Chapter 2

When I hung up, the people watching outside first froze.

Then they burst into thunderous laughter.

"Lana, your dad was thrown into international waters to feed the sharks half a year ago. Have you been frozen stupid, or were you always this delusional?"

"Exactly! Still thinking you're the precious daughter of the West family? Even daydreams aren't this ridiculous!"

Hearing his lackeys mock me, triumph surged in Everett's eyes.

He gently draped his mink coat over Nina's shoulders, pulled her close, and slowly walked up to the freezer.

He extended his index finger and lightly tapped the glass in front of me before speaking slowly:

"Lana, are you cold? Do you realize your mistake now?"

A large red thermometer indicated that the freezer had been set to negative 58 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wrapped only in the thin nightgown I'd worn to bed, I trembled violently from the cold.

The skin touching the floor had turned blue-purple and numb, continuously sending sharp, piercing pain through my body.

I stumbled toward Everett and Nina, slamming my fist against the glass.

"Everett, what did I do wrong?! Isn't it appropriate to turn on the AC when it's 115 degrees? Pregnant women are naturally sensitive to heat. If I got heatstroke, both the baby and I could die!"

The sudden anger triggered a cramping pain in my lower abdomen.

I quickly covered my belly and crouched down, staring at Everett with bloodshot eyes.

"Everett, let me out! You know how much I've suffered for this baby. I can't lose him!"

A flicker of unreadable emotion crossed Everett's eyes.

He knew better than anyone the heartache of having this child.

An accident years ago had left Everett with fertility issues.

For eight years, egg retrieval needles as long as my forearm had pierced my body over a thousand times before we finally conceived this child.

For eight months, I'd been incredibly careful, preserving this pregnancy day by day.

Once, just because a servant brought brown sugar water that wasn't warm enough, he'd broken the person's arm.

Yet now, just because Nina had menstrual cramps, he'd locked me in a freezer without hesitation.

Bitterness welled up inside me. Just as I was about to speak again, Nina yanked off the mink coat Everett had just draped over her.

With a pitiful, tearful voice, she said:

"Everett, let your wife out. With her delicate constitution, how can she endure this kind of torture? Not like me—I'm from a poor family. Even when I fainted from the freezing AC, I didn't dare complain..."