Chapter 741



Cara settled into the chair with an air of haughty elegance. “I’m going to give you two choices, Kallie,” she announced, her voice dripping with malice. “You can save either Sophie or Elma.”

Kallie stared at Cara, her face a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “Are you out of your freaking mind?” she spat. “One of them is your own daughter! Why the hell are you making me choose?”

Cara’s smile was cold and enigmatic. She said dismissively, “You’ll see soon enough why I force you to make a choice. So, you’re choosing Sophie, then? You don’t care about Elma?”

Kallie’s hands balled into fists, her knuckles white. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Cara, you can hate me all you want. But Elma is your daughter! How can you do this to her?”

Cara ignored Kallie and turned her attention to Elma. “You heard that, Elma?” she shouted. “The woman you adore, Kallie, only cares about her own daughter. You’re nothing to her, just a charity case. Your parents abandoned you. You’re destined to suffer.”

“You’re insane!” Kallie shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve completely lost it!”

Cara threw back her head and let out a chilling laugh. “Yes, I’m crazy!” she shrieked. “I’m a madwoman! So, Kallie, once you’ve made your decision, go stand next to the one you want to save. You have one minute to decide. But I think I already know who you’re going to choose.”

Cara added, as if just remembering a minor detail, “Oh, and one more thing, there’s an underground river flowing beneath us. If someone falls in, who knows where the current will take them?

They might never be found, not even their bodies. Elma, if you die today, it won’t be my fault. It will be Kallie’s.”

Elma trembled, her eyes wide with terror, but she remained silent. She knew she had no right to speak. Sophie was Kallie’s daughter. They were a real family, a happy family. They had all been so kind to her. She didn’t deserve to live under these circumstances. But even so, she was terrified. All she wanted was to grow up, to have a good life, and to get the hell out of this place with her dad.

Elma was consumed by fear. Where was her dad? Why hadn’t he come to rescue her? Despite her terror, she didn’t make a sound.

Kallie was torn. She knew she should save Sophie, but Elma was just an innocent child. If it weren’t for Cara, Elma wouldn’t be dangling there, at the mercy of her upcoming choice.

Kallie never thought anyone would do something so cruel. But then again, this was Cara. Cara was capable of anything.

Sophie’s mouth was taped shut. She could hear Cara and Kallie talking. She whimpered, desperately trying to tell Kallie that Elma was her long-lost sister. But the gag prevented Sophie from making a sound. All she could do was struggle against the ropes that bound her. Kallie thought Sophie struggled out of fear. Her heart ached with the uncertainty of what to do.

Cara sneered, “Ten seconds left. Time’s almost up. Have you decided yet?”

“Yes,” Kallie said, her eyes hardening with resolve.

“Really?” Cara’s eyebrow arched with intrigue as she studied Kallie. “Who did you choose? Was it Sophie?”

Kallie gestured to Cara. “Come here, and I’ll tell you.”

.

.

.