Chapter 4
Mason's eyes lit up as if he'd just found a lifeline. "That's right, Raine! You're athletic, so go ahead and see if there are any snowplows. There's bound to be a rest shelter, so walk there and bring back help."
"I'm not going," I said without hesitation. "It's at least 12 miles to the nearest rest shelter. Besides, it's minus four degrees Fahrenheit out there, so going out means death."
"How could you be so selfish?" Pamela burst into angry curses. "Is your comfort more important than the lives of everyone in this car?"
"Exactly," Mason added. "We're a family, so someone has to make a little sacrifice."
He began unbuckling his seatbelt to make his move. "Listen, Raine. This is for the greater good. If you won't go, don't blame me for not showing mercy."
He reached for the door lock.
"I'm not getting out of this car!" I gripped the armrest for dear life.
"That's not up to you!"
Pamela lunged forward from the back seat and grabbed my collar. Her hands, calloused from years of farm work, clamped around my neck.
"You ungrateful bitch! Get out of the car!"
Toby woke up from the shouting. When he saw the adults fighting, he began shouting excitedly from the back seat, "Throw her out! Throw her out!"
When Mason took the chance to open the passenger door, a blast of wind and snow roared into the car.
"Don't make me do this, Raine. If you step out yourself, you can at least keep a little dignity," he said darkly.
I looked at him and felt my final hope toward him die, but I was also completely clear-headed.
"Mason, if you dare throw me out, we're done."
"So be it!" Pamela answered for him. "The Vance family doesn't need a woman like you, who doesn't see the bigger picture anyway!"
She gave me a hard shove. I lost my balance with half my body tipping out of the car.
Mason took the chance to unbuckle my seat belt and give my shoulder another vicious shove before I tumbled into the snow.
"My coat!"
I tried to scramble up, but Pamela was faster. She snatched the hem of my coat and declared, "This coat is warm, so Toby can use it!"
She was trying to strip it off me!
"Let go!" I desperately struggled, kicking out at her wrist with my boot.
"Ow! She kicked me, Mason! She's attacking me!" Pamela screeched like a slaughtered pig. "She pinched Toby earlier, and now she's hitting me!"
In truth, Toby wasn't hurt at all, but he was clever enough to clutch his stomach and howl dramatically. "Ow, my tummy hurts! Raine kicked my tummy!"
Completely enraged, Mason hopped out of the driver's seat and kicked me hard in the back. "You're vicious! How dare you hit a child and an older woman?"
Searing pain shot through my side. I collapsed face-first into the snow with ice crystals filling my mouth.
Mason brutally ripped the wool coat off me and tossed it back to Pamela in the car. Underneath, I wore nothing but a thin thermal base layer, and the wind cut through the fabric.
"Take her tea too!" Pamela yelled from inside the car.
Mason bent down again and yanked the thermal flask hanging around my neck.
"Mason… you'll regret this…" My teeth chattered as I trembled violently.
"Agreeing to marry a cold-blooded monster like you is theonly thing I regret most," he spat, then turned and got into the car.
When the door slammed shut with a bang, I saw Pamela through the window, grinning smugly as she raised her middle finger at me.
They wrapped my coat around Toby before the three of them huddled together for warmth, while I was abandoned in the white, freezing hell.
My body heat was rapidly draining away, and my consciousness started to fade.
I couldn't die. In this life, I wouldn't die before they did.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to stand.
In the distance, two beams of blinding light pierced through the snowy darkness before a modified off-road vehicle plowed through the snow and headed straight toward me.
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