While collecting samples in Antarctica, I was caught in a blizzard.

When I finally made it back to the vehicle, I found the fuel tank drained and my thermal suit shredded into rags.

I screamed for help, but laughter crackled through the communicator. It was the voice of my husband's childhood sweetheart.

"No need to rescue her, you guys! Sophie's got the world record for low-temperature endurance!

"Today, let's see if she can hike across the ice in a T-shirt, all on livestream!"

Then came my husband's doting voice.

"Baby, I've already spoken to the manager. If she pulls this off, you'll get your spot in next month's expedition!"

That was when I understood. My husband had turned me into a stepping stone for her future.

As I shivered violently in the cold, I begged, "Please, Zachary. After all our years of marriage…"

Before I could finish, he cut me off coldly. “Save your body heat and keep walking. Luna's future depends on you.

"You've got the stamina anyway, so just hold on for another five kilometers!"

At that moment, my heart froze solid.

If they wanted me dead, then I would make sure they froze at the base instead.

With trembling hands, I raised the axe, aiming it directly at the base's heating pipes.

I never imagined that my final research mission would become the grave that buried me.

Wind and snow poured into my torn protective suit; every breath I took scraped my throat with shards of ice.

With numb, frozen hands, I gripped a road marker and staggered my way to the main heating pipeline.

The moment I arrived, I immediately pointed the camera that was attached to the helmet at the heating pipeline.

"This heating pipeline is the lifeline of the entire base. If this is cut off, the entire building will become an icy grave.

"Now, what do you think is going to happen if I swing my axe right here?"

Luna Stewart's panicked voice was the first to come through the comms.

"Calm down, Sophie! We were just…"

She hadn't finished when my husband, Zachary's mocking voice cut her off. "What are you afraid of? This base is the culmination of a decade of the company's hard work! If she swings that axe, she'll never leave Antarctica alive."

He sneered, urging me on, "Bring the camera closer. Let us see how you break the world record!"

I wasn't provoked by Zachary.

Gasping for breath, I raised the axe over my head and swung down toward the layer of ice and snow protecting the pipeline.

"This axe of mine is for dealing with wild animals at the base, and it can slice through bear hide…

"Do the math. How long do you think it'll take me to dig down to the pipeline?"

As the base's communications officer, Zachary knew better than anyone that once the pipeline ruptured, in the polar night at minus fifty degrees, no one would survive long enough to wait for rescue.

When the first crack split across the ice, his voice finally lost its composure.

"Calm down, Sophie! That was all just a company advertising task. How could I let anything really happen to you?"

Luna's trembling voice followed, "Yeah, Sophie! Once Zachary saw you were in trouble, he already called for rescue, so just go back in the car and conserve your strength!"

An advertising task?

Hearing those words, I almost lost control of the heat behind my eyes. Forcing my tears back, I asked through gritted teeth, "The false weather report. The half-drained fuel tank. Even cutting my thermal suit to shreds…

"Were those all commands from the company?"

Before heading out this morning, I had inspected the vehicle myself.

The fuel tank had been enough for two full round trips.

The thermal suit was designed for emergency survival, and it would even be hard to cut through with a knife.

They didn't want me to challenge my limits, they wanted me dead.

The comms plunged into deafening silence as my fingernails dug into my palms.

Not waiting for them to make up any more excuses, I smashed the ice with all my strength.

"With my stamina, it'll take at most half an hour for me to break through this layer of ice.

"Either call the rescue team now, or wait for me to reach the pipeline and freeze to death together. It's your choice."

After a short moment of silence, Zachary's voice spoke, but only to accuse me.

"Do you know how many researchers are in this base?! If you destroy our research project, you'll be a sinner against all of mankind!"

My axe swung down once more.

Crack!

I cut him off. "I've already broken through the ice."

From the other end of the communicator came frantic curses and the sound of things crashing.

I paid no attention, focusing only on digging at the pipeline.

After a long silence, Zachary's voice came through again, softer this time, "The rescue team's already on their way!

"Be good and fill the snow back in. Stop digging!"

I let out a breath and collapsed weakly onto the ice.

The last trace of warmth in my body seemed to escape with that exhale.

Dragging my frozen, rigid body, I practically crawled back to the vehicle.

But twenty minutes later, all I could hear was the wind and snow battering against the car.

Just as my consciousness began to blur, Zachary's cold commands came through the communication device.

"Honey, the rescue team says your situation is complicated. They need the backup base to activate the special protocol.

"The soonest they can get there is an hour, so start going back yourself.

"Don't worry, I'll be right there with you. I'll wait until you come back with the samples."

An hour?

At minus forty degrees, I would succumb to hypothermia in ten minutes.

In the biting wind and snow, my lips were frozen stiff, and my husband’s betrayal made my voice choke with emotion."You never wanted me to live from the very start, did you?"

Through the communicator came Luna's drawn out voice, "Ding ding ding! You got it right, so your prize is to have the chance to use your life to win me a research slot!

"Only one life in exchange for my bright future! Isn't that sooo worth it?"

At that moment, Zachary spoke, "Babe, the general manager added another bonus! If she takes off her short-sleeved shirt too, you'll be promoted straight to base director!"

Luna immediately kissed him in excitement, and after a round of heated kissing noises from across the comms, Zachary spoke again, softly, "Heard that, honey? Now's your time to shine."

The blood in my veins froze.

So in their eyes, I was nothing more than a tool to be completely drained of worth.

The storm felt as though it were freezing my organs solid, but I summoned the last of my strength, curled my fingers and pushed the car door open again.

My stiff limbs gave way the moment I stepped out, and I fell hard into the snow.

Hearing the noises from my end, Zachary scoffed, his sneer almost visible in his voice.

"No way, are you trying to rupture the heating pipes again? You can't even bear to hurt a mouse, so why are you acting all scary now?

"Be good, alright? Since you've been my wife for so many years, I'll make sure you're buried in the family cemetery."

Each word struck like a loud slap across my face. His understanding of me, from the days we spent together, became the reason for his confidence in exacting such cruelty.

I was so cold my entire body shook, and I couldn't help the coughs that racked through my body. "T-The national research station is nearby… Aren't you afraid of being found out?"

"Why would I be?" Zachary asked, nonchalantly, "Did you think that we were idiots, Sophie? I've already reported that you were the one who insisted on going out in a T-shirt because you wanted to become famous, so even if people find you, they'll think that you just overestimated yourself!"

Under the extreme cold, I felt a strange wave of heat instead.

I knew what that meant. The hypothermia was already starting to settle in.

Driven by pure survival instinct, I squeezed out a final plea, "Zachary, you promised that we'd bring my mom home for New Year's this year. She's still waiting for us…"

Luna's voice interrupted my plea, a leisurely drawl that was filled with arrogant pity, "Sophie, you've been in Antarctica for years now, so you don't know, do you?

"That sickly mother of yours has already run out of medical funds and died long ago.

"Why? Because the one lying in the hospital bed using those treatment funds… was my mom!"

A buzzing filled my head, as though every other sound had been sucked away.

All that remained was the faint rustle of clothing from the other end of the communicator, followed by a faint chuckle from Zachary.

Luna's voice drew even closer, filled with triumphant glee, "Thank you for being such a dear and for supporting my mother for so many years. Don't worry, you won't have to do it anymore in the future!

"Oh right, here's another piece of good news for you since we're at it: I'm pregnant with Zachary's child! I'm sure the money we're going to get from your life insurance policy is going to be more than enough to buy formula for our baby!"

Darkness surged before my eyes. It felt as if the whole world collapsed in that instant.

Just as the very last inch of my heart froze, Zachary's doting voice slipped in again, "I get you're happy, but be careful, alright? Don't upset the baby."

The last thread holding me upright snapped.

I had no strength left to move forward. My body collapsed limply into the snow.

Just as my consciousness slipped into the darkness, an anxious voice burst out, "Zachary! Why hasn't Sophie come back yet?!"

It was the director of the base, Lucas Payne!

That name sparked my final shred of hope.

I don’t know where the strength came from, but I crawled on all fours toward the communicator lying in the snow.

Finally, I grabbed it.

My throat felt like it was being strangled, but I forced out a cry for help with everything I had left, "Lucas! I'm caught in a blizzard, and I don't have a protective suit!

"Send the rescue team, right now!"

Even as I screamed for help, the other end of the call seemed to be frozen in ice and snow, and all I could hear were Lucas' fragmented questions.

At that point, I realized that Zachary had cut off communications from my end, and despair welled up uncontrollably in my heart once more.

I could only listen as his troubled voice altered the truth.

"Don't make this difficult for me, Lucas. Sophie's always had more of a mind of her own, compared to regular women. She even told me that before she breaks through her limits and returns on her own, no one's allowed to contact her."

My heart bled, hearing the nonsense he was spouting, and I couldn't help but try and adjust my signal, trying to explain my side of the story:

"Lucas! They're the ones who tampered with the car and the protective suit! Help me!"

But on the other end, all I could hear was Lucas' sigh, followed by Luna's voice, tinged with fake sympathy, "She really did go too far this time. No matter how badly she wants to become famous, she shouldn't risk the unit's samples like that…"

Those words clearly struck a nerve, because Lucas' voice shot up, stern and angry, "I don't care what her personality is like! Now that she's here, she'll have to follow discipline!

"She's gone too far this time! Even if she comes back with the samples, I'll have her suspended for investigation!"

Bam!

With the heavy slam of a door, my final shred of hope shattered.

…

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, Luna's giggles came over the comms again. "Did you hear that, Sophie? Even if you die, everyone would just hold a grudge against you for bringing the samples with you.

"If you beg, Zachary and I might feel generous enough to go collect your corpse."

My silence only earned sharper mockery.

Zachary spoke coldly, "Before you die, remember to put those samples back into the car. Luna still needs them for her merit, you know?

"Besides, if you hold it while you die, who knows what bad karma it's going to bring for a pregnant woman like her?"

The samples…

I had found them through countless observations, nearly exhausting myself in the process, and now they wanted to take even that from me.

A surge of fierce unwillingness rose in my chest.

Dragging my nearly frozen body upright, I stood again.

The axe was still at my side.

I grabbed it and staggered back to where the pipeline had cracked earlier.

The flames of revenge burned fiercely in my heart.

'Zachary… Luna…

'You two want to use my life in exchange for her permanent position, right?

'Then let me make sure that you get a permanent assignment… in hell!'

Crash! Crash!

I stood over the fractured ice once more and swung the axe with every last ounce of strength.

I hadn’t removed the camera from my helmet.

Immediately realizing what I was doing, Luna screeched, "Sophie, are you crazy?!"

I ignored her, continuing to raise my numb arms and swing them down, mechanically repeating the motions until…

Crack!

With a sharp crack, the ice split completely apart, exposing the heating pipe underneath.

Taking aim, I lifted the axe high—

"Sophie!"

Zachary's voice burned with fury, as if he was unsatisfied at me being impertinent enough to go against his death sentence. Practically roaring, he ordered, "Put that down right now! Who gave you permission to do this?!"