Chapter 3

3

Noah immediately tried to act professional when he saw his colleagues.

"Hey guys, I was just checking in on Silas's sister."

I realized then that Noah wasn't even in uniform. He was off the clock.

He tried to slip out the door, but the other two officers blocked his path.

I rushed forward to explain the situation.

"Officers! My parents have been kidnapped! I have a recording!"

The recording I made on my phone finally proved its worth.

When the kidnapper's voice played, Noah's face turned white as a sheet.

"Silas said... he said it was just actors..."

"He said you were directing a play."

I ignored him. I didn't have time for his stupidity.

I carefully smoothed out the crumpled paper in my hand.

Using my fragmented memories from the previous life, I tried to piece together the clues.

I needed a way to lead them to the location without sounding like a psychic.

"Officers! I saw these men near the house earlier this week!"

"Their voices match the men who asked me for directions. I'm almost certain it's them!"

Soon, sketch artists and wiretapping equipment were set up in the living room.

I described the kidnappers in vivid detail.

When they ran the descriptions against local ex-cons, they got a hit.

Two young men with prior records for armed robbery.

One of them had rented a house under his real name. The police mobilized immediately.

I sat on the sofa, feeling like I had just been pulled out of a frozen lake.

I was shivering, my clothes damp with sweat.

Twenty minutes later, the officer staying with me got a radio call.

"I'm sorry, Vivienne. They weren't at the house."

"But we found evidence."

They found dozens of surveillance photos in the hideout. Not just of my parents, but of me too.

"They've been stalking your family for a long time. Don't worry, we'll find them."

My brain felt like it was going to explode.

My worst fear had come true.

The kidnappers had changed their hiding spot.

That meant all my memories of the previous life were useless.

Noah was in the corner, calling Silas.

Even though he whispered, I heard every word.

"It's real, Silas. It's a real kidnapping. Get back here now..."

Silas actually laughed on the other end.

He spoke loudly, clearly wanting me to hear him.

"Stop it, Noah. The bigger this lie gets, the harder she's going to fall."

"When my parents realize how much money she's wasted on this stunt, they'll disown her. Tell her to stop crying."

Fear and hatred from my past life surged through me.

Even if he hated me, how could he be so blind?

I did nothing wrong. My parents did nothing wrong.

They had raised Silas for over twenty years, and now he was abandoning them for a bungee jump with a girl who wasn't even his sister.

If my parents knew, their hearts would break.

I wiped my tears just as the landline rang again.

the officer monitoring the call gave me a sharp nod.

My heart skipped a beat.

The kidnappers were calling back!