Chapter 3
“No!” I cried out, desperate to explain. “Gerard must’ve just said that out of anger. He wouldn’t actually lock me in here! This could kill me! Please, if you don’t believe me, call him and ask!”
Gustavo hesitated, but eventually took out his phone and made the call.
The moment he dialed, I rushed to the window and shouted with everything I had left, “Gerard! Please tell Gustavo to unlock the door! The exhaust fan’s down, and the temperature’s dropping fast. If I stay here, I’ll freeze into an ice sculpture!”
On the other end, Gerard scoffed coldly.
“Your lies are getting more ridiculous, Adrienne. Elise is a kind person. Before she left, she even reminded me to leave a crack in the window for ventilation. You can just push it open if you need air. Why pretend to be so pitiful now?
“Or is this another of your tricks to get my attention and interrupt my movie night with Elise? I can’t believe you’ve become so vicious and desperate just to win me back.”
No!
Elise never asked anyone to leave a crack for me!
I tried pushing the window open so many times, and it did not even budge!
Worse still…
I remembered something.
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09:47
Chapter 3
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The little latch on the window, which used to rattle a bit when the fan was on, had gone completely still right after I called for help.
The horrifying truth hit me like a wave of ice. And then, I heard a soft voice from the window.
“Yes, Mr. Toussaint. Adrienne found a way out a while ago, and she’s sipping hot tea in the lounge right now.”
Elise said sweetly over the phone.
“Gerard, I know Adrienne cares about you a lot. She probably just made this up to keep you around. Don’t worry about me. Cough, cough. I’ll be fine. Please don’t blame her too harshly…”
“No! That’s not true!”
I screamed, slamming my head against the door so hard it echoed with a dull thud.
I shouted through the window, voice cracking, “Gerard! I’m still in here!”
Yet, Gerard did not believe me. His voice roared through the phone furiously, “Enough, Adrienne! You’re still trying to lie your way out of this? Competing with Elise for my affection like this–you really are something else.
“In that case, don’t bother keeping those dessert recipes of yours. And forget about the dessert competition–you’ll hand over your slot to Elise.”
“No! Please, no!”
What terrified me even more than freezing to death was losing the career I had poured my heart into.
Every one of those original dessert recipes had taken hours or even days of tireless trial and error.
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09:47
Chapter 3
And for this competition, I had stayed up decorating delicate sugar flowers on a chilled workbench through winter nights.
My fingers had cracked open again and again from the cold.
Yet, Gerard did not just ignore me; he hung up the phone in a fury.
Gustavo had witnessed everything.
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I looked at him through the fogged–up window, my voice trembling. “Gustavo, I’ve helped you so many times before. Please, just let me out… Please…
“When your mom was in the hospital, I helped cover her bills. Can’t you return the favor this once? Please save me…”
His expression changed when I brought up his mother.
He froze for a moment, clearly torn. Then, as if steeling himself, he gave a heavy nod.
“Okay, Adrienne. Hang in there. I’ll go look for the spare key right now!”
I heard him rummaging around in the office, and for a second, hope bloomed in my chest.
But then, a strange smell drifted in. It was burning paper.
