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For my best friend's birthday, the five of us chartered a helicopter to the snowy mountains to catch the sunrise. Mid-flight, the pilot suddenly screamed at us that the hydraulics were failing and we had to jump immediately. My childhood friend, Julian, shoved a parachute pack into my arms. "Elara, you jump first! You're the lightest!" My blood brother, Cassius, fastened the straps against my chest and pushed me toward the open door. "I know you're terrified of heights. Just close your eyes and jump, we'll be right behind you!" Serena, my best friend and the pampered mafia princess they all adored, stood in the corner, wiping away fake tears and nodding at me encouragingly. Then, Dante, the mafia Don I had loved for seven years, gently squeezed my trembling hand. "I made a promise to your father," he murmured, his dark eyes locked onto mine. "I promised I would always let you walk ahead of me." Trusting them with my life, I bit my lip, closed my eyes, and threw myself into the freezing abyss. The moment the howling wind tore at my ears, I pulled the ripcord. But a life-saving canopy didn't bloom above me. Instead, a shower of colorful confetti exploded into the freezing air, followed by a mocking banner that snapped violently in the wind: [Acrophobia Desensitization Challenge: SUCCESS!] Through my earpiece, their deafening laughter echoed from the perfectly safe cabin. Julian was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "I told you! Compared to her fear of heights, she's definitely more afraid of dying!" Then came Dante's voice. "Don't be angry, Elara. We're just playing a little joke on you. The backup chute is on the left ring behind your back. We'll come find you in a minute." Trembling, I reached behind me, my fingers frantically clawing at the left side of the pack. There was no metal ring. The entire pack was completely hollow, stuffed with nothing but cheap white packing foam. They succeeded. I had truly conquered my paralyzing fear of heights. The only price was that I would never live to see tomorrow's sunrise.
Contents
A Fatal Prank: The Boss Weeps Chapter 1
For my best friend's birthday, the five of us chartered a helicopter to the snowy mountains to catch the sunrise.
Mid-flight, the pilot suddenly screamed at us that the hydraulics were failing and we had to jump immediately.
My childhood friend, Julian, shoved a parachute pack into my arms. "Elara, you jump first! You're the lightest!"
My blood brother, Cassius, fastened the straps against my chest and pushed me toward the open door. "I know you're terrified of heights. Just close your eyes and jump, we'll be right behind you!"
Serena, my best friend and the pampered mafia princess they all adored, stood in the corner, wiping away fake tears and nodding at me encouragingly.
Then, Dante, the mafia Don I had loved for seven years, gently squeezed my trembling hand.
"I made a promise to your father," he murmured, his dark eyes locked onto mine. "I promised I would always let you walk ahead of me."
Trusting them with my life, I bit my lip, closed my eyes, and threw myself into the freezing abyss.
The moment the howling wind tore at my ears, I pulled the ripcord.
But a life-saving canopy didn't bloom above me.
Instead, a shower of colorful confetti exploded into the freezing air, followed by a mocking banner that snapped violently in the wind: [Acrophobia Desensitization Challenge: SUCCESS!]
Through my earpiece, their deafening laughter echoed from the perfectly safe cabin.
Julian was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "I told you! Compared to her fear of heights, she's definitely more afraid of dying!"
Then came Dante's voice. "Don't be angry, Elara. We're just playing a little joke on you. The backup chute is on the left ring behind your back. We'll come find you in a minute."
Trembling, I reached behind me, my fingers frantically clawing at the left side of the pack.
There was no metal ring.
The entire pack was completely hollow, stuffed with nothing but cheap white packing foam.
They succeeded.
I had truly conquered my paralyzing fear of heights.
The only price was that I would never live to see tomorrow's sunrise.
Chapter 1
Elara POV
"It's empty!" I screamed in despair into the microphone, facing the biting wind.
The weightlessness of the freefall violently yanked at my internal organs. The chill of the snowy mountains sliced through my windpipe like a razor.
Only a few seconds of static answered me through the earpiece.
Then came Julian's heartless laughter.
"Elara, you can't even come up with a decent lie to avoid a jump?" His voice, transmitted from thousands of feet above, dripped with condescending mockery.
I frantically clawed at my back.
My fingers scraped against the rough canvas, my nails bending backward until harsh streaks of blood seeped out.
There was really nothing.
Only a soft wad of packing foam.
"Cassius..." my voice trembled violently, choked with tears. "Brother, save me. I can't find the ring. The pack is empty!"
A cold, impatient snort came through the radio from Cassius.
"We watched you put that pack on with our own eyes. How could it be empty?" he reprimanded harshly. "When are you going to drop this pathetic, attention-seeking act? If Serena hadn't suggested this sink-or-swim method to cure you, were you planning to drag the family down forever?"
His every word hit me like a sledgehammer, smashing into my rapidly freezing body.
My tears were instantly dried by the wind. My body fell like a broken ragdoll, plummeting straight toward the black canopy of the primeval forest.
Right on cue, Serena's soft, sweet voice chimed in.
"Elara, just close your eyes and feel the wind, okay? This is a really wonderful birthday gift, and I hope you can enjoy it with me."
I kept my eyes wide open.
The cold, jagged branches of the deadwoods were rapidly expanding in my vision.
"Dante."
I called out to the last person. The name of the man I had loved for seven years.
"Save me."
Dante sighed heavily on the other end, exactly like a man coaxing a deeply unreasonable child.
"Enough, Elara," his tone revealed absolute iciness. "The tracker shows you're about to land in the safe zone of the forest. Send a flare when you touch down, and we'll come pick you up immediately. Be a good girl and don't ruin Serena's mood."
The communication channel was unilaterally cut by him.
In the last second, the sound of the wind completely stopped.
A massive tree trunk pierced straight through my chest.
The sound of bones shattering was exceptionally crisp in the dead silence of the snowy abyss.
There was no pain at all.
Because the speed was too fast. I just felt my body become light, like a wisp of smoke.
At the exact moment my consciousness detached, I saw my own broken body. Like a violently pinned butterfly, I was suspended on a few sharp, barren branches.
Blood dripped down the trunk, smashing into the pristine white snow and melting horrifying, dark red holes.
My soul drifted upward slowly, passing through the clouds, until I returned to the helicopter that was supposedly 'failing and crashing.'
There was no smoke in the cabin.
No warning lights were flashing.
The pilot who had just been screaming at us took off his headset, smiling as he accepted a thick stack of cash handed over by Julian.
"Brilliant acting, bosses," the pilot flattered. "That girl's face went completely pale when she jumped."
Julian smirked triumphantly. "If we didn't force her hand, she wouldn't even dare to stand on a second-floor balcony."
Serena held a cup of hot coffee, leaning timidly against Cassius's side. "Do you think Elara was really crying? I'm a little worried about her."
Cassius patted her hair gently. "Let her cry. It's better than her using her fear of heights as an excuse to monopolize Dante all day."
Dante sat in the outermost seat, holding the blinking red tracker in his hand.
He glanced at the screen, confirming the red dot had stopped at the edge of the primeval forest.
Carelessly, he pressed the comms button.
"Elara."
"Report back if you've landed safely."
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