The Unanswered Call

That Midsummers Eve, I lost my sister forever.

She was savagely stabbed eighteen times by a brutal assailant. When she collapsed in a pool of her own blood, her hand still clutched the emergency call that had never gone through.

Meanwhile, her police officer husband, who should have been on duty at the precinct, was instead featured in a social media post by the new female intern.

The photo showed him in a manly pose, holding the intern with one arm while pinching a cockroach with the other. The caption read, Mom no longer has to worry about scary little critters at home. Below, a chorus of colleagues cheered and praised the post.

I trembled with fury and immediately sent a screenshot to his captain.

Half an hour later, his call came through, his voice thick with anger and accusation.

Just because I didnt spend Midsummers Eve with you, you went running to the captain to complain, saying I was derelict in my duty?

You jealous shrew! Youre utterly unreasonable! Even with my sister backing you up, this time, Im divorcing you for good!

He yelled and hung up, not giving me a chance to explain.

He would never know that the sister he believed would always have my back had, because of his negligence, already left this world forever.

Listening to the dial tone, my knuckles turned white as I clutched my phone.

Just then, a doctor approached with some papers.

Ms. Caldwell, this is the deceaseds death certificate. It requires a family members signature to be released. Has the deceaseds brother arrived?

My gaze swept past the doctor to the body on the hospital bed, meticulously covered by a white sheet. I shook my head faintly.

Can I sign for it?

The doctor looked a little troubled.

Legally, you have no relation to the deceased. Or, you could provide us with the deceaseds brothers household register.

No sooner had the doctor left than my phone began buzzing incessantly.

This time, it was from Jasons group chat for his colleagues. Cici Evans had specifically tagged me.

[Maam, my social media post was just meant to show Id like a police officer boyfriend too. Im so sorry if I caused any misunderstanding!]

Immediately, Jasons team members all jumped in to defend her.

[Hey there, maam, look what youve done to the poor girl.]

[Seriously, maam, were all colleagues. Why make such a big deal out of it?]

[Captain Thorne is just looking out for his trainee; its part of his duty. We know you get jealous, maam, but you cant be so unreasonable!]

These were all Jasons officers, some of whom I had helped out more than once.

They used to call me Ms. Caldwell with respect.

But ever since Cici arrived, theyd slowly become like Jason, blindly adoring her without any principles.

Just like now, knowing Jasons dereliction of duty was a fact, they still tacitly sided with Cici, accusing me of being petty.

I was about to reply when the bottom of the chat displayed that I had been removed by the administrator.

Undoubtedly, that administrator was Jason.

I scoffed, a bitter coldness settling in my heart.

Just as I was about to head home to retrieve the household register, my phone rang again.

This time, it was Officer Daniels, one of the rookies who had been on duty with Jason and Cici last night.

Maam, last night, there was a violent assault in our jurisdiction, and a female victim died. But last night, the person responsible for answering the emergency line was Cici. She she

Officer Daniels stammered.

I grew a little impatient. Spit it out, or Im hanging up.

Cici left her post for an hour due to personal reasons, which led to her missing the victims emergency call. Now, the higher-ups are looking to discipline someone, and Captain Thornes idea is for you to take the blame for Cici.

I almost laughed.

To openly spend Midsummers Eve with Cici, Jason had deliberately arranged for them to be on the night shift together.

Now that a life-and-death situation had occurred, he wanted to push me, his wife, out to take the fall.

He was willing to abandon his integrity as a police officer.

And, he hadnt even bothered to ask who the victim was last night!

Thinking this, I scoffed.

If Jason cant bear for Cici to be held accountable, then he can take the blame himself!

Asking his wife to cover for his mistresswhat kind of man is that?!

With that, I hung up.

Less than ten minutes later, Jason called me himself.

The moment I answered, his roar nearly shattered the eardrum.

Karly Caldwell! Cici and I are completely innocent. Stop with your filthy mind and assumptions!

Im the backbone of this family; I cant lose my career. You, a woman, would be perfectly fine as a stay-at-home wife without a job!

I shot back immediately.

Isnt Cici a woman? Or is she a transgender person! Jason, I never knew you had such unique tastes!

What nonsense are you talking about! How old is Cici? She has a bright future ahead of her.

Are you going to ruin Cicis life because of your jealousy? Youre truly malicious!

Malicious?

If I hadnt given Jason all the credit for dismantling a notorious crime syndicate, how could he have been promoted to squad captain within just two years?

I had given him almost everything I could, only to be called malicious in the end.

Jason, seeing my silence, realized hed gone too far and softened his tone.

Karly, I didnt mean it like that. Its just, Cici is my first female trainee, so I naturally look out for her more.

She just graduated from the academy. If she gets a disciplinary mark now, her career will be over.

Please, just this once, if you agree to help her, I can transfer her to another squad.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Cicis tearful voice chimed in.

Captain Thorne, but I dont want to leave you.

I couldnt help but sneer.

Captain Thorne, did you hear that? Your precious trainee says she doesnt want to leave you!

Then you and your officers will turn around and accuse me of being petty, forcing your innocent little trainee away.

I think its best if I make room for you both sooner rather than later.

Catching the sarcasm in my voice, Jason immediately flew into a rage.

Youre utterly unreasonable!

Im dedicated to serving the public, yet you falsely accuse me. No wonder my team privately calls you a shrew!

He had barely finished yelling when Cicis aggrieved voice immediately came through.

Captain Thorne, did I say something wrong again to upset Ms. Caldwell? Maybe I should just resign

Jason immediately comforted her gently.

Dont talk nonsense! Dont worry, as long as Im here, no one can bully you.

However, when he spoke to me again, all tenderness vanished.

Karly, you tell the captain immediately that you needed Cicis help with something, which is why Cici had to leave her post.

If you dont help with this, Im divorcing you, plain and simple!

With that, only the monotonous dial tone remained in the receiver.

At that moment, my heart completely died.

But Jason seemed to have forgotten that we had never officially registered our marriage, so there was no divorce to speak of.

After handling Sarahs funeral, Jason and I would have no further connection.

After several trips between home and the hospital, I finally managed to obtain Sarahs death certificate.

When I returned to my cold, empty home, I was utterly exhausted.

My phone screen kept lighting up.

Messages from Jasons team members flooded in:

[Maam, Cici worked hard to get into the academy. Please help her out; consider it a good deed.]

[Captain Thorne said you were planning to step back anyway. This is a good chance to rest for a while. Why not?]

[As husband and wife, a days kindness is a hundred days worth. Maam, by helping Cici this time, youre also helping Captain Thorne!]

I immediately blocked and deleted these ungrateful ingrates.

I was done with Jason; their words meant nothing to me now.

I numbly packed my belongings.

When I saw the photo of Sarah and me on the nightstand, I couldnt hold back my tears any longer.

Like the Thorne siblings, I had lost my parents at a very young age.

Sarah was the closest person I had in this world.

Every time Jason and I had an argument, Sarah would side with me, criticizing her brother.

Knowing I was uneasy about Cicis presence, she had more than once gone to the precinct to assert my claim.

But how could such a wonderful girl end up like this?

If I hadnt been so caught up in my anger with Jason last night, and had gone to pick Sarah up from work, would none of this have happened?

I couldnt help but blame myself, and I couldnt help but resent Jason.

Neither Jason nor I deserved happiness.

The next day, as soon as I arrived at the precinct, everyone turned to look at me in unison.

Cici walked straight up to me and feigned concern, saying,

Maam, the precinct has decided to dismiss you. Dont be sad. After a while, Captain Thorne will definitely find a way to get you back!

I scoffed.

Youve got it wrong, havent you? Im not the one who was derelict in duty.

At my words, Cicis eyes immediately reddened.

Maam, you cant twist the facts just to avoid responsibility!

The duty roster clearly states in black and white that you were the one responsible for answering the emergency line last night.

I paused, then understood everything.

It seemed they were determined to pin the blame on me, even going so far as to secretly alter the duty roster.

As I took a step closer to Cici, she suddenly stumbled backward, falling heavily to the ground.

Maam, even if you have a problem with me, you shouldnt intentionally push me!

Jasons officers immediately swarmed around.

They helped Cici up, then shielded her behind them, glaring at me with wary expressions.

Jason, who arrived last, didnt even bother to ask what happened before slapping me across the face.

Karly Caldwell! Take your anger out on me! What kind of person picks on a young woman?!

Apologize to Cici right now!

Everyone was stunned.

I stood there, hand covering my cheek, equally shocked.

The stinging pain on my face reminded me of Jasons domestic violence.

Yet he seemed completely oblivious to it, his attention solely on Cici.

Karly, when you make a mistake, you should take responsibility. You were on the duty roster; dont even think about dragging Cici into this.

I looked at the man I had poured my heart and soul into for five years, and felt a bone-chilling coldness.

Captain Thorne, youre absolutely right. When you make a mistake, you should take responsibility. So, do you dare to swear on the badge above your head that you, Jason Thorne, have spoken not a single lie, or else you meet a terrible end?

You

Jason glared at me fiercely, but the oath wouldnt come out.