I clutched my phone so tightly the edges nearly cracked.
At last, I reached him, collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. Tilting my head up, I gasped, “I… I walked out… let me go…”
Daniel looked down at me, lips curling into a cruel smile. “See? You can walk. So why didn’t you let Vivian in the elevator earlier?”
Before I could react, he suddenly kicked me hard in the stomach!
“Ah—!” Agony ripped through my body. Like a ragdoll, I was hurled back into the freezer, crashing against the icy wall.
“Daniel! You bastard! You broke your word!” I clutched my belly, convulsing in pain, tears mingling with cold sweat.
Vivian giggled sweetly in his arms. “Sister, is that all it takes to break you? Your pain is nothing compared to the injustice I’ve suffered.”
Summoning my last strength, I hurled my phone at Daniel.
He dodged easily. The phone skidded onto the floor outside the freezer. Its screen glowed—showing a call had been connected.
Once, someone had told me:
No matter what happens, just call me—I’ll come right away.
The faint glow of the phone flickered in the freezing air like a dying star.
Did you see it? Did you hear me? Please… save me…
The chill stabbed into my bones like countless needles. My body shook like a leaf in the wind.
Daniel glared down at me, his tone as sharp as ice. “Stop pretending to die. Crawl over here right now and bow to Vivian.”
I stared at the sight of him holding Vivian, lips pressed into a rigid line.
My heart was already frozen. Every word out of his mouth was a cruel joke. I would never believe him again.
Vivian wrapped her arm around Daniel’s, shooting me a smug glance as she spoke in a falsely kind tone. “Mr. Miller, let it go. People might say I’m abusing your wife.”
“No.” Daniel patted her hand, his voice terrifyingly firm. “I have to get justice for you.”
Vivian’s face lit up, rubbing against him affectionately. “Darling, you’re so good to me.”
The sight seared my eyes, my trembling only growing worse.
I didn’t know if it was the cold, or my heart breaking completely.
Forcing myself up from the ground, my lower body numb as if chained by iron, every move weighed a thousand pounds.
Instinctively, I stroked my swollen belly, trying to share warmth with my baby. But the chill had long stolen the heat from my hands.
“Emma Carter, stop putting on that pitiful act.” Daniel’s voice lashed out like a whip.
“Don’t think you can win sympathy with that look. Not from me. Get on your knees, apologize to Vivian, and maybe I’ll let you live.”
I lifted my head, eyes frozen over with cold fury, and spat out two words: “Dream on.”
“You dare!” Fire blazed in Daniel’s eyes. He shouted, “Men!”
Two security guards in suits entered, each carrying a heavy bucket dripping with condensation.
“Make sure she learns her lesson!” Daniel barked.
They seized me—one pinning my arms, the other lifting the bucket—then dumped the icy water straight over my head.
The freezing torrent drenched me, seeping through my thin clothes, pressing against my skin like blocks of ice.
