And then came a sharp click.
Hector turned around and dropped to his knees in the direction Janet had run. “Janet, the key… it’s broken!”
Janet’s face went pale. She stumbled toward the door, her voice rising. “What do you mean it’s broken?! Call the locksmith, now!”
By then, warm blood had already pooled across the cold storage floor. My daughter’s body was starting to stiffen in my arms.
“Janet! He hasn’t even admitted what he did! You said this would be a chance to fix his rebellious behavior, there were so many people watching!
“And what about everything I went through in the ICU? Are you just going to forget all that? You promised me an explanation!”
Janet froze. She raised a hand to stop the person who was about to run for the spare key.
Then, turning back to the door, she began pounding on it and shouting at me.
There was a desperate plea in her voice. “Yoseph, can’t you just admit you were wrong? For the sake of our child, please?”
If you do, I’ll open the door right now. You don’t want the baby to be hurt, do you? Please… can’t you just let go of your pride?”
The blood was draining too fast. My vision dimmed, my body growing cold.
I collapsed in the pool of blood, my eyes fixed on Janet outside the door. “Janet! Let me out! My dad… he’ll kill you…”
Hector gave me a slight smirk, but his voice stayed weepy and self-righteous. “Yoseph, are you that delusional? Mr. Gardner died six months ago. The Gardner Family’s been gone since then! Just admit it, no one’s coming for you.”
Then the voices outside turned ugly.
“What a joke! He still thinks he can hurt Janet? His father’s probably burning in hell! He’s in no shape to harm anyone!”
Laughter followed. Someone pulled at Janet’s sleeve.
“Janet, this guy’s not worth your mercy. The baby is fine. Let him stay in there and think about what he’s done.”
“Exactly! After how he treated Hector, don’t you dare go soft!”
Blood had already flooded the cold floor. They couldn’t see it, but I could feel it; my daughter was gone.
I broke down, wailing and screaming.
Janet paced anxiously outside the door. When she turned to look at me again, her eyes held a trace of helplessness.
“Yoseph, stop clinging to hope that your father will come save you. He’s gone. He’s really gone. Just admit you were wrong, okay? Say it, ‘I was wrong’ and I’ll let you out!”
She raised her voice. “Give it up! Your father’s not coming for you this time!”
Just as her words faded, the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash.
A team of fully armed mercenaries stormed in.
A deep, authoritative voice rang out from beyond the door. “Who said his father wouldn’t come to save him?”
