Chapter 232

Yolanda drove to a remote area in the outskirts, the road climbing nearly halfway up a mountain. The place was a graveyard of old, abandoned houses, left behind by families who had moved on. Weeds choked the landscape, and dilapidated structures crumbled around her.

She got out of her car and began the difficult trek on foot. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Glancing at her phone, she saw there was no signal. She pocketed it and continued her ascent.

Yolanda had no idea where her children were being held, so she searched each house one by one. The buildings were scattered far apart. She checked every structure that wasn't completely collapsed but found no sign of them. Her voice, thick with tears, echoed through the hills as she called their names, but only silence answered.

"I'm here, just like you said! Give me back my children!" she screamed into the empty air. "Where are you? Come out! Let me see them! Show yourself!"

Overwhelmed, she stumbled and sank to the ground, breaking into heavy sobs. Insects crawled through the grass around her. Normally, the sight would have made her leap to her feet, but now, her face was numb with despair, her mind consumed by the safety of her children. If she could, she would gladly take their place.

Just as she was giving up hope, she faintly heard the sound of a child. She held her breath, listening intently. A cold wind rustled through the trees, carrying with it the distant sound of crying.

A surge of hope coursed through her. She scrambled up, abandoning her purse, and ran, stumbling and crawling, toward the sound. Finally, in a crumbling brick house that looked ready to collapse, she heard them clearly.

Without a second's hesitation, Yolanda threw open the door. Inside, she saw her two children, tied to a wooden pillar.

"Halston... Esther!" she cried, rushing toward them.

They were both blindfolded, but at the sound of her voice, their cries grew louder. "Mommy!"

"Don't be afraid, Mommy's here to save you." Yolanda ripped the blindfolds from their faces and moved behind them, only to find, to her horror, that they were bound with heavy iron chains.

"Mommy, I'm scared," Esther whimpered.

"Don't be," Yolanda said, wiping her own tears. She tugged at the chains, but they wouldn't budge. She grabbed a loose brick from the floor and started smashing it against the metal, the clanging sound echoing through the dilapidated house. She tried everything she could think of, even attempting to break the wooden pillar itself, but the chains remained unbroken.

As she desperately searched for a solution, the sharp scent of smoke hit her nostrils. Yolanda looked up and saw thick, dark smoke pouring in from outside, rolling toward them like a tidal wave. A cold dread washed over her and she renewed her efforts, slamming the brick against the chains with frantic energy.

The smoke grew denser, and the room began to glow with an eerie red light. Flames now licked at the edges of the doorway, joining the

smokein its relentless advyo The

children's terrified cries

clanging of metal filled the air, a discordant symphony of horror on the lonely mountainside.

The fire crept along the walls and across the roof, steadily consuming the small house. Yolanda had exhausted every option, but the chains held fast. "Aaargh!" She screamed in frustration, smashing the rock with all her might.

"I can't break it! Why can't I break it?!" she shrieked in agony.

Her children were right in front of her. She had found them, but she couldn't save

them. Powerless, she watched as the inferno engulfed the room, painting everything in a terrifying, fiery red.

"Mommy... cough, cough... it hurts."