HURRICANE! She Begged My Brother to Save Her—This Time, I Said No Chapter 02
【The wind and rain are awful out there. She’s just worried about her brother’s safety.】
【It’s okay. I’ll wait a little longer. Maybe the rain will let up soon.】
That immediately sent the entire chat into an uproar.
【There’s no way this rain is letting up anytime soon.】
【Director Bennett, your family’s wealthy. You live in a mansion in Westbridge Heights, so you have no idea what it’s like for people like us living in run-down rental apartments.】
【Your brother just has to pick her up. No one’s asking him to swim through floodwater and carry her out.】
Dad heard the commotion and came out of his home office.
“The wind’s too strong. Don’t let Ty leave the house.”
He’d said the same thing in my previous life.
But I hadn’t listened.
I’d thought Chloe was just a girl who had recently graduated from college.
She had come to Harbor Point alone to make a living. It couldn’t have been easy.
Later, an angry mob gathered outside our house, waving protest signs.
They spray-painted RAPIST across our garage door and screamed that my parents had raised a rapist.
Mom and Dad had always cared deeply about their dignity.
That day, the mob pelted them with eggs until they were covered in yolk and broken shells.
Both of them suffered strokes on the spot.
They collapsed, reaching out for someone to help them.
In that moment, regret tore through me.
My reckless compassion had destroyed my own family.
My phone kept buzzing.
When Marcus saw I still wasn’t responding, he tagged me again.
【Natalie, the board is reviewing the executive appointment next week!】
【The company doesn’t promote people based on experience alone. It looks at leadership, judgment, and accountability.】
【If you can’t even handle a problem involving one of your own employees, why should the board trust you to run the Pacific Division?】
I took a deep breath and typed calmly.
【My response fully complies with the company’s emergency procedures.】
【Chloe, send me your full address, building number, and unit number. I’ll call 911 and request a flood rescue team.】
Chloe replied almost immediately.
【Forget it. I don’t need it anymore.】
【I’m renting a unit in an illegally subdivided apartment. The landlord warned us not to involve the authorities.】
【If emergency responders show up, the landlord will throw me out.】
【I just graduated. I can’t afford to rent another place right now.】
My coworkers immediately began sympathizing with her.
【Chloe’s already having such a hard time. Director Bennett, stop using company procedure as an excuse to make her life harder.】
I was making things harder for Chloe?
Why didn’t anyone consider that Chloe was the one putting me in an impossible position?
【Director Bennett always pretends to care about her employees. Guess it was all an act.】
【It would take almost no effort to help, but she’d rather sit back and watch. How selfish.】
【Poor Chloe. Imagine having a manager like her.】
I scoffed.
【Anyone who feels that sorry for her can go get her themselves. Tyler isn’t leaving this house.】
After sending the message, I turned off my screen and stopped responding.
They could pressure me all they wanted.
If it came down to it, I was ready to give up the job.
But the next second, Tyler’s phone lit up.
An Instagram follow request and message request popped up.
Somehow, Chloe had gotten hold of his Instagram account.
Her message contained only one line.
【Sorry for causing you trouble.】
Tyler held up his phone.
“Natalie, she sent me a request.”
I took the phone from him and rejected it without hesitation.
Tyler spoke quietly.
“Natalie, she seems pretty polite. She doesn’t seem dangerous.”
I looked at him seriously.
“Tyler, remember this. Someone who’s truly in danger will reach out to whoever can help them fastest.”
“Only someone with an ulterior motive would ignore 911 and her building management just to come after you.”
He blinked, turning my words over in his head.
I pushed him toward his bedroom.
“From now on, you’re staying in your room. You’re not leaving this room.”
“Understand?”
“Got it.”
His bedroom door shut before my eyes.
Only then did I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.