Chapter 2

Joanna's POV

Carter knew our four-year-old daughter, Lily, had a congenital heart defect. Yet, behind my back, he locked her inside that horrific fire simulation chamber.

At preschool, Lily wasn't even allowed to run too fast without gasping for air.

But Carter, her own father, forced her into that suffocating black smoke all for some twisted "stress-tolerance training."

By the time I stormed into the control room, the monitoring screens were flashing with an icy glow.

On the center screen, four-year-old Lily was clutching her favorite yellow teddy bear, curled up helplessly in the corner of the dark room.

Thick, toxic smoke pumped into the chamber. The crimson emergency lights strobed violently.

My baby's face was deathly pale, her wide eyes filled with absolute terror.

Beside the screen, her heart rate monitor was spiking out of control.

I shoved the technicians out of my way and lunged for the emergency stop button. "Open the door! Let her out!"

But Carter grabbed my wrist, his voice chillingly calm. "The simulation run isn't complete. We can't stop it."

"She has a heart condition! Have you lost your mind?!" Tears poured down my face.

"Valerie ran the safety assessment. It's fine," Carter said, not even blinking. "She's my daughter. She needs to learn to stay calm in a disaster."

I stared at the man I shared a bed with in sheer disbelief. "She's four! You're using your own daughter as a lab rat?"

Carter frowned, irritation flickering in his eyes. "Joanna, you used to run this project. You of all people should know that effective training requires discomfort."

On the screen, Lily began pounding desperately on the glass.

But the soundproof blast door swallowed her tiny screams.

I could only watch as my daughter gasped for air, her little hands hitting the glass over and over until she dropped her teddy bear, too weak to pick it up.

The monitor let out a sharp, continuous beep. Heart rate: 190!

"Open the door! Carter, I'm begging you, please!" I dug my fingernails deep into Carter's arm until I drew blood.

Carter just looked away. "Don't let your personal emotions cloud your professional judgment."

Just then, the intercom buzzed. Valerie's trembling, tearful voice came through:

"Carter... I'm so scared. The alarms... they're triggering my PTSD from the fire back then. I can't breathe..."

Hearing her voice, Carter's cold expression cracked instantly. The veins on his hands popped.

Sensing his movement, I immediately blocked the control room door. "You are not leaving! Lily is still in there!"

Over the radio, Valerie's voice grew weaker. "Carter... help me..."

Carter couldn't take it anymore. He shoved me aside brutally. "Valerie is in trouble. I have to go."

"What about our daughter?! Lily is going to die!" I screamed hysterically.

"The automated system is monitoring her! Nothing will go wrong!" Carter didn't even look back as he threw the door open. "Stop being so dramatic, Joanna."

The door slammed shut.

The control room was filled with nothing but the screaming red alarms.

I lunged at the console, hitting the override button repeatedly.

But the screen flashed a cold red message: AUTHORIZATION LOCKED. ACCESS DENIED.

Then, the main lights in the simulation chamber cut out. The emergency red lights flooded the space.

On screen, little Lily clutched her chest in agony. Her body swayed, and she collapsed flat onto the floor.

My heart stopped beating.

I lost my mind. I ran out of the control room, shoving past the staff in the hallway. I snatched the fire extinguisher off the wall and began smashing the heavy lock of the chamber door.

The security guards tried to pull me away, but they backed off, terrified by the bloody, desperate look in my eyes.

After what felt like a hundred strikes, the lock finally shattered. The door swung open.

I threw the extinguisher aside and fell to my knees, pulling my daughter's cold body into my arms.

Her lips were blue. Her chest was completely still.

"A doctor! Someone call 911!"

I carried her and ran, tripping over the threshold and scraping my knees raw.

But I couldn't feel the pain. I scrambled back up, screaming for help like a madwoman.

The paramedics rushed in, taking Lily from my arms. They immediately started CPR, bagging her, pushing epinephrine...

By the time Carter returned, Valerie was wrapped in his jacket, leaning against him.

Her face was slightly pale, but her breathing was perfectly steady. She had a few dry tears on her cheeks.

I sat paralyzed on the dirty floor, my hands covered in blood, like an empty shell.

The lead paramedic finally stopped. He looked at Carter and shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Carter... we couldn't get her back. She's gone."

Carter froze.

Seeing this, Valerie immediately covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Carter... If I hadn't had that attack, you wouldn't have left Lily. This is all my fault..."

Carter took a deep breath and held her tightly. "This isn't your fault, Valerie."

Hearing those words, I slowly raised my head and stared at Carter.

My voice was completely gone, reduced to a raspy whisper. "Not her fault? Then whose fault is it? Carter, that was your daughter!"

Carter avoided my eyes. He frowned, his voice returning to that professional, icy tone. "This was an extreme anomaly. High-stress data collection requires realistic environments. Lily's sacrifice proves we need to push this training program forward. Without this data, more people will freeze in real disasters."

Using the wall for support, I slowly stood up.

I walked right up to Carter. With every ounce of strength left in my body, I slapped him across the face.

SLAP!

The sharp sound echoed down the corridor. Carter's face snapped to the side, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Joanna! You designed these harsh training protocols years ago!" Carter hissed, grabbing his jaw. "You of all people should understand what sacrifice means!"

I didn't answer him.

I stared at the blood on his lip. I bent down to pick up my baby's cold, lifeless body, but the world suddenly spun into pitch black, and I collapsed.