Chapter 2 One Last Hope

My eyelids grew heavier by the second, and the skin on my lips cracked and split.

Without thinking, I licked the blood trickling from them. I was so thirsty. So hot. Every inch of my body hurt.

Through the haze clouding my mind, I suddenly heard my mother calling my name. "Aria! Please, you have to hold on! Please, keep trying to get help! Don't give up! Stay alive!"

My eyes flew open, and I gasped for air.

My mother was right. I could not give up.

I had spent three years studying for tomorrow's college entrance exam. Wasn't that what all my hard work had been for?

Getting into Goldspire University was my dream, and my mother's too.

I did not know where I found the strength, but I forced myself back to my feet and started pounding on the door again.

"Dad, please. Please let me out first. If you let me out, I'll take you to Mom."

I struggled to keep my voice from shaking, making my tone as gentle as possible.

Hearing me, my father seemed satisfied with my change in attitude. His expression softened, and he waved to the bodyguards. "Open the—"

Before he could finish, Stella grabbed his arm and interrupted him. "Tristan, it's so late. Don't put the girl through any more trouble. She has the college entrance exam tomorrow. It'll take hours just to drive there and back. Let her get a good night's sleep first."

Her reminder seemed to jolt my father's memory. He immediately ordered the bodyguards to stand down.

"Aria, Stella's right. This sauna has temperature control, so you should be able to sleep comfortably in there. Get some rest. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the bodyguards wake you up. We'll find your mom first, then get you to your college entrance exam."

After making all the arrangements, my father left with Stella.

No matter how desperately I screamed and begged for help, no one answered. Still, I kept pounding on the door, holding on to just one thought—I had to stay alive.

I had no idea how much time had passed before I finally heard a voice outside. "Quiet down!"

It was the bodyguard my father had left behind. Apparently, he had had enough of the noise and barked at me to shut up.

Then, I heard the sound of a lock turning outside the door.

My heart leaped. But the hope that had just sparked inside me was crushed the very next second.

The bodyguard tightly taped my mouth shut and restrained my hands. Then, he impatiently closed the door again. "They told you to sleep, so sleep! Mr. Miller is your own father. You really think he'd hurt you? You're making way too much noise!"

I could only whimper helplessly.

Despair filled the dark, scorching space.

The blood blisters covering my body burst one after another, each pop unnervingly loud in the silence of the night.

Just then, my phone rang.

With my hands bound, I fumbled desperately until I managed to reach my phone and answer the call.

It was Zoe Wilder, my mother's best friend.

The moment I had learned something had happened to my mother, I had called Zoe for help.

"Aria, I've had your mom cremated. I'll give you her ashes. Aria, where are you right now? Hello? Aria, can you hear me?"

Her questions grew increasingly urgent.

I gasped for breath, struggling with all my strength to open my mouth and force out a muffled cry.

"I… I'm locked in the sauna by my dad. I don't think I can hold on much longer."

Zoe cried out in alarm and started cursing my father. Then, she kept calling my name, urging me to stay conscious.

I tried to nod, but my ears were ringing so loudly that I could no longer hear anything.

As my consciousness faded, I thought I saw my mother coming to get me.