Chapter 3

Late at night.

The temperature inside the tunnel plummeted drastically.

The damp cold was bone-chilling.

To save fuel, everyone had turned off their engines.

Nia and I wrapped ourselves in the van's only thin fleece blanket, shivering uncontrollably.

After eating the buns, Nia seemed slightly better, but her tiny hands remained ice-cold.

"Mommy, it's so cold..."

I pulled her closer, using my own body heat to keep her warm.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The car window was suddenly pounded violently from the outside.

Terrified, I looked up.

Chloe stood outside, her face turned pale and blue from the freezing draft.

Pointing at the blanket wrapped around us, she barked bossily, "Give up the blanket!"

I cracked the window open a sliver, glaring at her coldly.

"Why the hell should I?"

Chloe planted her hands on her hips, acting completely entitled.

"Mia has a weak constitution; she can't handle this freeze!"

"If she catches a cold, it's going to be a huge disaster!"

"You two have thick skin and can take the cold, so hand it over right now!"

I laughed out of sheer fury.

"Nia is six! She's far more vulnerable to the cold than an adult!"

"Get lost! Keep dreaming!"

I rolled the window shut and locked the doors tight.

Seeing that I refused, Chloe began violently kicking my car door.

"You ungrateful bitch! Open this damn door!"

The loud thuds echoed deafeningly throughout the hollow tunnel.

Not even a minute later, Brandon marched over.

He gripped a heavy iron wrench in his hand, his eyes burning with malice.

"I'm counting to three."

"Hand over the blanket, or I'll smash your window to pieces."

"When that happens, you won't even have a windshield to block the wind!"

I stared at the man in utter disbelief.

"Brandon! You are Nia's father!"

"Her lips are already turning purple from the cold, can't you see that?!"

"Are you really going to freeze your own daughter to death just for that woman?!"

Brandon scoffed coldly, raising the wrench high.

"Nia has a strong immune system; she can handle it."

"Mia is different. She has an old chronic condition and can't catch a chill."

"One."

"Two."

*SMASH!*

He actually swung it.

The driver's side window shattered instantly into a thousand shards.

Glass fragments sprayed all over me.

The freezing gale howled as it rushed straight into the cabin.

Brandon reached in through the gaping hole, unlocked the door, and yanked it open.

He brutally grabbed the edge of the blanket around me and pulled with all his might.

"Ah!"

The force dragged both Nia and me off the seat and onto the floorboards.

Nia slammed her head against the console, screaming in agony.

Driven completely insane, I lunged forward and sank my teeth deep into Brandon's forearm.

I clamped down with everything I had, refusing to let go.

"Aaargh! Are you a fucking rabid dog?!"

Howling in pain, Brandon swung his free hand and slapped me across the face with brutal force.

*SLAP!*

The blow left my ears ringing and my vision spinning black.

My mouth filled with the metallic tang of blood.

He ripped the blanket away from my grasp.

Clutching the blanket like a prized trophy, Brandon hurried back and presented it into the heated SUV.

Mia wrapped herself in my daughter's lifesaving blanket, yet pinched her nose in theatrical disgust.

"Brandon, why does this thing smell like sour baby spit? It's so gross."

Brandon cooed at her with tender concern.

"Just bear with it, babe. Make do with it for now."

In the dead of the night, stripped of the blanket and with the window blown out, the interior of the van turned into an absolute freezer.

Nia's body suddenly began to burn with a scorching heat.

She started deliriously muttering in her sleep.

"Daddy... I won't drink milk anymore... please don't hit me..."

I touched her burning forehead.

My heart shattered into pieces.

A raging high fever.

In this godforsaken trap devoid of medical supplies, a high fever was a death sentence.