, and a frantic-faced man stepped out into the dark night—ready to close in on his prey trapped at the edge of the fatal precipice.