My brother-in-law, Benjamin Fallow, got trapped in a deep pit, so I grabbed some ropes and risked my life to climb down and pull him out.

Just after I tied the rope around his waist, the line went slack and we both came crashing down.

When I looked up, I couldn't believe my eyes. My wife, Celeste Fallow, had cut the rope.

Meanwhile, her childhood friend, Vincent Jameson, grinned and egged her on. "Do it."

Black-clad bodyguards started shoveling sand into the hole, trying to bury us alive. I grabbed the walkie-talkie and screamed up at her, "Celeste, your brother and I are still down here!"

She sneered back. "Three years ago, during the quake, you left Vincent's brother trapped under the rubble for five days while you saved others. Now it's time to pay what you owe."

Vincent shed crocodile tears and crowed, "Celeste, thanks to you, my brother's revenge is finally complete."

With the sand already up to our ankles, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Celeste Fallow, your brother is really down here with me!"

"Finnegan Lindt, you'll say anything to save your skin now, won't you? My brother's at the amusement park with his girlfriend today. I just helped him plan their trip last night. The next time you want to lie, at least come up with a better story."

Vincent Jameson's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.

"Finnegan, you're getting what you deserve! Now, you can die the same way you killed my brother back then!"

I stepped back from Benjamin Fallow, my brother-in-law, so my wife, Celeste Fallow, could get a clear view of his face.

However, his face was torn up, and after being trapped there for a whole day and night, he was barely recognizable.

"Celeste, you'll regret this!"

As soon as I said that, I cut off the walkie-talkie.

We were running out of time. If we did not climb up soon, the sand would reach our lungs and we would suffocate.

Benjamin was gasping for breath, clutching my hand so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Finnegan, what's wrong with my sister? Does she really want to kill me? I'm her brother!"

As the words left his mouth, tears finally spilled down his dirt-streaked face.

My heart ached for him, but it was not the time for sympathy.

If I did not act then… If I hesitated for even a second, the both of us would be dead.

The sand kept rising, swallowing our ankles inch by inch.

"Hold on to me. Don't let go!"

I tied a rope around the both of us, grabbed the small shovel I always carried, and started digging footholds into the pit wall.

A split second later, a rock the size of a sandbag whizzed past my ear.

Benjamin rasped, shouting upward, "Celeste! Are you crazy? Why are you trying to hit him?"

I pressed my palm against my bleeding ear, trying to stop the flow.

Celeste's voice thundered down through a loudspeaker, cold and commanding. "Still talking back when you're about to die? You must have a death wish!"

Stones rained down like bullets. I had to stop digging and huddle close to Benjamin as we shielded ourselves.

Meanwhile, the sand kept piling higher. By then, our calves were completely buried.

Suddenly, the guards above stopped shoveling, and a package dropped down beside us.

I tore it open and found a phone and document inside. The phone was already in the middle of a video call with Celeste.

She spoke calmly and cruelly, "It's not too late to surrender. Sign that document, and I'll have them pull you both up immediately."

I flipped open the file, wanting to see what could possibly make her go to such lengths to kill me.

However, the moment I saw it, my mind went blank.

The document said that I had to turn myself in and admit that the building collapse during the earthquake years ago was my fault. They wanted me to admit that my negligence had trapped the Jameson siblings under the rubble, killing one of them.

However, I was not even in the city at that time. I was out hiking!

All the company's construction projects were handled by Celeste alone. She was the one who cut corners and skimped on materials.

That was why the building could not withstand the quake.

She wanted me to take the fall for her and hand over all my company shares to Vincent.

If I signed that contract, I would spend the rest of my life behind bars.

Benjamin glanced through the document, then ripped it to shreds in fury. "Celeste, you're shameless!"

He snatched the phone from me and shouted into the video call, tears streaming down his face.

"Celeste! Open your eyes! It's me, your brother! You promised you'd take care of me! Come down here and save us! I'm not letting him sign that thing!"

His voice cracked, and my chest tightened.

After five years of marriage, he and I had become close, more like brothers than in-laws.

However, Celeste only spat in disgust.

"Look at yourself! You think a freak of nature like you can claim to be my brother? That's not how you beg for mercy. My brother is tall and handsome. You? You're a hideous wreck. Don't even try to compare yourself to him!"

Then, she turned her glare to me. "Finnegan, my patience is running out. Sign it or die."

At her order, the guards by the pit's edge began shoveling faster, pouring sand straight down onto our heads.

Something metallic mixed in with the falling dirt, perhaps a set of keys. Its sharp edge slashed open Benjamin's arm.

She barked, "Make up your mind! Next time, I'll toss knives instead."

"Benjamin!"

I tore a strip from my shirt and wrapped his bleeding arm, my hands shaking.

Then, I looked up, my eyes cold. "You really think this plan is flawless, don't you?"

Celeste sneered. "So what if it isn't? No one's coming to save you."

I pointed toward the man standing beside her, Vincent.

"Don't you get it? You're being used. You think you're some kind of warrior fighting for love, but you're just a dog doing someone else's dirty work."

Her face froze. "Who are you saying is using me?"

"You know exactly who. Keep this up, and you'll regret it soon enough."

Before she could answer, Vincent grabbed a rock and hurled it down at us. "Don't listen to him, Celeste! He's stalling for time, waiting for rescue. Bury him now!"

Celeste snapped, her voice rising. "What are you idiots waiting for? Shovel faster!"

A dozen bodyguards swung their shovels in sync, the dirt pouring faster and faster. The sand was already swallowing our thighs.

I fumbled through my backpack and pulled out a canister. With every ounce of strength I had left, I hurled it upward.

It burst at the lead guard's feet with a hiss.

Celeste burst into laughter. "Pepper spray? You may be able to fight off one person, but ten?"

The sand kept rising, filling up around us until it leveled with our stomachs.

Benjamin clung to my waist, sobbing. His tears of despair soaked through my back.

I watched as the nozzle on the canister clicked open on its own and started spraying in all directions.

I replied coldly, "Celeste, do you have any idea how many times I concentrated that pepper extract?"

Her brow twitched.

Before she could even respond, ten of her bodyguards at the edge of the pit suddenly collapsed, convulsing on the ground. Two of them even tumbled straight off the edge.

In the video call, Celeste, who was full of arrogance and venom a moment ago, broke into a fit of coughing.

Vincent's smirk vanished as he asked, "Celeste? What's happening? Why are they passed out?"

I seized the chance, dragging Benjamin upward with all my strength.

Ten years of mountaineering experience came in handy. I could still climb up slowly.

Then, Celeste's furious voice came through the phone, hoarse but sharp. "Finnegan, you really think you're clever, don't you?"

The video feed shook violently. She grabbed a cup of water from her car and poured it over my canister, trying to block the spray.

Then, without warning, she snatched up a military shovel and swung it viciously in our direction.

I could not let go. If I did, Benjamin would fall to his death.

With him strapped to my back, I had no time to dodge. The shovel came down hard, slamming into his arm with a sickening crack.

His scream tore through the pit as blood splattered across the sand. Then, he fell unconscious.

Celeste spat, "You filthy piece of trash! Still trying to turn Vincent against me? Let's see how many more hits you can take."

She hurled two more strikes. I gritted my teeth, dodging barely in time, pain searing through my hands as I clung to the rock face.

If Benjamin had not tried to stabilize Celeste's company, helping her calm the victims' families, he never would have been trapped in that nightmare.

I shouted into the phone, rage shaking my voice. "Celeste! Keep this up, and your brother's really going to die!"

She took a slow drag from her cigarette, exhaled a perfect smoke ring, and sneered. "You're still lying while at death's door? If you really want to save him, sign the damn papers."

"Fine! I'll sign it! It's my fault!"

Without a second of hesitation, I climbed back down, grabbed the document and pen that had been tossed into the pit, and scrawled my name.

"I signed it! Now let us go!"

Benjamin stirred awake from the jolt. He saw the signature and exploded on the spot.

"You're not even human, Celeste! I'm your brother!"

Celeste examined the document after hauling it up with a string. Then, she whipped out a throwing knife from her belt.

"Oh, still mouthing off? Guess you two need another lesson."

She aimed right at my head and threw it the moment we let our guard down.

Benjamin saw it coming. He lunged forward, blocking it with his injured arm.

The knife sliced clean through.

His arm hit the ground with a dull thud.

"No!"

My mind went blank. I tore into my pack, hands trembling, and yanked out a roll of emergency bandages.

"Hold on... just hold on. It's okay, I've got you..."

Celeste's voice oozed through the phone like poison. "Keep begging, Finnegan. Where was that mercy when Vincent was begging you to save his brother?"

Then, Vincent's face appeared beside hers, twisted in excitement. "Finish them, Celeste! Don't leave any witnesses. Kill them both!"

Benjamin was beyond feeling any pain, staring blankly at the bloody stump where his arm used to be. Not even tears came anymore.

However, Celeste was not done. She and Vincent grabbed their shovels again, dumping sand into the pit like executioners.

I tied Benjamin tightly to my back and started climbing again.

'Not this time,' I told myself.

I was not planning on dying there.

I climbed one step at a time, matching their pace, racing against the rising sand.

Then, Celeste's voice echoed coldly above. "Finnegan, I'm done playing with you."

She pulled out a fistful of throwing knives, raising them toward us with a smirk.

Vincent, panting and sweaty, tossed aside his shovel to massage her shoulders.

"Go on, Celeste. Finish them off. Skewer those two bastards."

Halfway up the pit wall, I spotted a small ledge. There was a ledge just wide enough for cover.

If I could reach it, we could wait there for rescue.

Just one more step...

A flash of agony tore through my back.

Gritting my teeth, I shoved Benjamin up onto the ledge with every ounce of strength I had left, then I let go.

As I fell, the loose sand rose to meet me, swallowing me whole.