Even without seeing it firsthand, you could figure out what Evelyn had gone through by just imagining it. Charles stood there, looking a bit taken aback. This was a memory from way back when. He'd long since pushed it out of his mind. When Evelyn first joined the Jenkins family, he only watched over her because he'd promised his grandmother. Truth be told, he didn't really pay Evelyn much mind and did not even spare her a proper glance. Her affairs were never on his radar. Evelyn started catching his attention when she began trailing after him like a little shadow, calling him "Charles" in that soft, sweet voice of hers, reminiscent of that girl called Debbie in his mind. Because of this familiarity, he took Evelyn under his wing, but that was the extent of it.

Evelyn saw the look on Charles' face, and a chill settled in her eyes. She pulled her hand away from his, her expression unreadable. All along, he had long forgotten what she held dear in her heart-her deep-seated feelings and memories all meant nothing to him. For a moment, Evelyn was torn. Was it more painful that he remembered and chose to hurt her this way or that he simply forgot?

"Eve," Rosa said, taking hold of Evelyn's hand again and giving Charles a fierce glare before leading Evelyn to the car. Charles tried to hop in, but Rosa shooed him off to his own car. She couldn't stand the sight of him.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, Dahlia was in a state of panic. When she realized Charles truly left, she was scared out of her wits. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he would really leave her there, and she cried out, "Charles... Charles... Charles..." But no matter how loud she shouted, there was only silence from outside.

Now, Dahlia was genuinely terrified.

Before, she was scared and uneasy, but deep down, she wasn't truly afraid because she believed Charles would come for her soon and get her out, Evelyn's torment felt

and Rosa even said that Dahlia

temporary. Now, Charles was ne

wouldn't see the light of day for another twenty hours, she was losing it. She couldn't handle it.

"Charles... you can't leave... Charles... Charles..." Dahlia screamed, struggling frantically on the floor. The ropes binding her wrists were torn open by her vigorous efforts, leaving her skin raw and bleeding, but she didn't care about the pain. She stumbled to the door, pounding on it, "Charles, Charles!" No matter how much she knocked or shouted, the silence remained.

Suddenly, with a click, the light went out, plunging the basement into darkness. "Ah Dahlia screamed, her last nerve fraying. The darkness made everything worse. The hissing sound of snakes slithering on

Then, a small hatch on the door opened from the outside, and although the corridor was pitch black, a hissing sound emerged as soon as it opened. In the next instant, something cold and slithery fell onto her arm.

ground sent chills up her entnoveldrama

"Ah!" Dahlia shrieked, flailing her arms wildly to fling the snake off. She reached for the hatch to close it but wasn't tall enough. Helpless, she watched as more snakes slithered in through the opening. "No!" Dahlia screamed, backing away, but the snakes kept coming. Everywhere she turned, the hissing followed.

"Charles... Charles..." She cried out until her voice was hoarse, but there was no answer, only the suffocating grip of fear. Overwhelmed by terror, Dahlia's eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.