Chapter 3 The Ordeal I Went Through in a Freezer

My eyes were bloodshot as I shook my head and repeatedly slammed my elbows against the freezer door over and over, desperate to break free on my own.

Above me, Sam's expression darkened with fury. He loomed over the freezer where I was trapped and looked down at me with disdain. "Then stay in there until you know what you've done wrong. Don't call for me until you've learned your lesson."

Beside him, Nancy stood with a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips, though her voice trembled with false innocence. "Sam, I'm afraid… What if she tries to hurt me again tonight? Maybe I shouldn't stay here. I'll just go back home."

Sam glanced at her with visible concern. He called for his men, and soon, two heavy iron chains were brought in to secure the freezer. They seemed to be guarding against an extremely ferocious beast.

"Even if she dies in there tonight, she won't get out," he reassured Nancy. "You'll be safe. Sleep here, and tomorrow, after you leave, I'll let her out. Alright?"

That night, while Sam threw a lavish banquet to welcome Nancy back, everyone gathered on the first floor in celebration, their laughter drowning out my frantic cries for help.

Desperation fueled my strength as I pushed harder, and I finally toppled the freezer over with a loud crash. The sound echoed through the house, abruptly interrupting the party. Sam's face twisted with irritation.

"Katerina, it appears you have yet to realize you were wrong. Is this more of a cry for help here?

"You knew full well Nancy can't stand the cold, yet you made her take a cold shower. Did you ever stop to think about her? She's running a fever of nearly 40 degrees! Do you even care? If something happens to her, you'll be the murderer!

"Just stay here and reflect on yourself. When Nancy's fever goes down, you'll come out."

Without sparing me another glance, he turned away. Hence, he couldn't see the freezer had been switched to freezing mode, nor the scratches left from my desperate struggle inside.

My hands and feet were a mess of torn flesh, a mixture of blood and shredded skin quickly freezing to the wounds. I didn't even have time to feel the pain. I struggled to get Sam to look at me and kept making sounds.

"I'm sorry... I was wrong... Please, save me. I don't want to die."

However, he neither looked at me nor acknowledged my cries. He dismissed everyone else and retreated to the room, where he tended to Nancy.

By the next morning, her fever had subsided. She was full of energy and insisted they go out to celebrate.

At that time, I could no longer make a sound. All I could do was think of my grandmother repeatedly while summoning every bit of strength I had left to force my eyes to stay open.

Naturally, no one noticed me.

They joyfully packed their bags and booked flights to Nathlis.

Before leaving, Sam used the intercom to shout out to me in the basement. "We're going on a trip to Nathlis. You stay here and reflect on yourself.

"Do you see that? In my heart, you're not even worth as much as a servant. Don't even dream of competing with Nancy for my attention," he added disdainfully.

I couldn't even remember when I died. I just know that I held on for as long as I could, for what felt like forever, but in the end, no one came to check on me.

Flies began to gather as they were drawn to the blood stains on the dust cover. Their buzzing filled the air in a sickening hum.

The cleaning staff, after gathering their equipment and starting their shift, were hit by a foul odor the moment they stepped into the basement, causing them to cough uncontrollably.

It didn't even smell that bad, really. I was just a slab of frozen meat. Without fresh blood, there wasn't much of a stench at all.

One of the cleaners tried to unzip the dust cover but found that the zipper had slipped beneath the bottom of the freezer, which was caked in layers of sticky, congealed blood.

"This freezer's definitely broken, and the pork's gone completely rancid!" one of them said.

"Don't bother with it," another cleaner replied. "Didn't Mr. Whitaker say he was going to replace it anyway? Let's just take it out and throw it away."

One of them pulled out their phone and called Sam.

The intercom in the basement crackled to life shortly after.

"Just throw the damn freezer out if it's broken! Do you really need to ask me about something so trivial? And letting the meat rot like that, what are you all doing down there? Don't even bother coming to work tomorrow!"