The Impossible Choice

During the Christmas celebration, my sworn enemy kidnapped my husband and son.

The thugs placed two tons of TNT explosives underneath them and brazenly broadcast it on the giant screen in Times Square downtown.

Everyone in the police department says Captain Sarah is the backbone of the bomb disposal unit, saving countless lives!

"Well, today I'm going to test her. Cut the red wire and your husband dies. Cut the blue wire and your son dies. Which will our expert choose?"

Every citizen understood this was a death trap. No matter which wire I cut, I would become a criminal for all eternity.

Amid the terrified screams of tens of thousands of spectators, I casually typed a comment in the live chat.

"Human fireworks must be beautiful. Make sure to record it for me!"

On the giant screen in Times Square, my husband James's face and my son Bobby's face were magnified to the extreme.

Beneath them sat barrels of explosives, connected to two prominent red and blue wires.

A woman wearing a clown mask spoke, her voice processed to sound sharp and piercing.

The live chat comments refreshed like a waterfall.

"This is insane! This has to be a movie promotion! Pulling this kind of stunt on Christmas?"

"Look at the hostages' expressions! They're not acting! Their mouths are taped shut, they've cried themselves dry!"

"I looked it up. Captain Sarah is Sarah from the Municipal Police Bomb Squad! Her family's been kidnapped?"

My father-in-law Richard grabbed my arm, his nails digging into my flesh.

"Sarah! You're usually so capable, aren't you? Why aren't you saying anything now!"

I pulled his hand away and calmly adjusted my sleeves.

"Richard, why are you panicking? They didn't ask for money, just want me to make a choice. This is obviously a trap."

"A trap? What trap is more important than your husband and son's lives! Is your heart made of stone?"

His chest heaved violently with anger.

"If you make one wrong move, your life is over! Do you understand?"

My mother-in-law Laura rushed over, about to slap me across the face.

"You jinx! It's because of you that our family is being targeted for revenge!"

"If anything happens to my son, I'll kill you!"

I dodged to the side, my eyes showing not a ripple of emotion.

"So according to you both, I should choose my son, right?"

My words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing their fury.

The old couple exchanged glances. Neither dared to respond.

On screen, the clown woman's voice rang out again, tinged with mocking laughter.

"Captain Sarah, it seems your family understands how to choose better than you do!"

"Stop wasting time. Hurry up and tell the entire citydo you love your husband or your son more?"

The tone of the live chat began to shift.

"Holy crap, this kidnapper really knows how to torture someone psychologically!"

"Yeah, Captain Sarah is a hero who's saved so many people. Now she has to personally decide her family's fate. This is too cruel!"

"I believe in Captain Sarah! She'll definitely find a way!"

The clown woman seemed enraged by the comments.

She ripped the tape off my husband's mouth.

Immediately, James's hoarse crying voice came through the screen.

"Sarah! Don't worry about me! Save Bobby! He's our only son!"

His face was streaked with tears, his eyes filled with the radiant glow of "noble" paternal love.

The citizens watching the live broadcast were all moved.

My father-in-law Richard was even more tearful, almost ready to kneel.

"Sarah, did you hear that! James is telling you to save Bobby! Hurry and tell the kidnapper!"

"Tell them? Tell them what?"

I lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled smoke rings.

"Richard, your son has already made peace with it. He's willing to sacrifice himself for his grandson."

"We... shouldn't let his noble intentions go to waste, should we?"

The clown woman seemed quite satisfied with my husband's "heroic" performance. She gave a close-up shot of the detonation device.

It was a device linked to the citywide Christmas fireworks show controller.

"Captain Sarah, do you see it clearly? Tonight's midnight bells will be the death knell for your family!"

"Countdownless than twenty minutes remaining."

She paused, then burst into maniacal laughter.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. This detonator is dual-function."

"Not only can the controller trigger it, but I've also installed a voice-activated receiver in the chandelier in your living room."

"As soon as you say the three words 'I choose' followed by the name of the person you want to save, the other one will explode instantly!"

I glanced up at the ornate crystal chandelier overhead and let out a soft sigh.

Then I turned my gaze to my mother-in-law behind me.

"Laura, you heard that. It's not that I don't want to save themthe kidnapper isn't giving me any chance."

"One is my husband, one is my son. They're both precious to me. Tell me, how can I choose?"

My mother-in-law Laura's face turned red then white. Her lips trembled, unable to speak.

Just as I was about to say more, the door was violently burst open and a group of SWAT officers rushed in.

Leading them was my deputy, Lieutenant Davis.

He looked grave as he quickly walked up to me.

"Captain Sarah, this is urgent. We can't locate the kidnapper in such a short time, and we can't disable the connection to the city's fireworks system."

He glanced at me and lowered his voice.

"The higher-ups have given strict orders. We must ensure civilian safety and can't cause mass panic, so..."

Before he could finish, my father-in-law rushed forward excitedly.

"You heard that! Your colleague is telling you to choose! What are you waiting for! Do you want to get the whole city killed?"

I crushed out my cigarette and slowly stood up.

"Lieutenant Davis, everyone, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I won't make any choice!"

"The hostages' fate should be decided by us police officers, not by criminals!"

As my words fell, the entire room went silent.

Everyone looked at me like I was insane.

My mother-in-law's eyes rolled back and she collapsed straight down, fortunately caught by a nearby officer.

"Sarah! You evil woman!"

My father-in-law pointed at my nose, his voice trembling.

"That's your family! How can you... how can you just watch them die? Do you have any humanity left?"

Lieutenant Davis couldn't help but try to persuade me.

"Captain Sarah, we know this is difficult. But given the current situation, saving one is better than losing both."

"Yes, Captain Sarah, no matter who you choose, we'll understand. The citizens will understand too."

Facing everyone's "well-meaning advice," I laughed coldly.

"Easy for you to say."

"If it were you today, wife or child, which would you choose?"

I swept my gaze across everyone present. They all lowered their heads, not daring to meet my eyes.

"I've been a cop for ten years and defused more bombs than you've eaten meals!"

"My duty is to save lives, not to judge who deserves to live!"

"Today is no different!"

After hearing my words, my father-in-law completely exploded, raising his fist to strike me.

But just as his fist was about to hit my nose, Lieutenant Davis's radio suddenly crackled.

"Lieutenant Davis! We've located the kidnapper!"

Davis immediately led his team out.

I didn't move, just quietly watched the screen.

On screen, the clown woman lost patience seeing I wasn't responding.

A stun baton appeared in her hand, its blue electric arc crackling ominously in the dim background.

"Captain Sarah, it seems I need to give you a taste of consequences before you'll make a choice!"

With that, she viciously jabbed the stun baton into my husband James's side.

James let out an inhuman scream, his body convulsing violently as he curled into a ball.

The citizens watching the broadcast gasped in horror.

In the corner, my son Bobby burst into wailing tears.

The clown woman, wearing her mask, spoke in a distorted, crazed voice.

"Captain Sarah, you should have received the remote control, right?"

"Oh wait, I forgotthere's no remote this time!"

"Fifteen minutes until the fireworks show. Starting now, every minute that passes, your husband gets to enjoy another round of electrotherapy!"

"Until you speak up!"

Watching my husband's agonized state on screen, my mother-in-law, who had been silent until now, suddenly rushed in front of me.

"Sarah! Just choose! Do you want to watch him get electrocuted to death?"

I looked at her calmly and spoke softly.

"Laura, instead of begging me here, why don't you make a phone call and ask?"

As I spoke, I slowly raised both hands in a phone gesture.

"Ask if your son is really in that much pain right now."

My mother-in-law froze, clearly not understanding what I meant.

"You... what do you mean? Are you cursing your husband to death?"

I smiled.

"My husband studied finance. He couldn't hurt a fly. But look at that man on screenhe's been electrocuted for so long and can still scream with such vigor. Don't you find that strange?"

"Also, on the back of his neckthere doesn't seem to be that mole we're all familiar with."

My words stunned everyone.

Even my mother-in-law, who had just regained consciousness, stopped crying and stared fixedly at the screen.

Some of the younger officers were already breaking into cold sweats. My father-in-law stood frozen in place, not daring to move.

Seeing this, one of the officers left behind snatched the tablet from my hands, trying to zoom in on the image.

"Captain Sarah, this is a matter of life and death. How can you be so reckless?"

I looked at my husband still "wailing in agony" on screen, the corner of my mouth involuntarily curving upward.

"Reckless?"

"Either way, one of them has to die. Does it really matter to me which one?"

The officer was speechless on the spot, his brow furrowed.

"Captain Sarah, but they're your family. Don't you care at all?"

I grinned and smiled at him slightly.

"Why should I care?"

"If my husband dies, I can claim half the assets. If my child dies, I can have another one. But if I actually speak those words, wouldn't I become an accessory to murder?"

The tech department called in. Lieutenant Davis's voice was extremely anxious.

"Sarah! The hospital network was tampered with. The signal source is fake! We can't find them!"

Everyone's last shred of hope was extinguished.

The clown woman on screen, seeing I remained unmoved, flew into a complete rage.

She threw down the stun baton and grabbed a metal bucket from behind, pouring the yellow liquid all over my husband.

The strong smell of gasoline seemed to seep through the screen, permeating the entire living room.

"Sarah! I'm giving you one last minute! If you still don't choose, I'll light him up like a torch!"

The clown woman pulled out a lighter. The pale blue flame danced in front of the camera.

The number of viewers in the live stream reached an unprecedented peak at that moment.

The flood of comments nearly caused the video to lag.

"This is insane! This kidnapper has completely lost it!"

"What is Captain Sarah waiting for? If she doesn't choose, everyone will die!"

"You don't understandthere's no way to choose! Choosing makes her a murderer! Captain Sarah is in an impossible position!"

The clown woman also screamed at the screen.

"Sarah, I'm counting to three. If you don't speak up, prepare to collect his body!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

I took a deep breath and, under everyone's shocked gazes, picked up my phone.

The call was answered almost instantly.

My voice, through the speakerphone, clearly carried throughout the entire room and through the broadcast to the whole city.

"Captain Sarah, say your choice loudly! Let everyone see who you love most!"

On the other end, the clown woman's voice was filled with perverse excitement.

"No, no, no. I think you've misunderstood."

I chuckled softly and said slowly, word by word.

"I'm calling to tell you something."

"Those two people you kidnapped have nothing to do with me. If you want to burn them, burn them. If you want to blow them up, go ahead. Be my guest."

The clown woman completely froze. She hadn't expected this answer from me.

A moment later, she let out a shrill shriek, lit the lighter, and threw it viciously toward my husband.

With a thunderous "boom," the screen was instantly engulfed in flames.

The entire room fell deathly silent.

"Ahhhhh!"

My mother-in-law let out a heart-wrenching scream and fainted on the spot.

"Sarah!"

"You murderer! You killed my son! I'll have your life!"

My father-in-law grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table, his face contorted, and charged at me.

The scene instantly spiraled out of control.

And I, as the instigator of all this, sat calmly on the sofa.

"Richard, the dead can't come back to life. Please accept my condolences."

The first to react were the officers present. They quickly rushed forward and pinned my raging father-in-law to the ground.

"Sarah, you refused to save them! Why did you deliberately provoke the kidnapper! You killed my son!"

My father-in-law, his eyes bloodshot, roared at me.

I dusted off my clothes and stood up.

"At least I didn't kill him. The law can't touch me."

"This is already the best outcome!"

Perhaps my cold-blooded attitude completely enraged everyone.

Even the officers who had just been restraining my father-in-law now looked at me with eyes full of anger and contempt.

"What kind of bomb disposal expert are you? You're just a cold-blooded murderer!"

"Captain Sarah, we really misjudged you! You don't deserve to be a cop!"

In an instant, I became the target of everyone's criticism.

I looked up at the clock on the wall and slowly spoke.

"Alright, enough. Stop arguing. You can all do whatever you want."

"I'm taking my son to dinner at Hot Pot Palace."