Chapter 5
I had written SOS across my seat at the awards-with paint.
Every reporter who came close, I slipped a scrap of cloth into their hands. Each one carried the same words: Help me.
By the time they dragged me onto the helicopter, the venue was already in chaos.
I had grabbed a phone mid-livestream and hidden it under my torn dress.
Which meant everything Delphine whispered to me earlier-had already gone out to the entire internet.
[Wait… I thought her injuries were just makeup. She’s coughing blood. Are those real?]
[What did Delphine just say? She turned her baby into a mummy?]
[I already called the cops. Something is seriously wrong here.]
[Commenting for visibility.]
More drones closed in. One after another.
I forced my dry throat open and screamed for help.
Delphine stared at her phone, her mind going blank. Then tears poured down her face. “Evander…
Cassian… she did this on purpose. She’s still trying to get back at me…”
I slipped free of the rope.
Now I hung there, suspended in midair, holding on with nothing but my own strength.
Cassian’s face drained of color.
“Aurelia, have you lost your mind? You’re hundreds of feet up!”
Evander roared, eyes wild.
“Get her back! Now!”
They started hauling the rope in.
Desperate.
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ì let out a faint smile, then turned toward the drones, toward the cameras, and spoke-calm and clear.
“The scar on my shoulder? That was a bear.”
“The cuts on my hands? Three years of branches and stone.”
“The bite marks all over my body? Piranhas.”
“The injury on the back of my head? I fell off a cliff.”
I paused.
“I was stranded on that island. My brother dressed as a bear and destroyed my shelter twenty-six times.”
“My husband pretended to be a voice in my head… and tortured me when I was too exhausted to
think.”
The rope tightened, pulling faster and faster as Evander’s hand came within inches of mine.
slapped it away.
I knew what I had to do.
If I wanted out, I had to make this bigger.
Cassian’s voice broke into a shout.
“Emergency landing. Now. Take us to Rourke Tower.”
Evander’s voice tore through the air.
“Aurelia! This isn’t the time to throw a tantrum!”
The helicopter barely touched down before I ran straight for the edge of the building, not stopping
for a second.
I pulled out the phone and pointed it at them.
“Don’t come any closer,” I said. “This is live.”
They froze.
For a split second, no one moved.
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Then they stepped forward anyway, forcing calm into their voices.
“Everyone watching–what you’re seeing right now is part of a production.”
“We’re filming Modern Robinson 2. This is all scripted. Please don’t panic.”
The comments flooded in instantly.
[Okay that explains it. No wonder the first one won awards.]
[I mean yeah, no way someone would actually be hanging off a helicopter. That’s insane.]
[This opening already hooked me. When’s it coming out? I’m watching it three times.]
I didn’t turn the camera.
Didn’t dare.
I just kept talking.
“That voice I thought was in my head…”
“It told me that if I kept dropping to my knees, over and over, hitting my head against the ground,
I’d be allowed to leave the island.”
“My first year, I prayed my husband would come save me.”
“My second year, I prayed my brother and my parents would forgive me.”
“My third year…”
My voice didn’t shake.
“I prayed they would forget me.”
I swallowed.
“I kept forcing myself to my knees, over and over, until I lost count. And in the end, they told me it was all punishment.”
The comments slowed.
Then stopped.
Even Cassian and Evander stopped moving.
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Delphine suddenly let out a choked sob.
“Aurelia… you’re too deep in character.”
Her voice trembled, perfectly fragile.
“You’re sick. Come back. I’ll take you to a doctor.”
“We don’t need the awards anymore. None of it matters. Your health comes first.”
