"The engine’s in bad shape too. And on top of that, there’s a slight fuel leak."
My mom stiffened. "That’s impossible!" she blurted. "My husband just took this car in for maintenance a few days ago. How could it have all these issues?"
The mechanic gave a tired sigh. "I’m just telling you what I found, ma'am. If you don’t believe me, take it to another shop. But I’m warning you—this car isn’t safe to drive."
My mom still looked like she wanted to argue, but I stopped her. Instead, I turned to the mechanic and said, "Just fix it. As soon as possible, please."
I looked at my mom, my expression complicated. "Mom, do you remember the life insurance Dad took out on us a while back?"
"I thought it was strange at the time—why would he suddenly buy something like that? But now, it all makes sense..."
Before I could finish, my mom cut me off sharply. Her face had gone pale. Without another word, she pulled out her phone and stepped outside the repair shop, dialing my dad.
That was enough for me. As long as she started to doubt him, that was all I needed. But just then, the sound of an engine roared in the distance.
I turned my head and saw a black van speeding toward the repair shop.
Something about it felt eerily familiar.
Then, in an instant, it hit me—this was the same black van that had caused our accident in my past life.
And the driver? It was none other than my dad’s mistress, Eden Watson.
"Mom, watch out!" I shouted, running full speed to reach her.
Yet, it was too late. With a sickening thud, I watched in horror as my mom’s body was flung into the air.
The van never slowed down. It sped off into the distance, vanishing as if nothing had happened.
My mom collapsed in a pool of blood, unconscious.
I sobbed as I dialed emergency services, my hands shaking so badly I could barely press the buttons. At the same time, I reported everything to the police.
The ambulance arrived quickly. Inside, I trembled uncontrollably, clutching my mom’s hand as if I could anchor her to life.
Panic consumed me, but beneath it burned something darker—a seething, unrelenting hatred.
Monsters. My dad and his mistress, Eden, were nothing but monsters.
I thought that by avoiding the highway, my mom and I could finally escape this nightmare. But I never imagined Eden had been tailing us the entire time.