Chapter 5

I found her words utterly preposterous.

"You're making things up--"

But before I could finish, Mark grabbed my neck, pressing me against the car door:

"Sarah, you venomous woman!"

"You deliberately planned to kill our whole family, didn't you?!"

Tiffany, with a tearful voice, added fuel to the fire:

"I know you've always been jealous of me, but you can't joke around with our entire family's lives!"

Mark's hand tightened around my neck.

I gasped for air, my head hitting the car window with a thud. Blood trickled down my forehead.

"Sarah, even if we all die here today, I'm going to send you on your way first!"

He slammed my head against the car window again and again, making my vision swim.

But I knew I couldn't give in now.

Otherwise, they would beat me to death right here!

I gritted my teeth and shouted: "You all came here yourselves!"

"Shut up!" Mark screamed, like a madman.

Tiffany also yelled: "It's all your fault! You're the one who killed our whole family!"

Susan lunged forward, hitting me: "How could you be so heartless!"

The three of them surrounded me, hitting and cursing, as if being trapped here was all my fault.

David also started cursing, and a few of them even began insulting my mother.

"Eleanor's no good either, raising such a wicked woman!"

"A whole family of awful people!"

Just as Mark raised his fist again, a tremendous roaring sound came from the sky.

A helicopter sliced through the swirling sand, landing steadily not far away.

Mark's eyes lit up. Susan scrambled to her feet. Tiffany screamed and ran towards the helicopter.

"Help! Save us!"

The cabin door opened, and a rescue team member jumped out. He glanced at the four of them, frowning:

"The helicopter only has room for four more people."

The words had barely left his mouth when Mark grabbed Susan:

"Susan, you and I go first!"

Tiffany shrieked: "Why should you? I'm carrying your family's blood! Let me go first!"

"Shut up!" Mark snapped at her. "Is the baby's life more important than mine?!"

David also squeezed forward, trembling: "I... I'm the oldest, let me go first!"

The four of them started arguing, none willing to give way.

Just then, Susan suddenly looked at me, her eyes vicious:

"Just leave her behind. The four of us can go up, right?"

Tiffany quickly seconded: "Exactly, she's the one who deserves to die. Make her wait for the next trip!"

The four of them reached an agreement and looked at the rescue team member in unison: "Leave her! She deserves to die, she doesn't deserve to get on the helicopter!"

I leaned against the car door, blood still flowing from my forehead, watching their performance with cold eyes.

The rescue team member finally shouted impatiently: "Enough! This helicopter is ordered to pick up *one person*, not for you to get on as you please!"

Then, he looked directly at me: "Engineer Johnson, we're from the Geological Bureau, sent to pick you up. Please board."

Mark's face went white. Susan's mouth hung open, speechless. Tiffany collapsed to the ground.

The rescue team member added: "There are three more seats, but who gets on is up to Engineer Johnson."