Chapter 2

2.

In private, Chloe would drop the "innocent flower" act, leaning in close to whisper with a triumphant smirk. “Elena Vance, if I had shown up sooner, do you think Jasper would have ever looked your way?”

Back then, I just stepped back, watching her smug face before raising my hand to slap her.

“You sure seem accustomed to being the other woman. Quite a sight to behold.”

She shrieked, falling to the ground as if hit by a freight train, covering her face like a bruised lily, her large eyes filled with fake tears.

A second later, I was shoved aside with raw force.

Jasper strode over, pulling Chloe up with such tenderness. “Chloe, are you alright?”

He then glared at me. “Elena, when did you become so vulgar? You’re acting like a shrew! Can’t you talk like a civilized person?”

Looking at Jasper, his face contorted in anger, I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

I could feel his heart drifting further and further away from me.

But what Jasper didn’t know was that, back then, I had been willing to sacrifice everything just to stand by his side.

I would have given up everything, even my career.

The department’s only commendation that year was meant for me, thanks to my work on a high-risk operation. But when I saw the burning desire in Jasper’s eyes, I signed the waiver without hesitation.

I let him become the new team captain.

If it meant being with him, I was willing to do anything.

Unfortunately, he never understood that.

“Where is the body?”

Jasper’s voice dragged me back to reality, pulling me out of the haze.

I didn’t know why, but I seemed tethered here, unable to stray too far from Jasper.

Whenever the distance between us exceeded half a meter, I was snapped back to his side.

I watched him now, calm and collected, devoid of the impulsiveness he’d had when he first became captain. It felt like a lifetime had passed.

“Captain Reed, I’m so sorry. I know today is such a huge day for you, but we really needed the extra pair of hands…”

Officer Miller looked genuinely apologetic.

Jasper just shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression neutral. “It’s fine. It’s what I’m here for.”

“Whenever the force needs me, I’ll be there.”

Hearing those words, I couldn’t help but freeze.

That had once been my motto.

After Jasper was promoted to captain, he finally agreed to my request for us to get engaged.

But the peace didn’t last. Arguments erupted and escalated quickly.

The root of every fight was Chloe.

When I raised concerns about how much attention Jasper was lavishing on her, he acted as if I were a cat with its tail caught in a door.

“Elena, is your paranoia getting the better of you? My relationship with Chloe isn’t what you think! We’re just a superior and his subordinate!”

“‘Whenever the force needs me, I’ll be there’―wasn’t that your favorite line?”

“As her supervisor, what’s wrong with me showing up to help when she needs it?”

“You’re the one with the dirty mind. Are you trying to flip the script and call yourself a hypocrite?”

After that, Jasper became like a rebellious child, moving into the precinct and working late nights with Chloe.

I cared about him, so on my nights off, I’d cook late-night meals and bring them to him.

But Jasper perceived it as an act of possessiveness, convinced I was just there to spy on him.

With Chloe constantly pouring oil on the fire, he grew to despise me.

Back then, my entire world was Jasper. I was so terrified of making him angry that I was always the one to apologize first.

But over time, even my spirit broke.

Jasper snapped on his latex gloves and crouched down, searching for clues.

Officer Miller sighed, looking at Jasper’s back. “It’d be great if Officer Vance were still here. Back when you two worked together, you were the pride of the entire force.”

Jasper went dead silent at that.

My heart stirred.

I used to be the backbone of the unit.

Whenever they spoke of me, their faces always clouded with a mix of longing and sadness.

They didn’t know I was dead, but they knew I had vanished into thin air three years ago.

Maybe they all spent moments hoping that I would walk through the door at any second.

“Don’t talk about that woman. She was too jealous, couldn’t see the big picture, and just up and quit over some petty nonsense. I was clearly blind back then!”

Jasper’s voice was icy, devoid of any warmth. It left me feeling hollow.

So that was how he viewed me.

The last time I saw him, we were arguing over him being too close to Chloe.

What I couldn’t understand was why, when she was perfectly capable of doing things on her own, she always insisted on having him involved.

He wouldn’t listen. He was convinced my jealousy was the problem, and that I’d vanished just to manipulate him into chasing me.

“It’s a shame. I’ll never lower myself to chase after someone so irresponsible!”

His words felt like a blade twisting in my heart. I curled my lips, mocking myself until tears blurred my vision.

Just then, a defiant, masculine voice cut through the air.

“On what grounds are you assuming Elena quit to manipulate you?”

“Aren’t you police officers supposed to be all about evidence? Do you have any?”

I turned toward the voice and saw a tall man in a white lab coat walking toward us.

It was my childhood friend, Lucas Sterling.

When I worked the front lines, he handled the back end as a brilliant forensic pathologist, providing us with the most critical evidence.

He had always protected me like an older brother. During the countless nights I spent reeling from Jasper’s indifference, I poured all my tears into his shoulder.

As he used to say, the dead never lie.

Perhaps, eventually, the only person who would uncover the truth about my disappearance would be Lucas.