Chapter 26

**** Alyssa ****

As I approach the bridge, I release my seatbelt and plant my foot again, aiming for the railing two-thirds of the way across the bridge. Just as the car is about to crash through the barrier, I shove the door wide open and leap, rolling further from the vehicle as I painfully hit the hard ground. Hearing the crunch as the car collides with the metal, I flip over and watch as the car does exactly as I hoped. The inertia pushed it through the old railing and off the side of the bridge. It plummets to the river below, ending in a loud splash.

I pull my bruised, scrapped, and aching self up and push on; if they see me, the whole trick is over. I need them to think I lost control of the car and went down with it or deliberately chose to crash and go over. Either way, I want them to think I'm gone. I need them to think I'm gone. After my last escape attempt, I told him I'd rather die than continue living with him. That conversation replayed in my mind many times over, and