Chapter 3

I did not expect my stomach to suddenly cramp. My face went pale, and the cold seeped into my whole body.

"Are you done yet? Why are you taking so long?"

Derek kept urging me.

After a while, his voice disappeared.

Something was wrong.

When I came out of the restroom, my car was gone.

There was nothing outside but endless white snow.

Derek had driven off in my car.

I could not help cursing out loud before shrinking back into the restroom from the cold.

"What kind of person does that?"

I hurriedly called Derek. He ignored more than a dozen calls before his voice finally came through.

"Derek Caldwell! Drive the car back right now. I haven't gotten in!"

His voice was full of impatience.

"Whose fault is it that you were so slow? My time is more valuable than yours. Consider this your punishment."

I exploded with rage.

"Who do you think you are? Punishment? Have some shame. Drive the car back now, or I'm calling the police."

Derek sounded like a man who could not understand human speech.

"Don't play hard to get with me. I don't buy that. This is all your fault anyway. You listened to the traffic cop and wasted my time.

"Don't worry, you won't freeze to death. This is your test before you become my girlfriend."

He hung up with a slam.

I felt like I had been forced to swallow something vile.

My head buzzed with anger.

Where did this overconfident idiot come from?

A test?

I wanted to smash a hammer into his skull.

I was about to call again when, in the distance, the signal tower collapsed under the weight of the snow.

The snow burst outward, startling birds into the air.

I watched my signal drop to zero, and my heart sank.

"Damn it. Why is it so cold?"

My hands and feet were like blocks of ice. Only the restroom offered even a little shelter from the wind.

But out on the northern snowfields, in twenty-two-below-zero weather, I was wearing only a thin down jacket. I could not hold out for long.

I tried dialing emergency services, but it was useless.

All I could do was hope that some passing car would appear.

Unfortunately, from daylight until dark, I did not see a single vehicle.

It seemed no one came to this abandoned service area anymore.

The heavy snow quickly covered my footprints. I had no choice but to keep jumping in place to maintain body heat.

But the cold pierced into my bones from every direction.

I was so frozen I was about to pass out.

"Quick, check over there. Can the signal tower be repaired?"

Voices drifted into my ears.

My eyes flew open.

Someone was here.

With the last of my strength, I pounded on the glass, trying to attract the rescue crew's attention.

My dry throat tore as I shouted, "Help!"

At last, my movement drew someone over.

"My God! Miss, why are you here alone?"

The moment I saw the police officer approach, I finally let myself faint.

When I woke again, I was in the reception room of the local police station.

A female officer immediately brought me a cup of water.

"Miss, you're finally awake.

"Why were you out there alone? If our team hadn't gone to check the signal tower today, you would have been in real danger."

I quickly drank a few mouthfuls of hot water and looked at her gratefully.

"Thank you, officer."

"Don't mention it. It's what we're supposed to do."

The female officer looked at me with concern.

"Did something happen to you?"

I picked up my phone and realized that during the hours I had been missing, Derek had completely forgotten about me.

If the police had not rescued me, I really would have died there.

Goose bumps crawled over my whole body.

My disgust for Derek reached its peak.

Especially because he had driven away in my car.

Then an idea turned in my head.

"Officer, I was robbed.

"My car was stolen. There were also three cases of Macallan and ten gold bars in it."