Chapter 142 No Jody

Chapter 142 No Jody
"Lower that flashlight, Evan, or I drop this kid!" The shrill voice vibrated violently through the air.
Evan caught his breath instantly. He lowered the beam of light toward the concrete floor. At the edge of the unrailed second-floor ledge stood a woman in a filthy black dress. Her hands tightly gripped the shoulders of a sobbing Emily.
"Lusy?" Rose's eyes widened. She took half a step forward, but Alan immediately held her back by the shoulder. "You... why are you doing this?"
Lusy laughed loudly. Her shrill voice pierced through the dusty, decaying room. "Why? You're still stupid enough to ask why, Rose?"
From the direction of the back door, the creak of old iron sounded out. Jody appeared, breathing heavily, holding a rusty piece of iron in his hand. Beside him, Dylan followed with a tense face.
"Don't move, Jody!" Lusy snapped upon seeing his arrival. Her hands pulled Emily closer to the edge of the steep concrete drop. "One more step, and I let this child go!"
"Lusy, stop!" Rose screamed. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "She's just a little girl, Lusy! She doesn't know anything!"
"She's your child, Rose!" Lusy screamed hysterically. Her matted hair covered half of her bloodshot eyes. "She's the reason you smile every single day. She's the reason Evan looks at you like you're the only woman in the world!"
Evan stepped forward very slowly, trying to draw Lusy's attention toward the front. "Lusy, this is between us. Let Emily go, and we can talk this through."
"Talk it through?" Lusy glared at Evan. Her hands shook violently over Emily's shoulders. "You're full of it, Evan! You threw me away just like that. You chose this woman and this child. You get to live happily on top of my misery!"
"I never intended to hurt you, Lusy," Evan said pleadingly, his voice trembling. "Let Emily go. You can ask for anything from me."
"I don't need your money!" Lusy cut in sharply. "I want Rose to feel what I felt. I want her to lose everything. I want to watch your lives fall apart!"
Emily sobbed even harder, her tiny hands clutching the fabric of Lusy's sleeve. "Mommy... Daddy... I'm scared..."
"Shut up!" Lusy snapped, shaking Emily's small frame.
"Don't touch her like that!" Rose screamed. She collapsed onto her knees on the cold concrete floor, clasping her hands together. "Please, Lusy. Take my life instead, just not Emily's. I'm begging you..."
Dylan glanced at Jody, who stood on the left side of the iron staircase. Dylan signaled with his eyes for Jody to double back through the dark rear hallway. Jody gave a slight nod and slipped away without making a sound.
"You think I'm stupid, Rose?" Lusy took another step back. The heel of her high shoe hovered over the broken gap in the floor. "If this kid is gone, you and Evan will never be happy again. You'll blame each other every single day!"
"Lusy, look at me!" Evan barked, trying to draw her eyes away from Jody's movements behind her. "I'm the one at fault. I'm the one who left you. Take your revenge on me, not on a little child!"
"You damn right you're at fault, Evan!" Lusy's breath came in ragged gasps, her eyes wide. "But killing you is too easy. Watching you suffer forever alongside Rose, that's real justice!"
Jody began creeping up the iron stairs behind the dim shadow of the second floor. He carefully softened every step on the aged metal so it wouldn't make a sound.
Below, Rose continued to weep, watching Emily shiver in terror. "Lusy, please... I'm begging you..."
"It's too late, Rose," Lusy said with an unstable smile. Her grip on Emily's clothes began to loosen. "Let's see how strong your love really is after today."
"Jody, now!" Dylan suddenly shouted.
Jody burst out from behind the darkness of the second-floor hallway, lunging straight at Lusy.
"Stay away from me!" Lusy screamed frantically.
Lusy yanked Emily backward, right toward the crumbling gap in the concrete floor. A heavy roar reverberated as the edge of the concrete cracked and collapsed downward.
"Rose!" Evan shouted, lunging forward.
"Emily!" Rose shrieked piercingly as the girl's body was dragged backward along with Lusy.
Amid the falling dust and piercing screams, the sound of snapping concrete echoed throughout the entire room.
"Grab my hand!" Jody barked from the darkness above.