Chapter 9
376words
The blast had knocked Jason and Chloe to the ground.
They sat there, covered in soot, staring in stunned silence at the twisted, burning heap of metal that was once a luxury car.
Paramedics rushed to my side, gently taking me from Ryan's arms to check my injuries and fit an oxygen mask over my face.
Once Ryan confirmed I was out of immediate danger, he slowly rose to his feet.
He took off his jacket, revealing a dress shirt torn and bloodied by shrapnel.
His ice-cold gaze locked onto Jason, who was just scrambling up from the ground.
"Jason,"
Ryan's voice was quiet, but it carried a terrifying weight.
"When my sister was in that car begging you to save her, what were you doing?"
Jason's face was ashen, his lips trembling.
He tried to defend himself.
"I... I thought she was joking! She set the fire herself! She's crazy!"
Chloe burst into tears again.
"It's true, Ryan! Don't blame Jason! It's all Emma's fault! She... she wanted to test Jason's love for her, and we were both so scared!"
She pointed a shaking finger at the burning wreckage, twisting the truth.
"See? She'd rather blow up her car than admit defeat! She's an extremist!"
A cold, mirthless smile touched Ryan's lips.
He didn't waste another word.
He strode forward and, before Jason could react, landed a brutal punch square on his jaw.
Jason flew backward, hitting the pavement hard and spitting out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth.
"A test?"
Ryan loomed over him, his shadow falling across Jason's pathetic form.
"My sister was suffocating in that smoke, and you sealed her only source of air with tape. Was that part of the test, too?"
Jason clutched his bleeding mouth, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"How... how did you know...?"
Chloe froze, a sob catching in her throat.
"How did I know?"
Ryan slowly held up his phone.
The screen displayed a real-time tracking interface, showing my car's location and an audio file that was currently playing.
The recording echoed in the night air-Jason and Chloe's cruel, dismissive words, a horrifying counterpoint to my own faint, desperate pleas for help.
