The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 227

The emergency lights flickered to life, casting a sickly blue glow over the cab that reminded me of the sterile lamps in an operating room.

I could feel the violent shudder as the elevator abruptly jammed itself halfway between floors.

The Skyline Ballroom was on the nineteenth floor. A quick mental calculation told me the elevator was currently suspended somewhere around the eighteenth floor. At this height, if the brakes gave out completely, I would plummet to an absolute, crushing death.

A suffocating wave of despair wrapped around my throat.

I stared at the glowing screen of my phone, crouching slowly, only to see that there was zero signal.

Pure, unadulterated hopelessness flooded my chest. Guided by the dim light, I dragged myself across the floor toward the control panel, desperate to reach the emergency call button.

But when my trembling fingers finally grazed it, I found the button completely coated in hardened superglue. It was utterly destroyed.

It was all too perfect. This had been meticulously planned.

I pulled my hand back in horror, feeling another terrifying sway of the cab. I grabbed the handrail, panic seizing me so violently my legs wouldn't stop shaking.

Suddenly, that twisted, mocking voice crackled from the speaker above my head. "I wonder what Dr. Hayes's oxygen saturation has dropped to right about now?"

I snapped my head up, terrified and completely helpless, yet I clung to the last shred of my pride. "Is this all you've got? Cheap, pathetic tricks? Why do you only dare to hide behind a phone? Are you that much of a coward?"

His cruel laughter echoed in the small space. "I told you, reverse psychology doesn't work on me. But here is a friendly tip: the remaining cables can only hold your weight for exactly five more minutes. If you can figure out a way to save yourself or get someone's attention before then, I'll call it a win. Otherwise..."

The laugh faded out to dead static. I squeezed my phone, confirming it was still a dead zone, and checked the time. Thinking about the three hundred seconds that stalker had given me, pure terror clawed at my sanity.

It was incredibly difficult.

But I knew that if I could pop the cover off, I could use the wires to short-circuit the system and trigger an emergency reboot—similar to using electrocautery to stop bleeding during surgery.

It was easier said than done. Prying open a heavy-duty metal plate with a flimsy pin was nearly impossible, and time was running out. Before I knew it, I was down to the last forty seconds.

Tears of sheer frustration welled in my eyes.

Just as I was about to break down completely, a familiar, frantic voice filtered through the doors.

"Selena! Selena, where are you?!"