Chapter 2

Anisa bent down to check the bottom of her shoe, then scraped it against the ground with disgust. "What terrible luck. My shoe is dirty now."

Anthony had witnessed the whole thing clearly from above. His body began to convulse violently, and his eyes became bloodshot.

I turned and reached for the steel cable on the outside of the basket. "Dad, I'm going down to get the backup pills."

Anthony grabbed my wrist and shook his head. He clamped down on my wrist with surprising strength, stronger than a 70-year-old sick man should have had. He didn't want me to take the risk.

At that moment, a sharp electronic beep sounded from below. A black remote control appeared in Anisa's hand. "Let me show you what weightlessness feels like."

The basket's brake was released remotely. Without warning, the metal cage fell into free fall from nearly 100 feet in the air. My stomach shot up into my throat, and all I could hear was the wind and the chains shrieking as they rattled wildly.

When the cage was about 33 feet from the ground, it stopped abruptly. The sudden inertia hurled Anthony and me forward like rag dolls.

Anthony's forehead slammed hard against the iron railing, and blood gushed out immediately from the wound. His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. Then his body went limp, and he passed out. His lips began turning black.

I was on the verge of breaking down as I slapped his face hard. "Dad, wake up."

I knelt in the basket, my knees hitting against the rusted metal floor with a dull thud. "Anisa, please let us down. I'll sign the divorce agreement right now and give up my place to you. I'll give you whatever you want."

After hearing my words, Anisa laughed triumphantly. "You should've gotten lost a long time ago. But today's high altitude roller coaster ride isn't over yet. Stay up there and suffer."

She glanced at her watch. "Wait another half an hour. I have a nail appointment. I'll let you down when it's time."

Half an hour was too long. Anthony couldn't even last another 30 seconds.

I laid him out flat on the metal floor and knelt beside him to perform CPR. With every compression, I could hear an abnormal, hollow sound coming from his chest. His hands hung by his side, and his fingers still curved in the same shape from twisting the medicine bottle cap.

I fumbled for my phone and dialed for emergency help. "I'm on tower crane number three at Randall Group's construction site in the southern district. Someone is having a heart attack. Please send an ambulance immediately."

The operator told me to stay on the line. Anthony's lips had already turned completely black.

Eight minutes later, I heard the ambulance siren growing closer. Anthony finally had a chance.

I leaned over the edge of the basket and saw the white ambulance stop at the site's main gate, unable to get in. Two dump trucks loaded with dirt sat sideways, blocking the entrance.

Anisa stood at the entrance with her arms crossed. "Who gave you permission to enter?"

The paramedics jumped out of the ambulance and rushed forward with their medical kits. "We have a patient in cardiac arrest. Please move aside."

Anisa didn't even blink. "This is a restricted Randall Group construction site. Outside vehicles need approval to enter. Your tires are filthy. If you track dirt onto the site, who's going to clean it?"

The lead paramedic's eyes turned red with anger. "Do you realize you're killing someone?"

Anisa pulled a stack of cash from her pocket and threw it straight at the paramedic's face. "It's just some old man from the countryside pretending to be dying. You people are making a huge fuss over nothing.

"This money is enough to cover his medical bills. If you delay Randall Group's construction schedule, can you even afford the losses?"

The bills scattered in the wind, but no one picked them up.

The dump trucks didn't move an inch. In the end, the paramedics had no choice but to carry the stretcher and medical kits over the nearby wire fence.

The construction site was huge. It took six or seven minutes just to run from the gate to the basket, but the critical window for resuscitating a cardiac arrest patient was only four minutes.

From above, I watched the paramedics run desperately across the massive site, weaving around scaffolding and jumping over ditches.

Five minutes passed. I continued performing CPR on Anthony mechanically, but his chest no longer showed any response.

Anisa unhurriedly pressed a button on the remote control, and the basket began to descend. It wasn't a smooth descent. Instead, the basket plunged into a sudden free fall.

The entire metal cage crashed to the ground, sending dust and gravel flying everywhere. The impact sent me sprawling across the floor of the basket.