Chapter 2

Before I could finish reading, the screen flipped away, and I could no longer read the rest of the text.

All I saw was Jaiden suppressing the sympathy in his eyes. His expression turned cold as he snatched the bag of money from my hand.

"You took too long to bring the cash. If you want to save your brother, jump in there."

I looked where he was pointing and saw a murky, foul-smelling wastewater pit.

In the past, this kind of suffering wouldn't have fazed me.

During the years I was held by the traffickers, I had grown used to the beatings, the torture, the freezing water, and the bitter cold.

But now, my late-stage stomach cancer had left me so incredibly weak that my body simply couldn't handle the strain. The slightest shock could make me vomit blood and pass out.

Jaiden's face darkened further at my hesitation. He pulled a bloody, severed finger from his pocket and tossed it at my feet. "Do it, or your brother dies!"

I stared at the finger and realized instantly that it was plastic. Yet, I still nodded. "Okay."

During all the years I was held by traffickers, I had prayed every day for my family to find me. Especially Darnell.

Because, for as long as I could remember, he was the only one who cared for me.

Mom was permanently depressed, and Dad was a workaholic who was never home. My entire childhood had been spent with Darnell watching over me and protecting me.

He had been my only anchor in the dark, the one last shred of hope I clung to.

So that day, whether he was actively deceiving me or just trying to appease Amber, it didn't matter. If it meant seeing him accept me as his sister again before I died, I would do anything.

With a loud splash, I dived headfirst into the wastewater.

For some reason, even though it was the height of summer, the water felt like ice.

The moment I hit the water, a suffocating pressure squeezed my chest.

"Darnell!"

Through the haze, I heard a sweet, high-pitched voice.

It was Amber Huff, my adopted sister.

She wore an expensive, light-colored dress and delicate stiletto heels. Her wavy hair framed a perfect, hourglass figure.

She didn't even walk in herself. A bodyguard carried her through the door like a princess.

"Ugh, it's filthy in here! Darnell, catch me!"

When I had collapsed weakly against the iron gate earlier, Darnell hadn't even blinked. But the moment Amber called out, he dashed forward without a second thought.

He reached out and gently took her from the bodyguard's arms.

"What are you doing here? Your health is already frail. You shouldn't be breathing in all this dust. What if something happens to you?" he chided, but his eyes were full of adoration as he held her a little tighter.

"I missed you! Besides, didn't you say that she fell for the abduction story and agreed to pay the ransom? I just couldn't wait to see how low your real sister would stoop for you."

"Shh…" Darnell immediately covered her mouth. "Keep it down! She's right there in the wastewater pit. I might not care for her, but she's still a Huff. I don't want to push things too far."

Amber glanced in the direction he pointed. When she made out my silhouette in the pit, a flicker of surprise crossed her face. "You actually threw her in there? I was only joking around. I can't believe you took me seriously!"

The biting cold wrapped around me like a shroud.

Shaking uncontrollably, I clung desperately to the ladder at the side of the pit just to keep from sinking.

Amber walked over and looked down at me struggling in the freezing water. Then, in a voice meant only for my ears, she whispered, "How is it? Fun? I planned this whole game, you know. I can't help it. My heart condition means that the slightest stress can kill me, so Darnell does whatever I want."

With that, she reached out and flipped the water valve switch next to the pit.

Another torrent of freezing water rushed in, sending the temperature plummeting even further.

Amber watched with immense satisfaction as I shivered violently in the icy depths, my face turning blue.

Her smile grew colder, sharper. "Why did you have to come back and ruin my life? Before you showed up, everyone treated me like the true heiress of the Huff family, spoiling me. But the minute you came back, everyone started reminding me that I'm just adopted.

"Actually, I've known for a while that you have late-stage stomach cancer and don't have long to live. So I figured, why not have Darnell fake an abduction to see if you'd risk your life for him? I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to actually trade your life for his."

She giggled behind her hand. Her laughter pierced my eardrums like needles.

"Oh, by the way, Darnell knew exactly where the traffickers were hiding you a long time ago. He deliberately delayed looking for you. He told me he hated you. He said someone tainted by human traffickers didn't deserve to be a Huff."