My Parents Are Kidnapped, and My Cop Brother Refuses to Help, Now He’s Losing His Mind in Regret

Chapter 1

**Prelude**

The night my parents were kidnapped, my brother, who's a cop, decided to go bungee jumping with the fake heiress instead of stepping up to help us. I didn't try to stop him. I just called the cops, arranged the ransom, and braced for the worst.

In my past life, he made the same choice. He never came back in time to save our parents. The fake heiress's bungee cord snapped during the jump, and she fell into the abyss. Her body was never found. After that, my brother didn't say a word for weeks.

On my birthday, he drugged me and took me to that same cliff.

"You planned the whole thing. All this for attention. You're a demon!"

"Chloe's dead, and you should be, too."

When I woke up, I was back to the night my parents were taken. This time, my brother didn't try to save them. Instead, he rushed to the fake heiress.

But it didn't take long before regret completely consumed him, pushing him to the edge of insanity.

**Prelude ends**

I jolted awake, sweat dripping down my forehead. My heart pounded so hard, it felt like it was going to burst through my chest. The weightlessness was still there, but the familiar layout of my room gradually came into focus.

I checked the time.

I'd been reborn.

Back to the night my parents were kidnapped.

In five minutes, the kidnappers would call and demand the ransom, two million dollars, ready within the hour, or they'd kill my parents.

I was the lost daughter of the Bay family, gone for eighteen years. After being reunited with my parents less than a year ago, they were everything to me. I couldn't let this tragedy play out again.

I rushed downstairs and stood by the phone, with my brother Jason, dressed in tactical gear and casual pants, right behind me.

"Emily, who are you trying to fool? Mom and Dad aren't even here."

"Aren't they ‘kidnapped' by you?" I shot back, barely containing my frustration.

Jason flashed me a mocking smile.

In that instant, I knew, he'd been reborn too.

His expression said it all: don't bother fighting it, it's pointless. Without our parents to play along, this whole thing would end even faster.

In my previous life, my brother was convinced I orchestrated the kidnapping to get attention from our parents. I still couldn't understand how he could jump to such a ridiculous conclusion.

This time, though, he wasn't even pretending to care.

"Emily, don't say I didn't warn you. Instigating a crime is still a crime."

"Don't come crying to me when you end up in jail."

I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could say anything, the phone rang, its shrill sound piercing through the air like a needle to my heart.

Jason didn't even flinch.

With one last look of disdain, he turned to leave.

"Do whatever you want. I'm going bungee jumping with Chloe. It's not like they're really in danger. Don't bother me unless it's serious."

That wasn't what he'd said in my previous life.

Back then, using his skills as a seasoned investigator, he'd tracked down the kidnappers within an hour and brought our parents home safe.

But that day, I was so focused on comforting our traumatized parents, I missed the simmering anger in his eyes.

It wasn't until later, when he tied me up at the cliff's edge, that the truth hit me.

During the rescue, Chloe, the fake heiress, had called him repeatedly. When he didn't pick up, she went bungee jumping alone, and the cord snapped.

Now, the phone's ringing felt like a death sentence. My chest tightened as dread washed over me.

I picked up, my hands trembling. The kidnapper's voice was cold, clear, and businesslike.

"Two million. Have it ready in two hours, or your parents are dead."

I froze, eyes wide, my blood running cold.

What?

Wasn't it only one million in my past life?