My wife’s younger brother was trapped in a deep pit, and I risked my life, tied to a rope, to rescue him.
Just as I secured the rope around his waist, the tension above us suddenly gave way, and we both plummeted, hitting the bottom hard.
I looked up, only to see my wife, Seraphina, slashing through the rope.
Her childhood friend, Damien, grinned arrogantly:
“Do it!”
Black-clad bodyguards rushed to fill the pit with quicksand, intending to bury us alive!
I quickly used my walkie-talkie to contact my wife:
“Seraphina, your brother and I are still down here!”
Seraphina scoffed:
“Three years ago, during the earthquake, you abandoned Damien’s brother in the rubble for five whole days just to save others. Now it’s your turn to pay the price!”
Damien instantly forced out tears:
“Seraphina, thanks to you, my brother’s revenge is finally done.”
The quicksand was already covering our feet. I screamed at the top of my lungs:
“Seraphina, that’s really *your own brother* down here!”
1
“Alex, you’d say anything to save your skin, wouldn’t you?”
“My brother’s at Disneyland with his girlfriend today. I just helped him with the plans last night. Next time you lie, at least try to make it believable.”
Damien’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie:
“Karma’s a bitch, Alex! You murdered my brother, and now you’ll both die the same way!”
I moved away from my wife’s brother, fearing I was blocking Seraphina’s view, wanting her to get a clear look at him.
But his face was injured, and he’d been trapped here for a day and a night.
He was already unrecognizable.
“Seraphina, you’ll regret this!”
After shouting that, I immediately cut the connection on the walkie-talkie. We were running out of time!
If we didn’t get out before the quicksand reached our lungs, we’d really be dead.
My wife’s brother gasped for breath, clinging to my hand, unwilling to let go.
“Alex, what’s wrong with Seraphina? Does she really want to kill me? I’m her own brother!”
He finally burst into tears after that.
My heart ached for him, but there was no time to comfort him now.
If I didn’t make a decision immediately, even a second of hesitation would mean our death.
The quicksand rose higher and higher, slowly covering our ankles.
“Hold on tight, don’t let go!”
I tied us together with a rope and started digging footholds with a small shovel I carried.
The next second, a boulder the size of a sandbag grazed my ear and tumbled past.
My wife’s brother yelled hoarsely at the top of the pit:
“Seraphina! Are you crazy? Why are you trying to smash Alex?”
I covered my ears to avoid excessive bleeding.
Seraphina grabbed a megaphone, her voice echoing with arrogant authority.
“Still got a big mouth when you’re staring death in the face? You’re just begging for it!”
Stones rained down like bullets. I was forced to stop digging and huddle with my wife’s brother, dodging the onslaught.
Meanwhile, the quicksand continued to pile up, already submerging our calves.
The next moment, the bodyguards suddenly stopped shoveling. A package was tossed down.
I opened it. It was a cell phone and a document. The phone was on a FaceTime call with Seraphina.
“It’s not too late to give up. Just agree to this document, and I’ll have them pull you out immediately.”
I opened the document, desperate to see what could make her so hell-bent on killing me.
What I saw made my blood run cold.
2
The document demanded that I turn myself in to the police.
It stated I had to confess that the building collapse during the earthquake was my fault, trapping Damien’s siblings in the rubble and causing one death.
But I was hiking that day. All company matters had been handled by Seraphina.
She was the one who cut corners, using shoddy materials, which is why the building couldn’t withstand the earthquake.
That’s what caused the casualties.
Now, she wanted me to take the blame for everything and transfer all company shares to Damien.
If I signed that contract, I’d probably spend the rest of my life in prison.
My wife’s brother read the document, then angrily tore it to shreds:
“Seraphina, you’re despicable!”
He snatched the phone, his voice choked with tears as he spoke to Seraphina on the video call:
“Seraphina! Open your eyes! I’m your brother!”
“Didn’t you promise to take care of me forever? Please, come down and save me! I won’t let Alex sign that thing!”
My heart ached.
After five years of marriage, my wife’s brother and I had become close friends, telling each other everything.
Seraphina spat at him.
“You look like a ghost and you think you can impersonate my brother? That’s not how you beg.”
“My brother, Caleb, is tall and handsome! How could a disgusting freak like you even compare!”
“Alex, my patience is limited. Sign it, or die!”
The bodyguards at the pit’s edge suddenly sped up, shoveling mud and sand over our heads.
Someone’s keys, mixed in with the dirt, fell and their sharp edge sliced open my wife’s brother’s arm.
“Decide quickly, or next time I’ll throw knives down!”
“Caleb!”
I quickly tore off part of my shirt to bandage his wound.
I cast a cold glare at Seraphina above.
“Do you really think this plan is foolproof?”
Seraphina scoffed.
“So what if I do? No one can save you now.”
I pointed to Damien beside her.
“Can’t you see someone’s using you to kill us? You think you’re some noble warrior fighting for love, but you’re nothing but a puppet in someone else’s hands.”
“Who are you calling a puppet?”
“You know who. Keep this up, and you’ll regret it, sooner or later.”
Damien suddenly picked up a rock and threw it at us.
“Seraphina, don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to buy time for backup.”
“Bury him faster!”
Seraphina immediately stopped thinking, her patience gone.
“Didn’t you guys eat breakfast? Shovel harder!”
A dozen bodyguards frantically swung their shovels, and our thighs were almost completely submerged.
I immediately pulled out a spray bottle from my bag.
I used every ounce of strength I had and hurled it upwards, hitting the lead bodyguard’s feet.
Seraphina burst into laughter.
“Pepper spray? Hahahaha…”
“Alex, you’re supposed to be a brilliant university graduate! Can that stop one guy? Ten?”
The sand buried us higher and higher, already reaching our stomachs.
My wife’s brother had his arms wrapped around my waist, his tears soaking my back, filled with despair.
3
I watched as the nozzle on the spray bottle automatically opened, dispersing a cloud of mist.
“Seraphina? Do you know how many times concentrated chili extract I put in there?”
Seraphina’s brow furrowed slightly; before she could answer,
The ten bodyguards at the edge of the pit suddenly collapsed, writhing on the ground. Two even tumbled down.
On the video call, the previously arrogant Seraphina suddenly coughed violently. Damien’s smile vanished.
“Seraphina? Why did those guys faint?!”
Seizing the opportunity, I quickly pulled my wife’s brother upwards. Ten years of mountain climbing experience made it less difficult for me.
But Seraphina’s enraged voice came through the phone.
“Alex, do you think you’re so clever?”
The video feed on the phone shook. Seraphina retrieved a water bottle from her car and capped my spray bottle.
Then, she picked up a military shovel from the ground and violently swung it down towards us.
I couldn’t let go. If I fell from this height, my wife’s brother would be crushed to death.
My wife’s brother was on my back; there was no time to dodge.
The shovel slammed directly onto his arm, accompanied by a scream, a bloody mess.
My wife’s brother passed out from the pain.
“Bastard, daring to provoke Seraphina and stop Alex from signing! Let’s see how many shovels you can take.”
Seraphina swung two more shovels our way.
I endured the searing pain in my hands, barely dodging them.
My wife’s brother wouldn’t be in this miserable state, trapped in this pit, if he hadn’t been trying to help Seraphina stabilize the company and comfort the disaster victims.
I roared into the phone:
“Seraphina! At this rate, Caleb will really die!”
Seraphina calmly took a puff from a cigarette, slowly exhaling a smoke ring.
“Still lying to me when you’re on the verge of death? If you really want to save him, sign the document.”
“Fine! I’ll sign it. I admit it’s my fault.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I quickly descended to the lowest level to retrieve the document and pen that had been thrown down.
“I’ve signed it! Now get us out!”
My wife’s brother, roused by the jostling, saw my signature and couldn’t help but curse.
“You’re not human, Seraphina! I’m your own brother!”
Seraphina used a thin string to pull the document up.
After reading it, she drew a throwing knife from her belt.
“Still daring to curse me at a time like this? You two need a lesson.”
She aimed for my head, and just as we relaxed our guard, she threw it with all her might.
My wife’s brother, on my back, saw her move and lunged forward, blocking the knife with his hand.
“Ah!”
With a sickening thud, his hand was directly severed.
“No!”
I went insane, frantically pulling emergency bandages from my bag, trying to stem the bleeding as calmly as possible.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…”
“Alex, keep begging me. Why didn’t you save Damien’s brother when he begged you?”
Damien’s head popped out, a gleeful smile on his face.
“Seraphina, quickly! Kill them! Just get rid of them all!”
My wife’s brother was completely numb from the pain, staring at his severed arm, unable to even cry out.
But Seraphina didn’t stop. She and Damien began to fill the pit with quicksand again.
I quickly tied my wife’s brother tightly to my back. This time, I *had* to reach the top.
I climbed step by step, trying to match their shoveling speed.
Seraphina suddenly stopped.
“Alex, I’m done playing with you.”
She suddenly pulled a handful of throwing knives from a bag, aiming them at us.
Damien, tired, immediately dropped his shovel and began to massage her shoulders.
“Go, Seraphina! Stab those two bastards through!”
There was a slope halfway up the pit. If we could just reach it, we’d have cover and could hold out until rescue.
Just one more step…
A sharp pain shot through my back. I gritted my teeth and pushed my wife’s brother onto the slope.
Then I fell heavily, letting the quicksand engulf my body.
4
“Alex!”
My wife’s brother, whom I had just pushed onto the slope, saw me being swallowed by the sand and, without a second thought, jumped back down with me.
He dug me out of the sand with one hand, forcing me upright so I wouldn’t suffocate.
I knew this couldn’t go on. I no longer had the strength to climb back to the halfway point.
“Caleb, I won’t make it out alive.”
“You stand in front of me. You survive, and then go find Victoria.”
Victoria was the true matriarch of the Hayes family, and with her, my name could surely be cleared.
My wife’s brother hugged me tightly with his one hand.
“No, Alex. If we die, we die together! I don’t want to see that monster again!”
Even injured, I was stronger than a pampered, one-armed young man.
Ignoring his struggles, I tied him securely with the rope.
If only one of us could live, I would make sure it was him!
Under my despairing gaze, my wife’s brother stopped resisting.
“Alex, it’s okay. I still have one hand…”
“I don’t hurt anymore. If she does anything else, I’ll block it with this hand.”
I didn’t contradict his naive words, only felt pathetic for myself.
After marrying Seraphina, I worked tirelessly for the Hayes family, only to be killed by my own wife.
Just as I thought I would be riddled with knives, Seraphina suddenly appeared directly above us.
A knife hovered directly over my wife’s brother’s head.
I had no strength left to move, no better ideas.
I had no choice but to turn the camera towards my wife’s brother, frantically shouting.
“Seraphina, please believe me one last time, okay?”
“This really is your brother! I’m not lying! It’s your own brother!”
Seraphina on the FaceTime call impatiently rolled her eyes.
“Alex, you’re about to die and you’re still trying to trick me?”
Damien’s simpering voice joined in.
“Seraphina, he’s just trying to play on your soft spot. Your brother is the young master of the Hayes family; how could he look like some poor, raggedy freak?”
“Exactly! I personally picked out my brother’s Disneyland outfit last night, and your brother can just go to hell with you!”
“No!”
Knives rained down from the sky. My wife’s brother lunged over, shielding me.
“Alex, live on for both of us.”
Dozens of knives, from head to toe, pierced his body.
Scalding blood flowed onto me. I met my wife’s brother’s eyes, and they were filled with concern, for me.
Even in his dying moments, he was thinking of me, his brother-in-law.
Damien laughed hysterically:
“Oh, what brotherly love!”
“You’ve got company for your death, you won’t be lonely. Damien’s brother died all alone!”
The bodyguards, having regained consciousness, began to shovel sand into the pit again.
I stared blankly at Seraphina above, the wife who once promised to stay with me forever.
The demon who had killed her own brother.
She looked down at me from above:
“Kneel and beg me, and I might leave you a whole body, bury you two brothers together.”
Damien pulled her hand:
“Seraphina, you help dig too. One more look at him, and all I can think of is my poor, dead brother.”
I watched the sand rise quickly, already burying my chest, about to engulf my neck.
My wife’s brother’s corpse was right before my eyes, one hand still gripping me tightly.
“Seraphina, even if I die, I’ll turn into a vengeful ghost and tear you to shreds!”
Seraphina clapped her hands.
“Typical husband of mine, so dramatic. Well, now you can die!”
Just as the quicksand was about to swallow me, the roar of dozens of SUVs echoed from all directions.
Seraphina’s voice trembled as she questioned the woman getting out of a vehicle.
“Victoria… why are you here?”
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