Chapter 2

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?!