Chapter 3 Erin's Scheme

Over and over, Erin would set me up. After my fathers punished me, they felt so sorry that they apologized for what happened, yet they would always believe Erin's next lie.

I couldn't understand it.

Why would they choose to believe a girl they’d only taken in three years ago over the daughter they’d raised for thirteen?

At some point, the cooling system in the cold storage had been switched on. The temperature kept dropping.

My body began to tremble and shiver.

My limbs were numb.

I looked up and stared at the dim light bulb.

My vision swam.

Just then, the door swung open.

I thought it might have been my fathers.

Instead, Erin walked in. Dressed in a pure white dress with hair sprawled down her back, she looked at me with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Are you alright, April?"

Her voice was so soft and angelic.

However, I could hear the malice lurking in her words.

When I spoke, my voice was so hoarse that I barely understood what I said. "It's you..."

She knelt down before me. "Of course, it's me. April, did you really think I went missing?"

She laughed.

Her smile grew eerie under the glow of the dim light bulb.

She reached out and plucked a strand of hair from where it clung to my cheek.

"I set everything up from the start. I poisoned my own snack and ate it. The doctor was bribed to say I suffered from food poisoning. I also arranged my own kidnapping."

"Why?"

She looked down at me from high above as she stood back up.

"Why? That's because they are my fathers. No one else can have any of their love."

Her face twisted with disgust.

"Who do you think you are? You're just the daughter of a dead woman. What right do you have to hog them for 13 years?"

"They're my fathers in the first place..."

She abruptly raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. "Shut up!"

My head snapped to the side. Blood dripped from my mouth as my lips were split.

She knelt down and grabbed my chin. "They're mine now, and you'll be dying soon. Once you're dead, you'll have nothing."

She then let go, stood back up, and clapped her hands once.

The door to the cold storage swung open once more.

Two men entered—both dressed in black, both wearing grins that made my stomach twist.

My heart sank.

"Erin, what are you doing?"

With a sweet smile, she replied, "You've always wanted to prove that you're innocent, right? Well, I'll make sure to thoroughly take your innocence away then."

She walked toward the doorway.

"Take good care of my sister."

The door was slammed shut.

The men walked over to me.

I desperately backed away until my back hit the wall. "No! Please don't..."

They refused to hear my pleas.

One of them grabbed my ankle.

I shrieked and kicked him with all the strength I could muster.

However, my body was too weak.

The poison had flared up once more, and with how long I had spent in this cold room, I could not even stand up on my own.

The other man pinned me down by the shoulders.

I struggled and fought. My fingernails scraped against his cheek.

He let out a curse and raised his hand to hit me.

At that moment, I reached for the phone in my pocket.

With the last shreds of my energy, I pulled it out and called Daniel.

The phone rang three times.

Then, the call was answered.

My voice was hoarse to the point of breaking. "Dad, save me..."