The silence after the call was deafening. Marcus Trent stood frozen, phone still pressed against his ear, though the line had long since gone dead. The words echoed in his mind: "They're already dead." But who? How? And why did he feel like the walls were closing in around him?
He snapped out of it. There was no time to hesitate. He traced the coordinates from the message—an abandoned industrial park on the outskirts of the city. Every instinct screamed that it was a trap. But there was no choice.
As he sped through the empty streets, his phone buzzed again. A new message. No words—just a single image: his own apartment. The lights were on. He hadn't left them on.
He slammed on the brakes.
Sweat trickled down his forehead as he stared at the screen. Someone was inside his home. But the woman in the video—the fear in her eyes—he couldn't abandon her. Two paths. Two impossible choices.
The phone buzzed again. This time, a video call. Hands shaking, Marcus answered.
The screen showed his living room. Empty.
Then—movement. The camera shifted. A figure, wearing a mask, slowly raised a hand—and pointed directly at the camera.
"Time's up," a distorted voice said.
The screen went black.
Marcus's heart pounded. He made his decision.
He tore down the street toward his apartment. Every second felt like an eternity. The building loomed ahead, the light from his window flickering.
Gun drawn, he burst through the door. Silence.
Room by room, he cleared the apartment. Nothing. Until he reached his bedroom.
The closet door was ajar.
He approached slowly, weapon steady. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet.
He yanked the door open.
Nothing.
But as his eyes adjusted, he saw it—etched into the back wall of the closet: a series of numbers.
Coordinates.
The same ones from the message.
His blood ran cold. The trap had already been set.
The phone buzzed one last time.
A new video.
He pressed play.
The woman from before—still alive. But barely. Behind her, a clock counted down.
03:00.
02:59.
And a voice, whispering just out of reach: "The question isn't if you'll save her, Detective. It's what you'll sacrifice to do it."
The screen cut to black.
And the countdown continued.