No More Winding Roads Ahead

The tour bus carrying my mother-in-law and my son went off a winding mountain road and flipped.
The entire vehicle was caught on a tree, suspended over the edge of a cliff, threatening to plummet at any moment.
My husband, Mark, was the captain of the nearest fire and rescue squad. But when the police called for help, they discovered hed taken his entire team off-duty to watch his old flames son compete in a school event.
In my first life, I had a friend physically drag him from that school to the scene, and he managed to save his mother and our son.
But because her son didn't win first place, his old flame felt humiliated and cut him off completely. Mark was also investigated and fired for dereliction of duty.
After his mother and our son were discharged from the hospital, he tied me and my friend up and threw us from that same cliff.
If it werent for you, he screamed, I wouldnt have lost everything!
This time, his old flame's son got his first-place trophy. But Mark would never have a reason to smile again.

1
The wail of sirens filled the air.
A sharp rap on my car window startled me.
Maam, have you called for help? an officer asked, his face etched with urgency.
I flinched, my head snapping up to take in the scene before me. For a moment, my mind was blank. Then it hit me. I was reborn.
In my last life, my mother-in-law had forgotten her scarf and called me to bring it to her. By the time I arrived, the tour bus had already left, so she told me to just follow behind them in my car.
I dont know what happened up ahead, but the bus suddenly swerved out of control and plunged over the side of the mountain.
Id frantically called my husband, but hed hung up on me with an annoyed sigh. When I called 911, the dispatcher told me Mark had taken his entire unit to a school event for Serena Gables son.
The officers voice pulled me back to the present. My hand tightened around my phone. The memory of my bones shattering on the rocks below was still a phantom pain in my limbs.
Seeing me frozen, the officer must have thought I was in shock. He pulled out his own phone to call for rescue.
The answer he received was the exact same one I had gotten before.
Just then, my phone rang. It was my mother-in-law.
Clara, you have to save us! Save me and Leo! she shrieked. My battery is about to die! Call my son! Tell him to come save us!
The officer leaned in. You have family on that bus?
Yes, my mother-in-law and my son. My husband, Mark Vance, is the captain of the nearest rescue squad.
Then call him! Now! Well contact other units in the meantime.
I dialed Marks number right there in front of the officer. It rang for a long time before he finally picked up. The voice on the other end was the one that haunted my nightmares. Didnt I tell you not to call me? Im cheering for Cody!
Mark, the bus your mom and Leo were on went over the cliff, I said, my voice tight with manufactured panic. Its caught on a tree, but it wont hold for long. You have to get here now!
Suddenly, Serenas soft voice was on the line. Clara, please, Im begging you. Cody doesnt have a father. Having Mark here to support him means the world. Please dont make him leave. I dont want to ruin this for my son.
Her voice grew thick with false tears. I know youve always been worried about us, but I promised you, I would never break up your family. You dont have to make up lies like this to get him to leave. Ill never contact him again after today, I swear.
Mark snatched the phone back, his voice thick with rage. Youd use my own mother and son in a lie? What kind of person are you? The more you act like this, the less I want to come home to you! Dont you dare bother me again today!
He was about to hang up when the officer took the phone from my hand. This is Officer Miller with the Westwood Police Department. Your wife is not lying. The situation here is critical. Ive already contacted your station, and they confirmed your entire unit is off-site while all other units are on active calls. Im ordering you to return with your team immediately. There are thirty-four lives hanging in the balance.
But the line just filled with more voicesMarks teammates, jeering in the background. Whos this guy, Cap? I know people at Westwood PD, never heard of a Miller.
Yeah, Clara, you keep Cap on a tight enough leash as it is. Cant you give him a break? And dont drag the whole squad into your drama. Well get written up for this!
Even the officers face flushed with anger.
I whispered to him, Please, just call another unit. That bus doesnt have much time.
In my last life, they hadnt believed me either. The school was close, and a friend of mine, David, worked nearby. Id called him in a panic. Hed run over and gotten the principal involved, which finally forced Mark and his team to respond.
But in the end, both David and I paid for it with our lives.
This time, I wouldnt drag another innocent person down with me.
Mark must have overheard me. Thats enough, Clara! he snarled through the phone. How many people are you going to involve in this? I know every fire chief and rescue captain in this area. You so much as call one of them, and Ill show you what happens to liars!

2
After he hung up, the officer was seething. Ill be damned if I let some petty squad captain play God!
He started making calls, his voice sharp and commanding.
I sighed. Mark could, and would, make this difficult. Hed worked at nearly every station in the county, and though he never got promoted, he had connections. He only got the captain position with the new rescue squad because theyd offered it to him upfront.
You should call a unit from further out, I urged. Otherwise, itll be too late.
I knew the timeline. Including rescue time, that bus had exactly forty minutes on that tree before it fell. Last time, even though Marks team arrived relatively quickly, his reckless focus on his family caused a shift that snapped a major branch. Half the passengers died.
Even without his interference, the bus had an hour, at best. A team from the next county would take over forty minutes to get here. It would be close, but it was the only chance to save anyone.
As if on cue, my phone rang again. It was Rick, from a nearby fire station. He was an old classmate of Marks and used to come over for dinner.
Clara, youre putting me in a tough spot, he said, his voice strained. You and Mark need to stop fighting like this.
Dispatch just sent us an alert, and then Mark called me himself. You cant be wasting state resources like this. Filing a false report is a serious crime.
The officer, enraged, snatched the phone. Im the one who called dispatch. This is Officer Miller, Westwood PD
Rick cut him off. Yeah, yeah, Mark told me about you. Said theres no Miller at Westwood. Tell Clara to stop the act. Im doing her a favor. Ive already canceled the alert.

3
My mother-in-law called again. The background was a cacophony of screams and prayers.
Help us! Did you call Mark or not?
I did, Mom. Hes not coming.
A torrent of abuse erupted from the phone. Useless! I never should have let Mark marry you! You cant do one simple thing right!
Then, Leos voice, sharp and accusing, cut through. Mommy, why are you so useless? If Serena was here, she would have made Daddy come save us!
My eyes burned, and tears spilled down my cheeks. This was the family I had given everything to maintain. A husband who only had eyes for another woman, a mother-in-law who despised me, and a sonmy own sonwho called someone else Mommy.
His grandmother had always preferred Serena, the gentle, stay-at-home type. I was an executive at a media firm. I had a career, clients to meet. I couldnt be at Marks beck and call every second of the day.
But for years, I was the one who paid for the house, the cars, the food on their table. And I never received a single word of thanks.
I had just wanted a happy family. When his mother was bedridden after surgery, I took a long leave of absence to care for her, even cleaning her bedpans. Her attitude had just started to soften when Serena reappeared with a son in tow.
My mother-in-law didn't just welcome them, she rented them an apartment in our neighborhood and invited them over for meals every single day. Serena won my son over with junk food and cheap toys until he saw me as the enemy. For a long time, he called her Mommy and called me by my first name.
Mark drained our savings to buy Serena and her son a large house.
Dont get the wrong idea, Clara, hed said. I owe her this. As my wife, its your duty to help me carry this burden.
I was furious, but for the sake of a love I thought we still had, and the memory of three happy years before our son was born, I endured it.
I endured it all, right up until the moment it cost me my life.
Suddenly, a rock hit my forehead. Warm blood streamed down my face. Several people, family members of the passengers, were rushing towards me, throwing whatever they could find.
My mom called me from the bus! She said your husband is the rescue captain! Why isnt he here?
He has no right to abandon his post! This is criminal negligence! If my mother dies, Ill make sure your whole family pays!
I scrambled back into my car, clutching my bleeding head, and tried to video call Mark. He declined it instantly and sent a text.
Stop playing games! You want me to divorce you? Is that it?
Then he blocked me.
I tried his teammates, and Serena. Blocked. All of them.
I called my mother-in-law one last time. Her phone was off.
It seems fate wants you gone, I thought grimly. I did my best.

4
The chaos outside intensified. A terrified scream cut through the noise. Its slipping! The bus is slipping!
I jumped out of my car and ran to the edge. No matter how much I hated them, I couldnt stand by and watch innocent people die.
As a last resort, I called David.
Before I could even speak, he answered, his voice urgent. Im almost there with a chopper! Just hold on!
I was stunned. He hung up before I could ask any questions.
Moments later, a helicopter appeared in the sky, flying directly over the dangling bus. David was the first one down the rope. He immediately began the rescue. I could see his equipment wasnt standard-issue, and someone in the helicopter was gesturing, directing him.
But it was a ray of hope.
I heard my mother-in-law shouting from the back of the bus. Save me first! Are you deaf? Im an old woman, save me first!
But I also heard the person in the helicopter yelling to David over the rotors, Follow my instructions, or the whole bus will go down!
Slowly, carefully, David began pulling people up, one by one. We all watched from the roadside, holding our breath.
Twenty minutes later, the roar of more helicopters filled the air. Professional rescue teams had finally arrived.
Tears of relief streamed down my face. All around me, family members were hugging and crying. Theyre saved! Theyre saved!
I glanced at the time on my phone and my heart lurched. There were only twenty minutes left before the bus would fall. Last time, with only two helicopters and Marks reckless interference, many lives were lost. But this time, with so many rescuers, maybe it would be enough.
I watched the clock, my stomach in knots. The seconds ticked by.
With five minutes left, everyone had been evacuated except for my mother-in-law and Leo, who were at the very back. A rescuer lowered a harness, telling her to secure herself and the boy.
But she threw a fit. What kind of service is this? Why do we have to do it ourselves? Dont just stand there, get down here and strap us in! What if we do it wrong and fall? Will you take responsibility?
But the bus was tilted at such a precarious angle that the weight of another person would send it over the edge. The rescuer pleaded with her, but she just kept arguing.
And as they argued, the countdown on my phone hit zero.
A collective shriek pierced the air as the bus finally broke free and plunged into the abyss, taking my mother-in-law and my son with it.
David was standing beside me now. He had Mark as a friend on his social media and opened his profile for me to see.
A video had been posted one minute ago.
It showed Mark, Serena, and Cody, holding a first-place trophy, all of them beaming with joy.
The caption read: [So proud of my boy!]
Just then, Officer Miller walked over, his face grim. You should tell your husband to come and collect the bodies.
I just showed him the red exclamation mark on my phone screen, indicating I was still blocked.
His face hardened. Fine, he said, his voice like ice. Ill go pick him up in my squad car myself.

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