“You don’t have any strength left,” he said flatly, his eyes empty of sympathy. “Just wait here. The rescue team will come for you.”
His words sliced through me, each one sharper than the last.
“Brother, please… I can’t hold on much longer… I’m so scared…” My voice trembled with terror, but Adrian’s eyes only hardened.
“Enough, Aliyah! Stop pretending to be weak. Maddy is your sister too. Do you expect me to risk our lives for you?” His voice was harsh and final, as if he had already sentenced me to die.
Silent sobs racked my body as I watched them walk away, supporting each other, without a single glance back.
I wasn’t pretending. I had been swapped at birth, raised in a family that never wanted me, in a home that only valued sons. My frail body had nearly killed me more than once.
I closed my eyes as I sank deeper into the earth, the weight of it crushing the last breath from my body.