I was eight months pregnant when I dropped by Julian’s office to drop off some files. It was a scorching 115°F heatwave. I went to turn on the AC, but his secretary blocked me. "Vivian, my Aunt Flo is in town. I get chills easily. We can't turn on the AC." Worried about heatstroke harming my unborn child, I shot her a look and flipped the switch anyway. That evening, Julian came home from a business dinner, furious. "Sienna is on her period! Did you know that 38 minutes and 19 seconds of cold air sent her to the ICU with severe cramps?" "Julian, are you drunk? Do you think I’ve never had a period? If I got heatstroke, you’d lose both me and the baby. Are you insane?" Julian pulled a grim smile and nodded. "I’m confused, am I? You’re right." That night, he coaxed me to sleep as usual. But when I woke up, I was inside a glass-walled industrial freezer. Surrounding the glass were his rich, sycophantic friends, laughing. Outside the glass, Julian had his arm around Sienna’s waist, smiling at me. "Afraid of heatstroke? Today, I’ll help you cool off." My heart sank. I calmly pulled out my phone, snapped photos of every single one of them, and dialed a number. "Dad, I don’t want these people to see tomorrow’s sun." Chapter 1 When I hung up, the crowd outside paused for a second. Then, the room erupted in raucous laughter. "Vivian, your dad was thrown into international waters to feed the sharks six months ago! Did the cold freeze your brain, or were you always this stupid?" "She still thinks she’s the Vance family heiress? Even daydreams shouldn't be this wild." Julian listened to his lackeys mock me, a look of smug satisfaction in his eyes. He took off his mink coat and gently draped it over Sienna’s shoulders. Pulling her close, he walked slowly up to the glass wall. He tapped the glass with his index finger. "Vivian, are you cold? Do you know you were wrong yet?" A massive red digital thermometer showed the temperature was dropping rapidly. It was already -58°F. I was wrapped in nothing but the thin silk pajamas I’d worn to bed. I was shivering violently. The skin touching the floor was turning purple and numb, sending sharp, needle-like pains through my body. I stumbled toward Julian and Sienna, slamming my fist against the glass. "Julian, what did I do wrong?! It was 115 degrees inside! Is it a crime to turn on the AC? Pregnant women overheat easily—if I got heatstroke, two lives would be lost!" The sudden burst of anger triggered a cramping pain in my lower abdomen. I clutched my stomach and crouched down, glaring at Julian with bloodshot eyes. "Julian, let me out! You know how much I suffered to keep this baby. I can’t lose him!" A flicker of unreadable emotion passed through Julian’s eyes. He knew the pain better than anyone. Years ago, an accident left Julian with fertility issues. For eight years, I endured needles the length of a forearm piercing my body thousands of times just so we could have this child. Eight months of careful bed rest, guarding this life like a fragile gem. Once, he broke a maid's arm just because the brown sugar water she brought me wasn't warm enough. Now, for the sake of Sienna’s "cramps," he threw me into a freezer without hesitation. Bitterness flooded my mouth. I was about to speak again when Sienna ripped off the mink coat Julian had just given her. She looked at him with teary, puppy-dog eyes. "Julian, let Vivian out. She’s delicate; she can’t handle this. Unlike a poor girl like me... I didn't even dare complain when I fainted from the cold in that AC room..." Fainted from the cold? I only ran the AC for half an hour. When I left the office, she was giggling on the phone, making plans to go clubbing that night! I opened my mouth to explain, but Julian’s expression darkened instantly. "Someone go in there and strip her coat off! She thinks she’s delicate? Today, I’ll teach her what it feels like to be 'poor'!" He bent down to pick up the mink coat. While tenderly wrapping it back around Sienna, he looked at me with cold, dead eyes. "You can come out when you admit your mistake! The doctor said my son is perfectly healthy. Don't use the baby as an excuse to avoid punishment!" He scooped Sienna up into his arms, his voice dripping with affection. "Sienna, you're on your period, you shouldn't be standing on the cold floor. Stay in my arms today. Let's see who dares say a word about it!" Chapter 2 The moment Julian sat down with Sienna in his lap, a group of men rushed in, grinning maliciously. I clutched my pajamas tight, shrinking into the corner. But a pregnant woman is no match for the strength of several men. Riiip. My thin pajamas were torn in half. Instantly, the freezing air invaded every pore of my body. They stripped me down to my underwear, laughing as they walked out. "Julian, you eat well, man! The wife’s got curves in all the right places!" "Thanks for letting us 'take care' of the missus, Julian!" I curled into a ball, wearing only my intimates. My warm skin stuck to the freezing floor. Every time I moved, a layer of skin tore off. The stinging pain of ripped flesh pierced my heart. Bright red blood began to ooze from the torn skin, shockingly vibrant against the sterile white of the freezer. Julian noticed. He put Sienna down and walked to the glass. He stared at the trickle of blood slowly reaching the toe of his shoe. Just as he was about to speak, Sienna ran up behind him. She touched the glass where the blood was pooling, her voice trembling. "Vivian... just apologize. Julian has so many friends here. If you don't apologize, he can't back down..." I stared daggers at her. "Why should I apologize! I saw you enjoying that AC just fine! You were even planning to go to the club..." Hearing this, Julian looked at Sienna with a flash of suspicion. But before I could finish, Sienna slapped herself hard across the face. Thud. She dropped to her knees. She grabbed Julian’s hand, sobbing. "Julian! I can't bear to see Vivian suffer like this. If she won't apologize, I’ll kneel here with her!" Seeing her on her knees, the suspicion in Julian’s eyes vanished. He quickly pulled her up, then looked at me with pure disgust. "Vivian, you are spoiled rotten. All these years, Sienna has swallowed her pride around you. Now, when it’s clearly your fault, she’s suffering for my sake to save face. You don’t deserve her kindness!" "Today, I’m going to fix that princess attitude of yours! If you don’t apologize, don't even think about coming out!" He waved his hand at the men behind him. "Go get more ice blocks. Wall her in! And pour water over the ice—make sure she’s stuck to it!" Just then, a young girl in the back tugged on his sleeve. "Julian... adding water to ice will glue human skin to it. If she moves, it'll rip the flesh right off. She’s heavily pregnant... something bad could happen..." Julian’s hand froze in mid-air. Silence fell. Then, a soft whimper came from behind him. "Julian, forget it... the ICU wasn't as bad as you think..." Sienna’s words hardened his resolve instantly. He dropped his hand and barked: "Do exactly as I said!" Chapter 3 The girl tried to protest again, but Julian waved her off dismissively. "This little bit of suffering is nothing compared to what Sienna went through. I have an ambulance on standby outside. What could go wrong?" Hearing this, the girl didn't dare speak again. Under orders, the men brought in blocks of ice. They grabbed me by my hair and built a wall of ice around me, boxing me in. Then, a bucket of freezing water was dumped over my head. Instantly, my skin fused to the ice like superglue. The bone-chilling cold seeped into my marrow. I checked the time. I had been in there for at least five hours. My limbs were turning black and purple. Desperate to protect the baby, I tried to shift my position within the ice trap. But every tiny movement tore a patch of skin from my body. The movements inside my belly were getting weaker and weaker. Ignoring the agonizing pain of tearing flesh, I shifted my body, curling around my stomach to keep it in the warmest spot I could find. The clear ice blocks were slowly stained red with my blood. By the time I settled, the ice surrounding me was a gruesome crimson. The laughter outside died down. Even the sycophants were silenced by the bloody scene. I screamed through the red-stained glass at Julian. "Julian! If anything happens to this child, you—his own father—are the murderer! I will pray to his spirit every single day that you die a horrible death!" Julian’s gaze wavered. He stepped closer, trying to see through the blood-smeared glass. Suddenly, a shout broke the silence. "Julian! My dad says a plane just appeared on the Vance family's private flight path!" Julian’s face went pale. He slammed his fist against the glass, roaring at me. "Vivian, what does this mean?! You think you can use the Vance name to scare me forever?!" Before I could answer, Sienna stepped up, rubbing Julian’s back soothingly. She looked at me, her expression a mix of grievance and accusation. "Vivian, if you don't want to apologize, fine. But why torture Julian like this? You know how much he suffered when your father was alive. Now that Mr. Vance is gone and the family assets are sold off, what’s the point of this charade?" She took Julian’s hand. "Forget it, Julian. Let her out. If something happens to the baby, we’ll look like the bad guys. It’s clear Vivian never respected people of low status like us anyway..." Her words fueled Julian’s rage. He cursed, then shouted at his men. "Crank the freezer down to -148°F! Now!" The men, terrified of his anger, obeyed without question. A blast of absolute zero wind hit me from the vents. My teeth chattered so hard I couldn't form words. As my consciousness faded, a sharp, tearing pain exploded in my lower abdomen. Shutterstock I forced my eyes open and looked down. Bright red blood was flowing out from between my legs like a stream. In the freezing air, the blood steamed. It melted the ice around me and flowed out through the cracks in the door. I realized what was happening. Clutching my stomach, I screamed frantically at Julian. "Julian! Let me out! The baby! Save my baby!" Julian was still glaring at me in anger. Until he saw the blood melting the ice and pooling at his feet. Panic finally shattered his arrogance. He grabbed the man next to him, screaming like a madman. "The key! Get the key! You said the doctor cleared this! How did this happen?!" Chapter 4 The man handed the key to Julian. But Julian’s hands were shaking so badly he dropped it. It skittered to Sienna’s feet. Julian grabbed Sienna’s arm. "Sienna! Hurry! Unlock the door! Let her out! Hurry!" Frightened by his state, Sienna ran to the door without even putting her shoes back on. She glanced at Julian, put the key in the hole with her back to him. In that split second as she turned, I saw a smile in her eyes—pure malice and triumph. Snap. A crisp sound echoed. Sienna turned around and dropped to her knees facing Julian. "Julian... the key... it broke..." Julian’s face went deathly white. He stumbled to the door, screaming. "How?! How could it break?! Call a locksmith! Now!" By now, warm blood covered the floor of the freezer. I couldn't stop moaning in pain. Sienna’s voice drifted in, dripping with poison disguised as concern. "Julian! She still hasn't apologized! You said you wanted to fix her arrogance. All our friends are watching..." "And what about me suffering in the ICU? You promised you’d get justice for me..." Hearing this, Julian stopped the person running for the locksmith. He turned back, pounding on the glass, shouting at me. His voice held a trace of begging. "Vivian, just apologize, okay? For the sake of the baby?" "Just say you're sorry, and I'll let you out immediately! You don't want the baby to die, right? Please, Vivian, just soften your pride for once!" The massive blood loss was pulling me into darkness. I lay in a pool of blood, looking at Julian, my voice trembling. "Julian! Let me out! Or my father will kill you..." Sienna smiled that hidden, vicious smile again. "Vivian, are you delirious? Your dad died six months ago! The Vance family fell! Apologize quickly, no one is coming to save you!" The crowd outside joined in the mockery. "Miss Vance, keep dreaming. Kill Julian? Your dad is a ghost in hell right now! Who’s he gonna kill?" "Julian, she never learns! She's faking it. The kid is fine. Leave her in there!" "Yeah, Julian, after how she bullied Sienna, you can't go easy on her!" The freezer was painted red with my blood. They couldn't see it, but I could feel it. The heartbeat inside me was almost gone. I began to wail, a guttural sound of pure despair. Julian paced back and forth. When he looked at me again, his eyes were full of helplessness. "Vivian, stop fantasizing about your dad saving you. He’s dead. Just apologize, okay? Say 'I'm wrong,' and I'll open the door!" "Wife, give up. Your dad isn't coming!" Just as the words left his mouth, the outer door of the warehouse was kicked open. A squad of fully armed mercenaries stormed in. A deep, booming voice echoed from the doorway. "Who says her father isn't coming?!"
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