Chapter 1

The expedition team ventured into the Nevada desert's forbidden zone to scout for rare mineral resources. Suddenly, we were hit by a freak heatwave reaching a lethal 130 degrees.

I was on the verge of fainting from severe dehydration. I fumbled with my backpack, desperate to reach the electrolyte water I had prepared in advance.

Just as I raised the bottle to my parched lips, I realized it was filled with warm urine.

I turned my head and saw my husband's childhood best friend, Lyla, chugging my electrolyte water as if it were air.

Before I could lash out in anger, my husband, Garrett, grabbed my arm with a firm grip.

"Don't be dramatic. I gave your water to Lyla because she was about to collapse. You're stronger, so just drink that to hold yourself over for now."

Black spots danced before my eyes. I clutched the half-bottle of filth, my teeth gritting as I forced the words out.

"I am literally dying of dehydration. You're stopping me from getting fluids and forcing me to drink this? Do you want me dead?"

Garrett's expression shifted to one of pure annoyance.

"Stop talking nonsense. Lyla doesn't train every day like you do; she can't handle this heat. Isn't it only right to give her the electrolytes?"

"Besides, liquid is liquid. In a survival situation like this, why are you being so high and mighty?"

I realized then that he was beyond reasoning. Before my consciousness slipped away entirely, I triggered my GPS beacon and sent out a distress signal.

"Dehydration imminent. Near death. Expedition suspended. Send immediate rescue. Also reporting a robbery within the team. Send the police."

1

Garrett snatched the satellite phone from my hand, his face twisted in a snarl. He tried to place another call to cancel the rescue and the police report.

However, he quickly realized the device required my biometric iris scan to override the emergency protocol.

He moved with brutal force, trying to pry my eyelids open.

"Cassia! Is this really necessary? It's just a bottle of water. You're calling for a rescue and accusing us of robbery?"

"If you jeopardize this mineral survey, do you have any idea how much that will cost the department? Can you even take responsibility for that?"

I used every ounce of my remaining strength to claw at Garrett's wrists, keeping my eyes squeezed shut.

The dizziness from the dehydration hit me in waves. My stomach felt like it was being scorched by an open flame, and every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass.

I licked the beads of blood seeping from my cracked lips, trying to find any moisture. It was useless.

Garrett's physical struggle was draining the last of my energy. I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.

Lyla took another long, satisfied gulp of my water, letting out a soft, taunting sigh of relief.

"Cassia, I'm so sorry. Garrett was just being kind. I was so dehydrated, I thought I was going to die out here."

Then, she poured some of the precious liquid into her palm, casually splashing it on her face, hands, and neck to cool down.

"These electrolytes really do work fast. It's a good thing you brought them, otherwise, I wouldn't have had anything this refreshing to drink."

I gripped the edge of the car seat so hard my knuckles turned white. I wanted to tear her apart.

I had prepared that specifically for an emergency. Before we left, I had suggested we bring more, but Lyla had fought me on it.

She called it "pseudo-science" and insisted regular water was fine. Because of her, only I had bothered to pack the proper supplies.

And now, when I needed them to survive, she was intentionally wasting them right in front of me.

Garrett turned away from me, his eyes softening with concern as he touched Lyla's forehead and neck.

"You don't need to apologize. You're far too kind, Lyla. You even left her some 'fluids' to drink. It's her own fault if she refuses to take them."

He threw the half-bottle of urine back at me, the plastic hitting my chest with a dull thud.

"Cassia, who are you trying to impress with this act?"

"Don't think I've forgotten those years you spent in specialized military training. You aren't this fragile."

"If you were truly dying of thirst, you wouldn't care if it was urine or something even more disgusting. You'd put anything wet in your mouth."

"Lyla has a weaker constitution, so of course I'm going to look after her. Why are you being so spiteful toward her?"

Lyla giving me that bottle wasn't an act of kindness. It was a calculated, sadistic humiliation.

My throat was in too much pain to waste words on them anymore.

I struggled to reach into my pack for my emergency rehydration salts, hoping they might stabilize me.

But the moment I pulled out the packet, Garrett slapped me across the face and ripped it from my hand.

"You had this the whole time and didn't offer it to Lyla? You wanted to watch her suffer, didn't you?"

"How can a woman be so incredibly malicious?"

Malicious? Rage and despair flooded my heart.

When the heatwave hit this wasteland, the rest of the team was too terrified of the sun to leave the SUV.

I was the one who braved the 130-degree heat to conduct the survey, collect the data, and find the resource points.

That was why I was dehydrated.

And yet, my own husband was ignoring my dying state, stripping away every single tool I had to stay alive.

I lunged at Lyla with a sudden burst of adrenaline, striking her across the face.

"You have no right to touch my things! You're fired!"