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The Night I Refused to Save Her

The Night I Refused to Save Her

Cerita Pendek · Rebirth
Oleh:  HeliotropeTamat
Bahasa: English
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10Bab
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Sinopsis

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Girl Power

Face Slapping

The new graduate trainee asked for help in our team's Slack channel late that night. She said her apartment was flooding after the hurricane, and asked if my brother could drive her to a nearby hotel. In my previous life, I gave in. I let Jake go. The next morning, Emily showed up clutching a torn bra. Through tears, she accused my brother of sexually assaulting her. Jake had just started his freshman year of college. No matter how much he denied it, no one believed him. He was suspended from school. Our family business took a devastating hit. My father suffered a stroke. My mother collapsed from the stress. Emily rode the wave of public sympathy, won a 1-million-dollar civil settlement, secured a permanent position at the company, and took the promotion that should have been mine. She even came to gloat in front of me. "Sarah, everything I have today, I owe to you. If you hadn't asked Jake to pick me up that night, I never would've made it this far." When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the night the hurricane hit. Emily was asking for help in our team's Slack channel. My apartment's flooding. The rain is so bad I can't get a ride anywhere. Sarah, could your brother do me a favor and drive me to a nearby hotel? I reached over and stopped Jake, who was about to grab his car keys. Then I replied in the channel. Jake isn't going. Send me your address. I'll contact emergency services and the city's flood-response team.

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Bab 1

Chapter 1

The channel went silent.

A few seconds later, Emily sent a voice message.

Heavy rain hammered in the background.

"I really don't want emergency services involved."

"They have people whose lives are actually in danger tonight."

"I'd feel terrible taking resources away from them."

"My apartment isn't that bad yet."

"It's just your house is only ten minutes away, and Jake has that four-wheel-drive Jeep. I was hoping he could drop me at a hotel nearby."

Almost immediately, coworkers chimed in.

Emergency services are probably overwhelmed tonight. If we can avoid adding another call, maybe we should.

A four-wheel-drive Jeep should handle flooded roads way better than an Uber.

I replied.

The city issued a stay-at-home emergency order.

My brother is nineteen. He is not emergency personnel, and his Jeep is not a rescue vehicle.

If something happens to him, who's taking responsibility?

Emily answered almost immediately.

You're right. I shouldn't have asked.

I'll figure something else out.

I thought the conversation was finally over.

Then another message appeared.

Emily:

If I don't show up for work tomorrow morning, please call the police.

The Slack channel exploded.

Before anyone else could respond, our boss joined the conversation.

Michael:

Sarah, Emily reports directly to you.

I trust my managers to make sure nobody on their team is left stranded when people need help.

Jake looked over from the couch.

"Maybe I should just do it."

He was only nineteen. Still young enough to believe helping people couldn't possibly ruin his life.

I gently pushed his keys back onto the table.

"Sit down."

"But didn't she say her place was flooded? That she couldn't stay there tonight?"

"If her apartment is flooding," I interrupted, "there will be people helping her, not you."

I turned back to Slack.

Jake has personal commitments tonight and won't be going.

Emily, if you're truly in danger and we don't hear from you by tomorrow morning, I'll report it and make sure someone checks on you.

Almost instantly, someone replied.

Sarah... don't you think you're being a little cold?

Others echoed the same sentiment.

The notifications kept pouring in.

Then Michael tagged me directly.

I hope you're thinking this through carefully.

How we treat people during a crisis says a lot about our character.

A moment later, Emily uploaded a photo.

Dark floodwater covered the hardwood floor. A pair of pink slippers floated beside her bed. The water had already reached the mattress frame.

Then came one final message.

Emily:

Boss, please don't blame Sarah.
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10 Bab
Chapter 1
The channel went silent.A few seconds later, Emily sent a voice message.Heavy rain hammered in the background."I really don't want emergency services involved.""They have people whose lives are actually in danger tonight.""I'd feel terrible taking resources away from them.""My apartment isn't that bad yet.""It's just your house is only ten minutes away, and Jake has that four-wheel-drive Jeep. I was hoping he could drop me at a hotel nearby."Almost immediately, coworkers chimed in.Emergency services are probably overwhelmed tonight. If we can avoid adding another call, maybe we should.A four-wheel-drive Jeep should handle flooded roads way better than an Uber.I replied.The city issued a stay-at-home emergency order.My brother is nineteen. He is not emergency personnel, and his Jeep is not a rescue vehicle.If something happens to him, who's taking responsibility?Emily answered almost immediately.You're right. I shouldn't have asked.I'll figure something else out.I thou
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Chapter 2
She's probably just worried about her little brother. The weather is terrible out there.I'll wait a little longer. Maybe the rain will let up.The effect was immediate. The Slack channel exploded.The storm isn't getting any better tonight.Sarah, you own a house on high ground. Not everyone has that kind of privilege.Jake wouldn't be rescuing anyone. He'd just be giving her a ride to the nearest hotel.My father stepped out of his home office after hearing the notifications chime nonstop. He glanced toward the windows, where rain slammed against the glass."Don't let Jake go out tonight."His words were exactly the same as they had been in my previous life.Back then, I hadn't listened.Emily had just graduated from college. She was new to the city. Living alone. Trying to build a career.I thought helping her was simply the decent thing to do.Weeks later, protesters gathered outside our house. They carried signs calling my brother a rapist. Someone splashed red paint across our f
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Chapter 3
My eyes burned.This time, I wouldn't let my brother or my family be destroyed again.The next morning, I had barely stepped into the office when someone screamed from the hallway. "Someone get up there! Emily's at the edge of the rooftop parking deck! She's threatening to jump!"I had heard those exact words in my previous life.A sharp ringing filled my ears.For a moment, the room tilted beneath my feet, and I nearly lost my balance.Then I followed the crowd up to the rooftop parking deck.Rain still lashed across the building. The wind howled between the surrounding towers.The scene I had seen before appeared in front of me again.Emily stood near the edge of the rooftop parking deck.Her business-casual outfit was wrinkled and soaked from the rain. In her trembling hand was a piece of torn fabric she had been clutching like evidence.The moment she saw me, her eyes locked onto mine.Tears immediately filled them."Sarah... Jake raped me!""His semen is all over this!"Emily rai
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Chapter 4
"There has to be some mistake!"A man in the crowd let out a cold, mocking laugh."Listen to him.""Every rapist has a parent standing behind him saying, 'My son would never do that.'""Maybe that's exactly why they keep getting away with it."My father's face flushed red."Our front door has security cameras. If Jake left the house last night, it'll be on the footage."Emily answered almost instantly.“A security camera you installed yourselves doesn’t prove anything.”“How do we know the footage wasn’t edited? You own the system. Changing the records wouldn’t exactly be difficult for someone with your resources.”Several people nodded.“Their own security footage? That proves nothing. Who knows if they edited it to make themselves look innocent?”“This explains why they’re so arrogant. They came prepared with a fake alibi. They planned this from the start. That’s how ruthless they are.”My mother's hands trembled.“You have no evidence. You’re accusing my son based only on her side o
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Chapter 5
I pulled up the replay of Jake’s livestream.“Take a good look. Who is this?”On the screen, Jake’s face appeared clearly in the camera.I looked at Emily and spoke slowly, word by word.“My brother livestreamed the entire night yesterday.”“His face was visible the whole time. He even sent out giveaways every thirty minutes to keep viewers engaged. Over a hundred thousand people watched.”I held my phone out in front of everyone.“The witnesses he has aren’t just my family. They’re the one hundred thousand people watching his livestream.”Emily’s face immediately went pale.A moment later, she gritted her teeth.“And you expect everyone to believe a livestream replay is real?”“Sarah, your family has money. How hard would it be to pay someone to stage a livestream?”The coworkers who had been exchanging uncertain looks quickly found their voices again.“She has a point. Who knows if it was prerecorded?”“Livestream footage can be edited too, right?”“For a wealthy family, creating fak
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Chapter 6
Jake let out a cold laugh.“Mistaken?”“Weren’t you just saying you’d recognize me even if I turned to ashes?”Emily gripped the torn piece of fabric tightly in her hand.“I was terrified last night.”“It was dark outside, and the rain was pouring.”“The person was wearing a black jacket. He was driving a Jeep.”“I really thought it was you.”Her voice grew quieter with every word.My boss stepped forward, trying to smooth things over.“If it was just a misunderstanding, then we’ve cleared it up.”“Everyone, let’s get back to work. Don’t let this disrupt the office any further.”“Wait. This isn’t over.”My father’s voice cut through the crowd.My boss turned to him.“Mr. Brooks, she was under a lot of stress. Mistaking someone in that situation is understandable.”“Dragging this any further won’t benefit anyone.”Before my father could respond, Jake’s hands clenched into fists.“So that’s it? She just made a mistake?”“She almost destroyed my entire life!”“If we hadn’t had solid proof
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Chapter 7
“This isn’t something you can start and end whenever you want.”My boss suddenly spoke up.“Officer, Emily is emotionally unstable right now.”“She was standing on the edge of the rooftop parking garage just moments ago. She’s been through a lot of trauma.”“Why don’t we take her to the hospital first and handle the statement afterward?”I turned to look at him.“What are you so worried about, Mr. Carter?”His expression darkened.“Sarah, what exactly are you implying?”“I’m thinking about the safety of my employee.”“If something really happened to her here, could you take responsibility?”I looked at the officer.“I have another piece of evidence.”“It’s security footage from outside Emily’s apartment building.”The video played.It showed 11:26 p.m. last night.Heavy rain was pouring down.A black Jeep pulled up outside the apartment entrance.Emily stepped out of the building holding an umbrella.Her steps were steady.She wasn’t stranded. She wasn’t panicking.The car door opened.
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Chapter 8
Michael Carter’s temple throbbed.“You’re insane.”“When did I ever say any of that?”“You’re just a trainee. How dare you accuse me?”Emily let out a cold laugh.“Oh, now you remember I’m just a trainee?”“You didn’t seem to think so when you were holding me in your arms.”The officer stepped forward.“That’s enough. Both of you are coming with us.”Michael refused to cooperate, repeating over and over:“She’s lying.”“We’re just a normal manager and employee.”Emily suddenly lunged at him and clawed at his face.“Bullshit!”“You planned all of this!”Her nails left several bloody scratches across his cheek.The sound of footsteps came from the parking deck entrance.The company’s legal team and the board secretary arrived.The secretary held a folder in her hand, her expression grim.She walked straight up to Michael.“Mr. Carter.”“The chairman has ordered your immediate suspension.”“The company will fully cooperate with the police investigation.”Sweat broke out on Michael’s foreh
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Chapter 9
“Calling the police today was bad for the company’s reputation.”I let out a cold laugh.“Bad for the company’s reputation?”“When Emily was standing on the rooftop parking deck threatening to jump, and dozens of employees called him a rapist, you didn’t think that hurt the company’s reputation?”“But when I called the police to find out the truth, suddenly I’m the one causing problems?”“Oh, and if I remember correctly, you were the one who recommended Emily for this job.”The chairman shot the director a cold glance.“Sarah’s actions were completely appropriate.”“Emily’s candidate status is revoked.”“Michael Carter is suspended and will cooperate with both the police investigation and the company’s internal investigation.”“As for the employees who spread rumors today and pressured the Brooks family into a private settlement, all of them will be suspended pending review.”The coworkers who had just arrived at the conference room went pale.One of them even broke down crying.Footst
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Chapter 10
“Five employees shared Jake’s photo in external chat groups.”“Two others uploaded videos from the rooftop parking deck to Tiktok.”I opened the file.Jake’s face had been cropped from the footage, with shocking red captions added beside it.**Rich heir assaults female trainee.****Brooks family’s golden son forces woman to jump off a building.**My fingers curled tightly into my palm.In my previous life, my brother had suffered through an even more brutal wave of online harassment.Thank God this time, I stopped it before it went too far.A knock came at the door.Before I could answer, a woman pushed her way inside.Her hair was messy, and her eyes were swollen from crying.A security guard followed behind her, looking helpless.“Ms. Sarah, she says she’s Emily’s mother. She insists on seeing you.”The woman rushed in and dropped to her knees.“Ms. Sarah, please, I’m begging you.”“Emily is still young. She didn’t know what she was doing.”“She only made a mistake in a moment of des
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