I filed a police report after getting ghosted for $50k. Turns out, the officer taking my statement was the ex I hadn’t seen in years. He stared at the chat logs, absolutely furious. “Fifty thousand? You slept with me for three days and all I got was a $9.99 pizza!” I pointed at the photo. “He’s way younger than you!” “That photo is obviously fake.” He froze, eyes locked on his phone. His face darkened to a frightening purple. “Oh, he’s definitely young…That’s my damn nephew. The kid hasn’t even graduated high school.” Officer Ben Carter, my ex-boyfriend, sat across from me, all business. “Name?” “Chloe,” I whispered. He glanced up,and his gaze lingered on me for a second. “It’s you!” But just as quickly, his face iced over again. My heart pounded with a guilty thud. Damn. He was even hotter now. That police uniform clung to his lean waist and long legs… Ugh, Chloe, stop! Haven’t you learned your lesson with pretty faces? “Reason for your report?”he asked, not looking up from his keyboard. I forced myself to speak. “My online boyfriend disappeared…” “You sent him money.” His sardonic chuckle was pure mockery. “Yeah,” I admitted, guilt washing over me. He finally looked up, glancing at me. “Five years, Chloe. Your taste and your IQ keep hitting new lows.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It means,” he said, his voice cold and flat, “you just fell for a classic scam. Wasted your tuition on a fantasy. Your head’s full of romance novels, not common sense.” “He’s not!” I shot back. “We had a real connection!” “A ‘connection’?” Ben’s sneer was razor-sharp. “Let me guess. Daily ‘good mornings,’ a pet name, and a sudden emergency he needed cash for?” I stared, speechless for a moment. “How did you know?” “Hmph. He’s smooth. Probably their top performer.”He dismissed my shock with a cold sneer. “Ben, that’s enough!” I slammed my hand on the table. “I’m the victim here! Could you at least pretend to be professional?” He leaned forward, his gaze pinning me in place. “My professionalism is telling you to learn some damn scam prevention, okay?” I was so angry I couldn’t speak. Then, with the detached air of someone watching a soap opera, he prompted, “So. How did you and this scammer meet?”
My online boyfriend and I met in a game. He was incredibly sweet, , though he’d often disappear mid-conversation for “class.” I was naive enough to wonder if college workloads were really that heavy. He confessed to me later. I turned him down at first. That all changed when I saw his Instagram. One photo hooked me: a face full of youthful rebellion, tall and built. “Just because of a photo?” Ben cut in, his voice sharp. “Since when did you become so shallow??” “Mind your own business!” I glared at him. “I’ve always been this superficial! Is this your first day knowing me?” Our own story had begun with a picture-perfect rescue. I was traveling out of state, my wallet got stolen, and then I got caught in a sandstorm. He was a soldier on a temporary assignment, and he found me. Back then, he was in his uniform, tall and strong, with an incredibly handsome face and cute little canines when he smiled. I was instantly smitten. What I never told him was that the scammer’s photo hooked me for one reason: he was the spitting image of Ben. But more importantly, it was a younger, more attentive, emotionally available version of Ben! We chatted daily. He was sweet, clingy, and impossibly thoughtful. Then yesterday, he went out with friends. Someone broke a leg, ended up in the ER, and they needed a deposit. I transferred the money. And then, nothing. “Officer Carter,” I said, clinging to a last shred of hope. “Could something have happened? What if his phone was stolen? Or…he was kidnapped?” He didn’t even look up. “Provide the chat logs. We’ll see what we can trace.” Fuming, I handed over my phone. He scrolled through it, then his finger suddenly stopped. His brows drew tightly together. “My Ex Is In Heaven?” Crap, he saw my SnapChat handle… “I’m still breathing, and you’ve already sent me to the grave?” I cleared my throat, my eyes darting nervously. “Please don’t take it personally. It’s not necessarily about you.” He scrolled down, then paused. “Babe?” My face burned. Damn it. I really should have changed that name for my vanished new boyfriend before filing a police report. He stared at the screen, his back teeth grinding loudly. “Seriously, Chloe? We dated for four years, and you always called me by my name. Now you’re calling some scammer you’ve never even met ‘babe’?” He kept scrolling through my chat logs. With every message he read, his face got darker. I was mortified and indignant, and I tried to snatch my phone back. Ben’s gaze suddenly froze. His voice filled with disbelief. “Fifty thousand! Chloe, you sent him fifty thousand?! You slept with me for three days and all I got was a nine-ninety pizza! And some random scammer you’ve never even met gets fifty grand?! What the hell was I to you?” His shout made several colleagues crane their necks, their eyes wide with gossip. I was mortified. I lunged to cover his mouth. “He’s different from you!” Besides, I was a broke student back then, what money did I have…’ “Different how? He’s better at faking it, better at scamming, right?” His attitude ignited my own anger. “He’d tell me everything! He’d say goodnight every single day! He’d listen to me vent! Even without seeing him, I never felt like I was dating a phone! You? Could you do that?” He fell silent instantly. His eyes swirled with emotions I couldn’t decipher. Back then, our breakup was messy. I’d chased Ben relentlessly for ages before he finally said yes. I was a college student, he was a soldier. Four thousand kilometers apart, we did the long-distance thing for three years. From sweet nothings to screaming matches. The last time we argued, I broke up with him. He just said, “Okay,” adding that he was tired anyway. In a fit of pique, I sent him photos with other guys to provoke him. He said, “I wish you happiness.” I demanded to know what he meant. He just said, “Just pretend I’m dead.” Years passed, and who would’ve thought we’d meet again under these circumstances. Ben lowered his gaze, organized the report, and handed it to me, his professional calm restored. “We’ll do our best to investigate, but the chances of recovering the money in these cases are slim. Let us know if you have any more leads.” I suddenly remembered. “He posted photos on his Ins. I saved them.” I quickly found the photo and handed it to him. He sighed in exasperation. “This is probably an AI-generated image. Useless.” But after scrolling for a bit, he suddenly stared at one photo. Then he said, “That’s my damn nephew, who hasn’t even graduated high school yet!” My eyes widened. What?!
Ben’s face was dark. He pulled out his phone and made a call. “Where’s Leo? Are you coming in yourself, or do I need to come arrest you?” A rustling sound came from the other end of the line. Moments later, a sharp-faced middle-aged woman came rushing in. “Get in here!” She yelled over her shoulder, yanking a student dressed in a school uniform inside. The kid hung his head, looking sulky. He looked up and saw me, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “You’re my online girlfriend?” I looked down, speechless. Ben’s face got even darker. He pulled Leo aside. “Leo, are you completely broke, or is the family starving you? Learning to scam people online at your age?” Leo looked wronged. “I didn’t!” “Then why did you vanish after she transferred you the money?” “Mom confiscated my phone! How could I contact her? I was going crazy too!” Leo blurted out. Ben’s sister stood by, completely lost. “Ben, what is this about?” After a terse explanation from Ben, his sister’s expression shifted. She quickly grabbed my hand, her voice filled with apology. “Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry! He skipped class, his friend broke a leg, and his teacher reported it. When I saw he was obsessed with gaming and dating apps instead of studying, I lost my temper and took his phone.” “I’ll transfer the money back to you right now. Truly, I apologize!” Leo secretly glanced at me, then cautiously spoke up. “I really wasn’t trying to scam you.” My head was still buzzing. I gritted my teeth and asked him, “You’re just a high school student? You said you were in your twenties!” He cleared his throat, his gaze evasive. “I’ll be twenty in three years.” Ben’s sister slapped him on the back of the head. “Apologize to her! Learning to trick women’s feelings at your age, huh?” Leo hung his head, pouting miserably. “I’m sorry.” Ben’s sister looked at me, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Sweetie, have we met before? You look so familiar!” My heart seized up. I quickly looked down. “You must be mistaken.” Ben saw my reaction and reminded her, “I’ll walk you out. I’m off work anyway.” Ben’s sister immediately chimed in enthusiastically, “Great, great! How about we all go grab a bite?” I frantically waved my hands. “No, please! It’s really not necessary!” Wasn’t this situation chaotic enough already? But his sister simply linked her arm through mine and half-led, half-coaxed me to a restaurant near the police station. Her eyes darted subtly between Ben and me before she smiled. “Chloe, dear, how old are you this year?” “Twenty-five,” I replied. She clapped her hands. “See? My brother here is twenty-nine, just out of the military. He’s an officer, and quite handsome, don’t you think? What a perfect match!” But Leo couldn’t hold back. “Mom, Ben’s so old for her! Chloe deserves better!” “Leo!” Ben said coldly, tapping the table, warning him. Ben’s sister looked at me, then suddenly smacked her forehead. “Oh, my goodness! I remember now! You’re Ben’s ex-girlfriend from his phone!” Oh no! I can’t believe she recognized me! Someone save me! Just then, my phone rang! My best friend Sarah’s tearful voice came through. “Chloe, I broke up with him!” I quickly stood up. “Excuse me, I have an emergency. I have to go.”
At the bar, Sarah was getting wasted. “Girl, I’m miserable. Please, comfort me.” I silently took a swig of my own drink and told her, “I got scammed by my online boyfriend and went to the police.” She looked up. “Oh, really? Hugs, you poor thing.” “The officer who took my report was my ex-boyfriend, who I broke up with three years ago.” “What?!” She sobered up considerably. I nodded, then added, “Later, I found out my online boyfriend was his nephew, who’s still in high school.” Sarah froze, completely stunned. I asked, “So, are you still miserable?” She slowly recovered. “Not anymore. Tell me that joke again, hahaha!” I recounted my bizarre day. She went from shocked to even more shocked, then utterly bewildered. “That family’s taste is surprisingly consistent. How did they all fall for you?” I wanted to bury my face in my drink. “Stop talking about it!” Sarah leaned in, a mischievous grin on her face. “So, which one do you actually like?” I nearly spat out my drink. “Leo is only seventeen!” “He’s almost an adult, isn’t he?” she chuckled. “Unless you’re still hung up on your ex-boyfriend?” I said, “Maybe, a little…” After all, Ben’s face, that body-they were still my favorite. Back then, I’d gone to the wilderness alone for a photography project. My wallet was stolen, and I got caught in bad weather. Ben appeared like some guardian angel, and I fell for him instantly. I pursued him relentlessly, but he kept refusing me. “My duties are demanding. I can’t promise to always be available online, and phone calls are often impossible…” “Then I’ll just wait for your replies! However long it takes, I’ll wait!” Back then, I was young and stubborn, my heart completely set on winning him over. Eventually, he couldn’t resist my persistence and said yes. Just as he said, we couldn’t be together like regular couples. Four thousand kilometers apart, with time differences and spotty signals. Every day, I’d share my daily life with him. He’d reply to each message whenever he had time. I’d push my luck, too. “Show me your abs.” He’d furtively look around. Only when he was sure no one was there would he shyly lift his T-shirt. Through the screen, I could see him, but I couldn’t hold him. My longing grew even stronger. His leave was rare, but every time, he’d rush to see me first. To be honest, we didn’t have many dating memories. His time was so limited that whenever we met, all we wanted to do was kiss and touch. We hadn’t seen each other in so long, we craved each other’s warmth. And his stamina was terrifying. The craziest time, we stayed holed up in a hotel for three days straight. When he finally had to leave, we were reluctant. There wasn’t enough time, so we just grabbed a pizza near the campus gate before parting ways. Sarah’s eyes gleamed as she teased. “No wonder you’ve been single all this time. You’d already found the best!” “Your relationship sounded pretty good, though. What happened in the end? Did he cheat?” I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I think we just… burned out.”
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