My heart seized.
"You were using the baby to force a wedding, so Eugene said he wanted one last night of freedom with me before the ceremony. A proper goodbye. We went to the factory for the thrill of it." She tilted her head, a cruel smile curving her lips. "But I got a little too excited and knocked over a drum of machine oil."
"Eugene told me to get out first. But wouldn't you know it, a beam came down and knocked me unconscious."
The blood roared in my ears.
I thought of my past life. How I'd rushed blindly into that inferno to save her. How it had cost me my baby. How it had cost me everything.
And now I knew the truth. They were the ones who had built my suffering, brick by brick.
My vision blurred red with hatred. "Sylvia Swanson! I will make you pay for this!"
Sylvia threw her head back and laughed as she sealed the vent shut and cranked the temperature higher.
"On second thought, why don't you die first? Once you're gone, I can take that chip patent and marry your husband myself!"
With that, she strutted out and slammed the door behind her, grinning from ear to ear.
The temperature kept climbing. The air grew thinner with every breath.
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I could hear it. My limbs went limp, heavy as melted wax, and I slumped to the floor.
I lost track of time.
Just as everything went black, the sauna door exploded inward, kicked clean off its hinges.
