Chapter 5: The Final Rejection

The car tore down the empty highway. My wrists were bound so tight the rope burned, skin rubbed raw and bleeding onto the crusty seat. The last squad car vanished into the storm, and I was left with my captor.

He sneered, "Stop looking. They’re not coming for you."

"What do you mean?"

He turned up the radio, humming along to a pop song. Emily’s voice crackled through the static—her interview, trembling and pitiful: "I heard the kidnapper say to meet on the south side. Please save her."

But we were heading north. The whole department would be chasing ghosts.

The kidnapper hauled me to a rundown house out in the sticks. The place reeked of mold and stale cigarettes—the kind of place even the pizza guy wouldn’t deliver to.

He flashed a knife. "Emily’s a knockout. What’s Jason even doing with you, anyway?"

Even if I’d been clueless, I knew now: he and Emily were in this together. I dodged his blade. "Just let me make a call."

He snorted. "Who? Your captain? Dream on."

"Jason Carter."

He cackled, then kicked me. "Officer Rachel, you obsessed or something? You think you mean that much to Jason Carter?"

He grabbed my hair, shoved my phone in my face. "Fine, let’s see what happens."

He let it ring, then hung up. Again and again, he dialed and hung up, grinning as if waiting for me to break down. I kept my face blank, refusing to give him the show he wanted. He grew bored and stabbed me in the side. Pain exploded in my side, hot and blinding. My vision blurred, but I clenched my teeth, refusing to scream.

He leaned in, eyes wild. "Let’s play a game. Tell Jason Carter where you are. If he can’t find you in half an hour, you’re done."

Warm blood soaked my uniform, the chill mixing with sweat and fear.

The call finally connected. Jason’s voice was ice. "What is it?"

My teeth chattered from the pain. "He’s in the north side—"

"Who?"

"The suspect—he kidnapped me, I’m with him."

Jason was silent for a beat. "Rachel, is this some kind of joke?"

I coughed, blood flecking my lips. "Jason—"

"Enough."

His tone was sharper than I’d ever heard. "There’s something I never told you. Emily is my bottom line. Don’t use her to test me. If you’re jealous, that’s on you. I never told you to play hero for Emily."

The kidnapper stabbed me again. The pain was white-hot, dizzying. The world spun, narrowing to a red haze.

"It hurts."

Desperate, I sobbed, "Jason, will you marry me? Come find me now, okay?"

Jason went silent, his words colder than the rain. "Emily is pregnant. Everything I said before doesn’t count."

[Beep. Mission objective achieved. Rejected by the male lead a hundred times.]

[Congrats, host, you did it.]

[Processing your reward...]

[Done. 80 million for the mission, 30 million for severe injury. Total: 110 million. Plus a talent point: Police intuition. Countdown: 3 seconds. Leaving world. Welcome back to reality. Have a nice life.]

The darkness faded. I was holding a bouquet. Sunlight filtered through maple trees, dappling the lawn. The air was warm, cicadas buzzing like applause.

I remembered that summer after police academy. The senior I liked came to my graduation. A hand reached for me.

He wore a police uniform and smiled gently. "I heard you helped crack some big cases. Mind if we get to know each other?"

Somewhere far away, a phone kept ringing. But there was no one left to answer.