Chapter 3

The heat was a physical weight, pressing down on me, stealing the air from my lungs. My frantic calls for help just echoed in the small, steamy chamber.

Upstairs, Victoria sat in the library, a glass of expensive scotch in her hand. David, her brother-in-law, sat across from her, his expression a perfect blend of concern and sympathy. Leo, his son, was slumped in an armchair, the picture of teenage despair.

"The thermostat in that cellar has always been finicky, Vicky," David said, his voice smooth as silk. "I'm sure it's not as cold as Ethan is making it out to be. You know how he gets."

Leo let out a loud, theatrical sob. "She did it to mock me, Aunt Vicky. She walked in with that medal, and it was like she was screaming that I was a failure. A cheater. A fraud."

"Oh, my poor boy," Victoria cooed, her heart melting at the sight of her nephew's performance. The guilt she felt over her sister's death was a raw, open wound, and David and Leo knew exactly how to pour salt in it.

"And Chloe," David added, shaking his head sadly. "She's always been so dramatic. She knows you're a soft touch. She's just putting on a show to get attention."

The sound of my desperate banging from the basement finally broke through their staged drama.

Victoria's face hardened. The sympathy vanished, replaced by a fresh wave of rage. "This is ridiculous. I'm going to put an end to this nonsense right now."

She stormed back down to the basement, David and Leo following a few steps behind, like vultures circling their prey.

She unlocked the cellar door and threw it open. The blast of frigid air that hit her was a shock, but she ignored it.

Chloe was on the floor, barely conscious, her lips blue. She was muttering something, a faint, incoherent plea.

"Still being dramatic?" Victoria snarled. She saw Chloe's science award, the heavy glass plaque, lying on the floor where it had fallen. She snatched it up.

"You love this so much?" she screamed, her voice echoing in the cold, cavernous space. "You think this makes you better than us? Better than Leo?"

She knelt down and roughly grabbed Chloe' s chin, forcing her head up.

"Then eat it!"

She shoved the corner of the heavy glass plaque into Chloe' s mouth.

Chloe cried out, a choked, gurgling sound. The sharp edge of the glass cut the inside of her mouth, her lips. Blood, dark and thick, welled up, staining her teeth and chin, dripping onto the collar of her shirt.

Victoria pulled the plaque out, her face contorted with a satisfaction that was monstrous. She stood up, looking down at her bleeding, shivering daughter with disgust.

"Maybe now you'll learn some humility."

She turned, leaving Chloe sobbing in a pool of her own blood. As she walked out, she paused at the thermostat on the wall. With a final, deliberate twist, she adjusted the dial, pushing it even further into the red, into the dangerously low temperatures.

Then she slammed the door shut and locked it again, leaving Chloe to the cold and the dark.