Let Fate Take Its Course

The night my parents were kidnapped, my sister Bethany—a police officer—insisted on going bungee jumping with our adopted brother, Blake. I didn’t stop her. Instead, I called the police and prepared the ransom myself. In my previous life, Bethany had skipped the trip with Blake to rescue our parents. But during his bungee jump, Blake’s cord snapped. He plunged into the ravine, and they never even recovered his body. On my birthday, Bethany drugged me and dragged me to that same cliff. “You orchestrated the kidnapping! You’d go this far just to compete for their love—you’re a monster!” “Blake is dead. You don’t deserve to live either!” When I opened my eyes again, I’d returned to the day my parents were kidnapped. This time, Bethany didn’t launch a rescue. She rushed to Blake’s side instead. Later, she nearly went insane with regret. 1 I jolted awake, my forehead drenched in sweat. My heart hammered violently. The terror of freefall still clung to me as I took in my familiar bedroom. I checked the time. I’d been reborn. I was back before it all began—the day my parents were kidnapped. In five minutes, the kidnappers would call, demanding we prepare the ransom within an hour or they’d kill their hostages. My name is Micah Bennett. I’m the son the Bennett family lost eighteen years ago. I’d been back with my parents for less than a year, but they were my everything. No matter what, I couldn’t let the tragedy from my previous life happen again. I rushed downstairs and stationed myself by the phone. Bethany followed close behind. “Micah, who are you putting on this performance for? Mom and Dad aren’t even home.” “Or did ‘you’ kidnap them?” A mocking smile played on Bethany’s lips. In that moment, I knew for certain—she’d been reborn too. Her expression seemed to say: Don’t bother struggling. It’s useless. Without her parents to play along, this charade would end even sooner. In my previous life, Bethany had been convinced I’d orchestrated the kidnapping to compete for our parents’ attention and validation, to make them notice me. I had no idea where she’d gotten such an absurd conclusion. In this new life, Bethany decided to simply ignore my “trap.” “Micah, don’t say I didn’t warn you—conspiracy to commit a crime is still a crime.” “Don’t come crying to me when you end up behind bars.” I wanted to respond, but the shrill ring of the phone cut me off. Each ring pierced my heart. Bethany acted as if she heard nothing. Before leaving, a flash of contempt crossed her face. “Do whatever you want. I’m going bungee jumping with Blake.” “They won’t actually get hurt anyway. Don’t bother me unless it’s important.” That wasn’t what she’d said in my previous life. Back then, Bethany had used her years of investigative experience to quickly locate the kidnappers’ hideout. Within just one hour, she’d brought our parents home safely. That day, my mind had been entirely consumed with worry for my traumatized parents. I hadn’t noticed the suspicion and rage hidden in Bethany’s eyes. I only found out later, when I was dragged to that cliff. During the rescue operation, Blake had called Bethany countless times. When she didn’t answer, he went bungee jumping alone—and the accident happened. Now, the phone rang like a death knell, filling me with dread. I answered. The kidnapper’s voice came through clearly. “Twenty million. You have two hours to get it ready, or your parents are dead.” My eyes widened in horror. What? In my previous life, they’d only demanded ten million! 2 I gripped the receiver tightly, cold sweat pouring down my face. It seemed the reality of this life differed slightly from the last. The kidnappers’ location might have changed too. My initial confidence suddenly turned to panic. I begged through tears. “Can you give me more time? I—” They hung up. I immediately reined in my emotions. I knew showing weakness to these criminals was pointless. The priority was preparing the ransom and confirming their location. My hand rapidly scribbled information on paper—everything I knew from my previous life. There were two kidnappers, both young men. The location was one of their homes. The ransom was ten million, to be deposited in the third trash can at the south entrance of the train station. The kidnappers never got the chance to collect the money—Bethany raided their hideout before they could. Both the money and our parents were saved. Remembering this, I immediately grabbed my phone and dialed 91

I also contacted Dad’s close friend and company director, Quinn Parker, asking him to have finance prepare the cash urgently. Quinn sounded as panicked as I was on the phone. “Call the police, Micah. I’ll handle the money.” My heart finally settled a bit. Two minutes later, officers from the nearby precinct arrived. Bethany’s colleague and best friend, Nora Xu, walked in without a friendly expression. “Micah, Bethany just called me. Lucky I was in the neighborhood…” “Filing a false police report is illegal!” All my courage and hope collapsed in that instant. Bethany was convinced I was the mastermind behind the kidnapping, so she’d deliberately sent her best friend to respond. Her goal was to stop my “unreasonable tantrum.” Without police resources or expert investigators, how could I break through this situation? Unable to control my emotions, I crumpled the clues in my hand into a ball. Thinking of my parents being tortured by the kidnappers, I broke down crying. “Nora, I’m not lying. I’m an adult. I take responsibility for my actions.” “Please, I need police help. I need you to help me save my parents!” I sobbed uncontrollably, constantly checking the clock. Almost ten minutes had passed already. I didn’t have much time left. Nora leaned against the sofa, casually scrolling through her phone. She showed no sympathy for my tears. “They say kids who grew up outside the family are cunning. You think crying will get you sympathy?” “Bethany’s right—kids you didn’t raise from birth just aren’t the same. Their hearts aren’t in the right place.” “Blake is so much more sensible than you…” Blake was different from me. He’d been adopted by my parents as a child and grew up pampered. Bethany especially took care of him thoroughly. Even after both became adults, they still spent a lot of time together. The ticking of the clock pulled me back to reality. I forced down my roiling emotions and made myself calm down. “Nora.” I spoke her name seriously. “Since you responded to the call, you have an obligation to process my report…” Before I could finish, Nora’s mocking laughter cut me off. “Who are you trying to fool here?” “You think just because you’re back with the Bennetts you can control everything? You’re like an outsider in this house.” Her words plunged me into an icy abyss. “Bethany told me everything. Your parents don’t even love you that much. They constantly mix up your name with Blake’s.” “You’ve pulled all kinds of manipulative stunts to compete for their attention. You made things so difficult that Blake had to move out.” Nora munched from a fruit plate while putting me down. I knew these were ideas Bethany had fed her over time. In their eyes, I was just someone who schemed for attention. Standing before her again, how she viewed me didn’t matter at all. “What will it take for you to believe me? My parents are in serious danger right now.” “If we miss the golden window for rescue, can you handle that responsibility?” Nora’s hand paused. She stood up from the sofa. “Go ahead and report me then. Punks like you need to be taught a lesson…” Before she could finish, two uniformed officers appeared at the door. “Is Micah here? We received a report and came to process the case.” My legs nearly gave out. My parents were finally going to be saved! 3 As soon as Nora saw who’d arrived, she went over to shake hands. “We’re colleagues. I just came to check on Bethany’s brother.” Only then did I notice Nora was in civilian clothes. The next moment, she tried to slip out the door. The two officers stopped her. I stepped forward to report the situation. “Officers! My parents really were kidnapped. I have a recording!” The call I’d deliberately recorded on my phone finally came in handy. When the kidnapper’s voice played, Nora’s face went white. “But Bethany clearly said they were… actors…” “She said you staged the whole thing yourself.” I snorted coldly, too tired to waste words on her. I carefully unfolded the crumpled paper ball in my hand. Drawing on the somewhat blurred memory fragments from my previous life, I carefully recalled those tiny details. Rapidly organizing and piecing them together in my mind, I finally thought of a good cover story to provide the clues from my previous life. “Officers! I can provide information about the suspects. They appeared near my house before.” “The voice sounds very similar… They asked me for directions back then. I can’t be completely certain.” Soon a sketch artist and monitoring equipment were in place. I concentrated fully on describing the two kidnappers’ appearances. Cross-referencing with people who had criminal records, we quickly got results. They were two young men who’d previously been imprisoned for robbery. One of them had rented a house under his real name. The police immediately arranged a rescue operation. I sat on the sofa, but felt like I’d just been pulled from water. Cold sweat had soaked me through. Twenty minutes later, the officer waiting with me received a report. “I’m sorry, Micah. We didn’t find your parents at the scene.” “But we did find this.” The kidnappers’ house contained many surveillance photos—not just of my parents, but of me too. “They’ve been casing the place for a long time. Don’t worry, these two won’t get away.” My brain felt ready to explode. The thing I feared most had happened after all. The kidnappers had changed where they were holding the hostages. That meant all my clues were useless. Nora was making a phone call to Bethany nearby. Even though she tried to keep her voice down, I heard every word clearly. “It really is a kidnapping. We already have suspects. You should come back…” Bethany actually laughed on the other end. What she said seemed deliberately meant for me to hear. “Give it up. The bigger the game you play, the harder you’ll fall…” “When Mom and Dad lose face and disown you, don’t come crying…” The fear and resentment from my previous life surged up instantly. Even if she hated me, this brother who’d only recently been found. At a time like this, she shouldn’t refuse to believe even other people’s words. I’d done nothing wrong. My parents had done nothing wrong either. The daughter they’d carefully loved for over twenty years was now ignoring their safety to accompany a non-blood-related brother. If my parents knew, I couldn’t imagine how heartbroken they’d be. I felt it wasn’t worth it for them. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, the landline at home suddenly rang loudly. The officer monitoring the call shot me a look. My heart rate spiked. The kidnappers were calling again! 4 The monitoring officer made a gesture at me. I picked up the receiver, my whole body trembling. The officer nearby held up a card to remind me. [Stall for time] I immediately took a breath. When I spoke, my voice still carried a sob. “I’m getting the money ready. Please, don’t hurt my parents.” The kidnapper laughed dismissively. “Then hurry up! You’ve got one hour left. I told you—time’s up and I’ll kill them!” The officer handed me another card. “Where do I deliver the money? And where do I pick up my parents after I pay?” The kidnapper’s tone showed clear impatience. “Put the money in a locker at the station. Don’t worry about your parents—once we get the money, they’ll be back with you immediately.” My temples throbbed. The drop-off location was different from my previous life too. I tried to keep talking so the monitoring team could trace the source. “Are my parents okay? Can I hear their voices?” The kidnapper cursed viciously. “So damn demanding.” Then I heard my parents’ helpless voices. “Micah, we found you again. We have no regrets in this life.” “Don’t risk yourself for us. Protect yourself.” “We love you more than you know, and we want to make it up to you. Sometimes we just don’t know how to express it…” Dad’s aged voice came through. “Son, I deeply regret losing you when you were little. If I get the chance, I’ll apologize to you in person…” My throat closed up so tightly I couldn’t form complete sentences. I wanted to say I didn’t need them to make anything up to me. I just needed them safe. Please wait patiently—I would definitely save them! The kidnapper cut off the conversation first. He seemed to kick someone, his language crude. “Shut up, old fool! Waste of space! Rich people are so damn dramatic!” “Get the money here fast, or I can’t guarantee your parents will come home in one piece.” He hung up. Everyone unconsciously looked at me, then shook their heads. They hadn’t traced the location. The kidnappers had used technology to block it. My anxiety and fear erupted again. Countless pieces of information jumbled chaotically in my brain. This money had to be delivered—at least it could guarantee my parents’ safety. I immediately grabbed my phone to call Quinn, who’d promised to help me gather the cash. But the call wouldn’t go through no matter how many times I tried. As I dialed that number for the Nth time, my phone rang first. Bethany’s laughter came through clearly. “Had enough of your performance yet? Time to end it.” I immediately became alert. “What did you tell Quinn?” Bethany laughed with complete openness. “Not to give you money, obviously. That’s twenty million. Even for a performance, no one would just hand it over.” “I told Quinn you’re just playing manipulative games. You want to drain the family assets the moment you return. He won’t help you.” In that moment, all my hope vanished completely. I deflated like a punctured balloon, losing all will to live. Without that twenty million, my parents had zero chance of survival. I’d seen the case report from my previous life. Those two men already had blood on their hands. They wouldn’t hesitate to add two more victims. Without the money, they really would kill the hostages! The phone rang again. The kidnapper’s agitated voice stabbed into my heart like a blade. “If you don’t get the money here now, I’ll kill them right this second!”

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