Chapter 30: FOR ONCE MY REQUEST WAS GRANTED.

Chapter 30: FOR ONCE MY REQUEST WAS GRANTED.

Darius’s eyes glistened with something Jenna had never seen before. His gaze was fixed, almost burning, as he leaned closer to Betty.

“Who is coming for us?” he asked, his voice tight, trembling between fear and anticipation.

Betty spoke, her words cutting through the quiet air of the room like a blade. Whatever she said left everyone stunned.

Jenna felt her chest tighten. A storm swirled inside her as she turned her head sharply toward Darius. To her disbelief, his whole face darkened with worry not for her, not even for their shared struggles but for Betty.

Why? Jenna thought bitterly. Why is he more worried about my sister than about me?

And then it happened. Right there in front of her, without hesitation, he called Betty his love.

The words struck Jenna like a cruel slap. She froze, her body refusing to move as her heart tried to understand what her ears had just heard.

“My love?” she whispered under her breath, though no one heard. How can he call her that? Were they married before? Was there something between them I never knew?

The questions crashed in her mind like waves against fragile glass, each one cutting deeper. She forced herself to keep calm, but the ache in her chest wouldn’t let her breathe easily.

Betty finished delivering her message, and Jenna could no longer bear the suffocating air in that room. With trembling hands, she turned and walked out before her emotions could betray her in front of them both.

This is my fault, she told herself as her footsteps echoed down the hallway. I should have seen this coming. I should have prepared myself. But instead of strength, guilt weighed heavily on her. She had no choice now but to face whatever storm lay ahead.

Outside, the world itself seemed to twist. Everything familiar began to feel strange, dangerous, even hostile. The walls of the hospital that had once given her comfort now pressed in like a prison.

Meanwhile, Darius sat inside, his mind consumed not by Jenna, but by Betty. Betty, who was on the verge of being forced into marriage with another man.

Jenna couldn’t take it anymore. The man she thought was hers, the man she believed would fight for her, was now fighting for someone else.

Her legs moved before her heart could argue. She ran.

Through the sterile white hallways, past startled nurses and curious patients, Jenna sprinted. Her tears blurred the way, but she didn’t stop. She cut through shortcuts she knew well, routes that would confuse anyone who dared follow her.

I won’t let anyone catch me, she thought, her chest heaving. Not Darius, not strangers, not even fate.

But her thoughts were not her only companions. A whisper echoed in her mind, a haunting voice that seemed to rise from her very bones: It’s not safe outside.

Still, she ignored it. Her will was stronger than her fear. Whatever waited for her outside had to be better than the torment of watching her man call another woman his love.

At last, the heavy doors of the hospital swung open, and Jenna burst into the cool air of the city night. She didn’t know where her legs were carrying her. She had no plan. Her only thought was her father, the one held captive by ruthless men.

She couldn’t fight them alone. She had tried to convince herself she was strong enough, but deep down she knew: she needed help. She needed hands willing to fight alongside her. But the only hands she could think of belonged to the police and she had promised herself she would never involve them.

Yet some promises cannot withstand desperation.

With tears still burning her cheeks, she found herself walking quickly toward the police station. The distance wasn’t long, but every step felt heavy with the risk of betrayal. Before boarding a public vehicle, she paused, her eyes darting across the street, scanning every shadow. Am I being followed? Her pulse quickened, but she saw no one.

Satisfied, she slipped into the vehicle, urging the driver to move as quickly as possible.

The road was chaotic, choked with traffic. Horns blared, engines coughed, and people shouted across intersections. Jenna clenched her fists in her lap, forcing her mind not to wander back to Darius.

By the time she arrived at the police station, her nerves were frayed. She stepped inside and was hit by a flurry of voices, phones ringing, and hurried footsteps. The officers were already buried in investigations murders from the hospital days ago, criminals at large, killers who had nearly struck her down but failed to get inside.

Her case, it seemed, was only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Still, one officer noticed her tears and guided her to a desk.

“Miss, what’s wrong?” he asked.

Jenna could barely form words. Her voice broke as she began explaining about her father’s kidnapping, about the threatening text messages, about the killings meant for her. She even showed them her phone, scrolling back and forth through the chilling words sent by faceless enemies.

Her hands shook as she laid out every detail, every clue, every scar left behind in her memory.

The officers took notes, their expressions shifting as they realized her case was connected to the very one they were already investigating.

For the first time in days, hope flickered inside Jenna. Finally, she thought, someone is listening. Someone might actually help me.

But even as relief settled into her heart, another wound deepened. Darius hadn’t called her. Not once. Not even to ask where she was.

Her lips trembled as she whispered to herself, “That means nobody noticed I left the hospital. Darius… he must be thinking only of Betty.”

Her words were quiet, but the sting was unbearable.

An officer noticed her crying and stepped closer. “Why are you crying?” he asked gently.

Jenna quickly wiped her face, forcing herself to think fast. She couldn’t let them see all her pain. So she said the first thing her heart screamed: “My dad. I need him.”

The man nodded with understanding. He didn’t press her further.

But when they suggested she leave the station and let them handle it, Jenna refused. Her father’s life was at stake. How could she just walk away?

“I’m not leaving until you find him,” she insisted, her voice breaking yet fierce.

Exhaustion soon claimed her. After hours of waiting, her body gave in, and she drifted into uneasy sleep on a hard wooden bench inside the station.

Her dreams were not peaceful. Voices echoed through the fog of her slumber.

“Move this way now! Hands up!”

The voice was so sharp, so commanding, that Jenna startled awake only to find it wasn’t a dream.

Her eyes widened in horror as a criminal stood before her, a cruel grin stretched across his face.

They both recognized each other instantly.

Jenna froze. Shock rooted her to the spot.