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?!"