Chapter 158 Left Sister Behind to Die

Chapter 158 Left Sister Behind to Die
Ashley POV

The first thing I noticed was how my wrists burned against the rough rope. My eyelids felt heavy, like someone had poured sand behind them. When I finally managed to pry them open, everything looked wrong: dim and cold, with weird shadows dancing on concrete walls.

I tried to move, but couldn't. My arms were tied behind a metal chair, and something scratchy filled my mouth, making it hard to breathe. Panic shot through me until I spotted Lily slumped in another chair a few feet away, bound just like me.

The air was rusty and damp. Emergency lighting cast an eerie green glow across what looked like some kind of maintenance room.

How did we get here?

Then it all came flooding back. Carmen. She'd seemed so nice, so helpful when I complained about Lily stealing my spotlight. I'd trusted her completely when she suggested Lily needed to "take a little break" so Sarah and I could bond properly.

I remembered how excited I'd felt when I delivered Lily to Carmen. But then she had grabbed my wrist at the van, and that chemical smell...

My stomach lurched as I realized Carmen had never been trying to help me. She was never Sarah's friend. She's been using me to get Lily. Now she had both of us, I couldn't imagine what she would do...

I heard footsteps getting closer from somewhere beyond the room. Quickly, I let my head fall forward, pretending to still be unconscious. Through my barely open eyelids, I watched Carmen drag a large black bag into the room. She dropped it on a metal table with a loud thunk, then walked over to check on us.

She pressed her fingers against Lily's neck first, then mine. Her touch felt cold and rough.

Satisfied that we were both still alive and unconscious, she pulled out her phone directly, and I forced myself to stay perfectly still as she made a call.

"Yeah, it's me," she said when someone picked up. "The money's been collected... What's the next step?"

I couldn't make out the voice on the other end, but Carmen's responses made my blood freeze.

"Kill them and dispose of the bodies? No, no, that won't be a problem. Actually, I was hoping you'd say that."

The casual way she discussed murdering us made me want to throw up. Carmen wanted us dead.

She hung up and roughly shook Lily awake first. Lily's eyes fluttered open, confused and frightened. Then Carmen moved toward me.

Since I was already conscious, I opened my eyes the moment she touched me.

Seeing that both Lily and I were awake, Carmen started mocking us with a twisted smile. "Well, well, your parents are pretty obedient. Actually handed over the ransom like good little sheep." Her voice dripped with fake sweetness. "But here's the thing, girls. Even though I got the cash, I'm not letting either of you go."

Carmen moved to the bag while she talked, unzipping it and pulling out stacks of bills to examine them. She held several bundles to her nose, inhaling deeply like she was smelling flowers.

"Mmm, nothing quite like the smell of fresh money," she said with obvious satisfaction.

Then she stopped abruptly. Something small and metallic fell from between the bills, blinking with a tiny red light.

"What the hell?" Carmen snatched up the device, examining it closely. "A tracking device!"

Her face twisted with rage. She threw the tracker on the ground and started stomping on it viciously, cursing loudly. But the little red light kept blinking, apparently built to withstand much worse treatment.

"Damn thing won't break," she snarled, picking it up again. The light continued its steady pulse, mocking her efforts.

Carmen whirled around to glare at us. "Don't even think about trying to escape while I'm gone. When I come back to deal with you two, I won't make it quick and painless."

She stormed toward the exit, apparently heading off to properly dispose of the tracker.

The moment her footsteps faded, I heard Lily stirring. I turned my head and saw her rubbing against the back of her chair, trying to wear through the ropes.

I started doing the same thing, but the sharp metal cut into my wrists. Blood trickled down my arms, and I had to bite down on the gag to keep from crying out.

Lily worked faster than I did, because I heard her ropes snap. She immediately pulled the nasty cloth from her mouth and started untying her legs.

I managed to spit out my gag. "Lily! We need to get out of here right now! That evil woman is going to kill us!"

But Lily just stood there, staring at me with those big eyes, her voice shaky. "That's a bad lady. She's mean to me. She hits me a lot."

I wanted to scream with frustration. We don't have time for this!

"Listen to me," I said urgently. "If you help me get free, I promise we'll share everything when we get home. You can have half of Mom's attention, okay? We'll be like real sisters."

I hated making that promise, but I needed her cooperation right now.

Lily finally walked over and started working on my ropes. Her small fingers moved quickly, and I felt the first rope give way just as I spotted a flashlight beam cutting through the darkness.

"Hurry!" I hissed.

Carmen's voice echoed from the tunnel: "Where do you think you're going, you little brats?"

Lily managed to free my hands just as Carmen burst back into the room. I shot to my feet so fast that my chair toppled backward, crashing into Lily and knocking her down.

"Get back here, you little bitch!" Carmen screamed.

I bolted toward the exit, not caring that Lily was still on the ground. My beautiful dress—well, technically Lily's dress that I'd made her trade with me—caught on something and ripped loudly. Carmen lunged for me but only grabbed fabric, tearing it further before we both went tumbling.

As I scrambled to get back up, Lily ran past me. I called out desperately for help. Lily stopped and turned back, helping me to my feet. The moment I was upright, I saw Carmen also sitting up, shaking her head to clear it. I didn't waste time thinking—I had to keep running.

Ahead of us were stairs leading down. I stumbled and lurched down them as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard sounds of a struggle—Carmen seemed to have caught Lily.

"Sister! Help me!" Lily's voice was desperate and terrified.

Then came the sharp crack of a slap, followed by Carmen's furious voice: "Shut up, you worthless little pest! I should have gotten rid of you years ago!"

There was a horrible thudding sound, like something heavy falling down the stairs. I risked a glance back and saw Lily tumbling down the concrete steps, her head hitting the sharp edges repeatedly. Blood streamed down her face.

"Help... please..." Lily's voice was barely a whisper now.

But I saw Carmen's shadow moving down the stairs toward Lily. She grabbed Lily roughly and started dragging her back up. I forced myself to keep running. If I help her, we'll both die.

At the bottom of the stairs, I burst through a heavy door and found myself in what looked like an abandoned subway station. The door slammed shut behind me with a loud clang that made me jump.

I couldn't stop now. I had to find a way out. The emergency lighting bathed everything in an orange glow as I chose a direction. I kept running until I saw lights ahead. Flashlight beams were moving in the darkness.

"Help!" I screamed. "Someone help me!"

"Ashley?" I heard a familiar voice call back. "Ashley, is that you?"

My heart soared. "Mom! I'm here!"

I ran toward the lights and threw myself at Sarah, sobbing with relief. She caught me and immediately started checking me for injuries.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" She frowned, touching the torn fabric. "Wait... this is Lily's dress. Ashley, where is Lily?"

I could picture Carmen dragging Lily's bloodied form back up those stairs, back to whatever horrible fate awaited her.

An idea formed in my mind—dark but perfect.

"I don't know," I lied, meeting Sarah's eyes with what I hoped looked like confusion and fear. "I didn't see her, Mom. I was so scared. I just want to go home."

Michael was studying me with sharp eyes, as if he suspected something. I had to get them away from here before they started asking more questions.

Before they could find Lily.

I let my legs give out dramatically, collapsing against Sarah. "I feel dizzy..."

As Sarah caught me, I smiled secretly into her shoulder. By the time anyone found Lily, it would be too late. Carmen would have finished what she started.

Finally, I'll have mom all to myself.