Betrayed Undercover: The Traitor Wasn't Him

The border crackdown finally comes to an end. The police finally capture the notorious Roxanne Thorne, who has made headlines across the country. In the interrogation room, Jordyn Croft sits across from her in a police uniform, repeatedly asking the same question. "Where is that traitor, Christopher Savile, hiding now?" Roxanne slowly raises her eyes, her slender fingertips gently rubbing the edge of her handcuffs. "That young cop? We tied him to a metal frame and took turns beating him. Then we injected him with highly concentrated drugs before using blunt weapons to smash his knees and ankles piece by piece. Finally, we chained him to the barbed-wire fence at the border." She licks her lips, as if savoring the memory. "By dawn, his body was already stiff." Jordyn stands up and slams the files onto the table. "You're lying! He was the one who leaked the information back then and got more than a dozen of our officers killed. He even covered your retreat through the back mountain. The surveillance footage captured everything clearly!" Roxanne suddenly bursts into laughter. Her handcuffs clang loudly against the table. She says, "Christopher never gave us a single useful piece of information until the end. Instead, it was a hostage he'd previously rescued from us who kept feeding us information. His only condition was that we take Christopher away and make everyone believe he was a traitor. "That way, he could conveniently take Christopher's wife for himself." The entire room falls silent. Just then, the interrogation room door flies open. Jordyn's newlywed husband, Milo Lumley, rushes in, his voice urgent. "Jordyn, did you catch the suspect? Did they tell you where Chris is?" Chapter 1 Milo Lumley's eyes swept across the apprehended criminal, Roxanne Thorne. His pupils dilated sharply. In the next second, his eyes went red as he lunged forward like a madman. He screamed, "It was you! Give me my parents' lives back!" Jordyn Croft reacted instantly. She grabbed his arm and yanked him back, holding him firmly at her side. "Calm down!" she urged. Milo struggled desperately beside her, his chest heaving violently. His voice was hoarse and thick with hatred. "Let me go, Jordyn! I'm going to kill her! I'm going to make her pay with her life!" Jordyn didn't loosen her grip. Instead, she tightened it. She then fixed an icy stare on Roxanne, who was across from them. "Do you see this? His parents died in the massacre you people caused. When he saw you, he wanted nothing more than to tear you apart. He even dreams of making you all pay for what you'd done when he sleeps at night. And you tell me he was working with you to frame Christopher?" Jordyn scoffed and added, "That's a pathetic attempt at turning us against each other." Milo froze beside her. His breathing caught for a moment as he turned toward her in disbelief. He said, "She said that? That's ridiculous! How could I possibly have betrayed Chris? He was the one who saved my life…" Several officers nearby immediately stepped forward to calm him down. "Milo, we all know what kind of person you are. There's no way you'd ever do something like that." "Christopher was the best in the police academy when it came to criminal psychology. He knew exactly how to manipulate people. Otherwise, how could he have fooled Captain Croft and all of us so thoroughly back then? We're not falling for it this time!" I stood in the corner, unable to put into words what I was feeling. If I'd really been that good at reading people, would I have failed to see through Milo's hidden agenda back then? After calming Milo down, Jordyn turned back to look at Roxanne coldly. "Stop wasting your time trying to turn us against each other. Christopher taught you to say this, didn't he? I've watched the surveillance footage from that day countless times. He went with you willingly." Every word she spoke was firm and absolute. She would rather believe that I was a traitor than believe that I had truly died at the border. Her hands slowly clenched until her knuckles turned white. Jordyn asked, "Do you love him that much? You're practically done for, yet you still refuse to tell us where he's hiding. Why would you even go through all this trouble just to clear his name?" Roxanne froze for a moment, then suddenly threw her head back and laughed out loud. Her handcuffs and shackles clattered loudly. Jordyn frowned. "What are you laughing at?" Roxanne stopped laughing and replied, "I'm a drug lord, not some hopeless romantic. I just can't believe that even with the truth staring you in the face, you can still make up a story that somewhat makes sense to you." She gave Milo a pointed glance. "I've never met the person who passed along the information, but it looks like whoever it was did a damn good job brainwashing you over the past three years!" Jordyn's expression became ambivalent. Suddenly, Milo tugged at her sleeve, his face pale. "Jordyn, I don't feel well. I don't want to look at this monster for another second…" Jordyn immediately softened. She put away her intimidating presence and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. I'll take you outside." She supported Milo and turned around to exit the room. They had barely reached the doorway when the phone in Jordyn's pocket suddenly vibrated. She pulled it out casually, and the screen lit up. A name flashed on the phone screen—"Christopher". Chapter 2 Jordyn's breath caught. It was the first time I had called her in the three years since I disappeared. She hesitated for three seconds, her thumb hovering over the answer button, before she finally pressed it. Jordyn went on a tirade. "It's been three years. So you've finally decided to show yourself. I never thought you'd go this far just to clear your name. You even faked your own death and framed Milo. Do you have any idea how worried he was about you all these years?" "While you were out there, living a carefree life, did you ever think about our fellow officers who died because of you? Did you ever think about William…" She didn't finish, because a shrill burst of laughter suddenly came through the phone. Jordyn froze with the phone still in her hand. Then, she slowly turned around. "Officer Croft, make a guess why I have this phone." Roxanne shook the phone in her hand with a mocking smile. It was the same phone I had been carrying when I disappeared. "Because the voice messages you've been sending to this phone every day are so damn cheesy. They made the perfect background music while we tortured that young cop." Roxanne licked her lips, as if savoring the memory. She vividly described how they'd beaten me. She recounted how they'd smashed my legs, mended them, and then broken them again. She described how they'd made me experience unimaginable agony before finally disposing of my body. The details were so vivid that every officer in the interrogation room felt their scalps tingle and their stomachs churn. I hovered in the corner, trembling uncontrollably. A familiar, dull pain radiated through every bone in my body. However, Jordyn smiled and said, "That's quite a detailed story. Nice work." Then, she put an arm around Milo again and strode out of the interrogation room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Milo let out a soft sigh. "Chris must have found out that we're together. He must resent us…" Jordyn raised a hand and gently patted his shoulder. "None of this is your fault. He's the one who betrayed the uniform he wore and let William down. You had nothing to do with it. You've been through enough. I'll have someone take you home to rest." After sending Milo away, she immediately wiped the smile from her face. She pulled out her phone and called her colleagues in the Criminal Investigation Division. In a stern and commanding voice, she ordered, "Tell the entire field team to assemble immediately. Bring your gear. We're heading to the remote mountain area along the border. Based on the details in the suspect's statement, there's a good chance Christopher is hiding somewhere in that area." Watching her, I couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even after hearing such an extremely brutal account, she had remained absolutely calm. Ignoring the horror, she extracted only the clues she considered useful. No wonder she was my father's star pupil. Her deduction was correct. That was exactly where my body had been dumped. I couldn't help but wonder if she'd remain just as calm and composed when she really found my corpse. … After more than three hours of searching, they finally discovered an abandoned warehouse deep in the mountains. It looked like someone had been using it recently. As they prepared to storm the building with their guns drawn, the deputy captain moved closer to Jordyn. "Captain Croft, to avoid any potential conflict of interest, why don't you stay outside and coordinate while we go in and search?" Jordyn understood the deeper meaning of his words. She raised her service weapon, her gaze unwavering. "I swore at William's grave that I would bring Christopher to justice. If he resists arrest, I won't hesitate to shoot him if necessary." Back when we got together, my father, William Savile, had been so happy that he'd gotten drunk after finding out. He'd grabbed my hand and said, "Hey, brat. I'm entrusting my star pupil to you. If you ever hurt her, I'll be the first one to come after you!" I had stood at attention and saluted. "Don't worry, Dad! I swear on my life that won't ever happen!" The person I'd once sworn to protect was now swearing to arrest me. The whole situation was highly absurd. The moment they kicked down the door and stormed inside, every officer froze in place with terrified looks on their faces. Chapter 3 The warehouse was dimly lit. The air reeked of blood so strongly that it made everyone frown and fight back the urge to vomit. Dark bloodstains covered the walls, and broken chains and rusted blunt instruments lay scattered across the floor. It wasn't hard to tell that someone had been subjected to inhuman torture here. Jordyn was the first to regain her composure. She issued an order in a low voice. "Stay calm and stay alert. Split into groups and conduct a thorough search. Report immediately if you find anything." Before long, one of the officers shouted, "We've found something!" Jordyn rushed over right away. A pile of shattered bones lay scattered across the floor, broken into countless pieces. Beside them was a faded police uniform bearing my badge number. Someone couldn't help asking, "Could it be… the suspect was telling the truth?" "Impossible!" Jordyn immediately cut him off with her eyes fixed on the pile of bones. Her voice was firm and absolute as she analyzed, "Judging by how weathered these bones are, the person has been dead for at least two years. But when we arrested those criminals a year ago, they had repeatedly evaded our surveillance and containment efforts. "Someone with an intimate knowledge of police tactics was clearly advising them from the shadows. That person had to be Christopher. It's more likely that they kidnapped an innocent civilian and tortured him to death. The uniform was nothing more than a deliberate decoy. Don't let it fool you!" She immediately turned to the officers beside her and instructed, "Send these remains for DNA testing immediately. We have to identify the victim and notify the family. Everyone else, keep expanding the search area. "Christopher must have gotten word in advance and fled. Don't let him get away!" The officers immediately sprang into action. Jordyn turned and walked out of the warehouse. She lit a cigarette and leaned against a police car. I never thought she'd taken up smoking. After all, she'd always hated the smell of cigarettes. Her gaze fell on the sealed evidence bag containing the police uniform, and a mocking smirk appeared on her face. She remarked dryly, "Christopher, your counter-surveillance skills are still as good as ever. You really should have joined the CID." Her words instantly brought back a memory from years ago. The first time Jordyn and I met was during a joint training exercise between different departments. My team had been playing the role of the criminals. Using our familiarity with the terrain, we'd nearly wiped out the opposing police team. In the end, only she and I remained. We faced each other on the roof of an abandoned building. I held a training pistol in my hand. My palm was slick with sweat, but I forced myself to stay calm, staring intently at the spot where she was hiding. She crouched behind cover, her breathing steady. She said, "Christopher, right? What a waste. With tactical instincts like yours, you should've joined the CID." I froze for a split second, and that was all the opening she needed. She sprang out like a hunting predator, moving so fast that all I saw was a blur. The world spun as she slammed me to the ground. Pain through my back when it hit the floor. "On the battlefield, one second of hesitation gets you killed," she said quietly. Then she released me and pulled me to my feet, brushing the dust off my shoulder. My heart pounded strongly against my ribcage, and I could feel my ears burning. I later learned that she was the legendary Jordyn Croft from the Criminal Investigation program. She was the promising young officer Dad was always praising. After that, she kept finding excuses to stick around wherever I was. She claimed that Dad had asked her to look after me. If I trained late, she'd bring me a bottle of water that she'd warmed to room temperature. She'd stay to practice hand-to-hand combat with me for another half hour. If I got nervous before an evaluation, she'd stand below the platform and give me an encouraging look, secretly raising her fist in a little "You've got this" gesture. The next time she handed me a tube of ointment for scrapes and helped treat the abrasion on my arm from training, I stopped her in a corner of the training grounds. "Jordyn, do you have a crush on me?" She froze. The tips of her ears immediately turned red. Her eyes darted everywhere except toward me. After a long silence, she finally took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. Her voice was taut as a wire. "Yes, Officer Savile. I've fallen for you. Does that violate regulations? If it does, I… I can file a request…" I burst out laughing and reached over to ruffle her hair. After graduation, we naturally ended up in the same unit. We became the police department's famous power couple, fighting side by side with perfect coordination. Then everything changed with a kidnapping case that made national headlines. When a group of drug traffickers was exposed, they kidnapped a group of hostages. Milo and his parents were among them. His parents were brutally murdered while trying to protect him. I took a slash across the chest while protecting him. It left behind a scar that never fully healed. A bullet also grazed my arm. Afterward, Milo, now orphaned, clutched the hem of my shirt with tearful eyes. His voice was hoarse and broken as he said, "Chris, I don't have a home anymore…" My heart softened, and I started bringing him home. Mom took a liking to him. She cooked his favorite dishes and even prepared a spare bedroom for him. I taught him self-defense, brought him to the police station to watch us train, and tried to help him move past his trauma so that he could get on with life. Seeing how kind I was to him, Jordyn looked after him too. She taught him basic self-defense techniques and helped him get in touch with a therapist. Milo often tagged along wherever we went. He was docile and considerate, like a small kitten that simply needed someone to protect it. But I never imagined that this seemingly gentle kitten had been sharpening its claws in the shadows. Chapter 4 A month before Jordyn and my wedding, we finally received solid intelligence on the drug trafficking organization. The opportunity was too rare to pass up, so our superiors decided to move in that very night. I led the main assault team, while Jordyn coordinated the perimeter and provided backup. The night before the operation, she helped me check my equipment again and again. Finally, she wrapped her arms tightly around me and rested her forehead against my chest. "Be careful. You have to come back in one piece and be my groom." "Yes, Captain Croft." I smiled and hugged her back, gently ruffling her hair. My heart filled with happiness and anticipation for our future. Milo came by that night too. He was carrying a cup of warm milk, his eyes bloodshot with worry. He said, "Chris, please come back safely. I'm looking forward to attending your wedding." I didn't think anything of it. I drank the milk in one go, patted him on the shoulder, and told him not to worry. On the day of the operation, everything went smoothly. In fact, it went too smoothly. Just as I located the criminals' hideout and was about to send the signal, a violent wave of dizziness hit me. My limbs went weak, and all the strength drained from my body. Before I lost consciousness, I heard gunshots erupting everywhere. The screams of my fellow officers grew fainter and fainter. When I woke up again, there was nothing I could do. Every day I spent in captivity, I kept asking myself why Milo had done it. Then, one night, after they broke every bone in my body again, the excruciating pain jolted me awake. Through the haze, I heard his phone conversation with Roxanne. Roxanne said, "I'm honestly curious. Christopher saved your life, so why are you so cruel to him?" On the other end of the line, Milo shed his usual meek demeanor. His voice was vicious and cold as he replied, "It's his fault for sticking his nose into my business and saving me. Since he saved me, he might as well finish the job and give me a family. I just didn't expect his father to drop dead the moment he heard that his son had become a traitor. "His mother overheard our conversation and wanted to expose me. I was so nice to her the whole time. Since she didn't know how to appreciate it, I might as well send her to join him. "I'll do my best to keep feeding you information about the police. Torture Christopher however you want. As long as he stays out of the way and doesn't interfere with my marriage or my plans to have children with his wife, I don't care what you do to him." Blood mixed with saliva slid down from the corner of my mouth as I laughed. One drop after another dripped onto the floor. So that was what happened. After that night, I gave the criminals the first piece of information I'd provided since being captured. They acted on it and suffered devastating losses. So, they poured all their hatred onto me. Chains crushed my ribs. Blunt weapons shattered my arms and legs. Then, finally, one last blow struck my chest fatally. I was barely alive when I was chained to the wire fence. I didn't make it to sunrise. I had used my life to bring down a large chunk of their organization. That was the only thing I could do. I hoped that Jordyn would root out the remaining criminals as soon as possible. That way, no one else would end up like me, dying somewhere beyond the reach of the light. When I was finally done reminiscing, dawn had broken. Jordyn had spent the entire night standing there and smoking. Cigarette butts were scattered all around her feet. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. It was a message from the forensic lab, along with a report. It read, "The DNA test results for the remains are back." At the same time, an officer hurried over to report. "Captain Croft, we've got a new lead!"