A phantom of a question lingers in the back of Minnie’s mind, and the stranger seems to acknowledge it with a snicker.

“If you’re wondering, no. I’m not the man behind all this.” They casually spoke like it’s the only explanation she needed. “And if I were one of his collectors, well, trust me… You’d be better off dead instead.”

Minnie’s breath hitches as terror flashed in her russet-brown eyes.

“But I won’t let that happen to you.”

With that point across, they reach into their jacket and pull out a wrinkled handkerchief. The sweet, almost chemical-like smell wafting from it raised every goddamn alarm bell in her head. Chloroform.

“This won’t hurt, sweetheart. I promise.”

Minnie whimpered. “N-No, wait—”

Before she could voice her protest, the cloth is brought to her face and the scent kicks in. She squirms uselessly in a futile attempt to move away, but they grab her head and pressed onto the cloth more.

“Easy now…” They murmured softly. “It’ll be over soon. Don’t worry.”

The sedation takes effect just a couple minutes later, and Minnie can barely keep her eyes open by the time it’s removed. Her consciousness flickering in and out of the present like a dying lightbulb.

“Rest up, dear officer. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Their voice sounds distant now, and the details of their mask start to blur in her clouded vision.

As her body slumped sideways, the last thing Minnie felt was a gloved hand cradling the side of her face gently. Keeping her head away from meeting the cold, hard metal.

--------------------------------------------

Description: Minnie is a low-ranking cop assigned to a major abduction case and becomes acquainted with Yuqi, a capricious girl who is seeking revenge for her family and has secrets of her own.

Notes: Tall, OOC Yuqi ahead, proceed with caution; Not much romance at the start (or at all), so don't get too excited; Other characters to be introduced later; Slow burn with even slower updates.

Focus: Minnie & Yuqi (Main)

Pairings: MinQi (Minnie x Yuqi) | TBA

Genres: Crime / Suspense / Mystery / Action / Romance(?)

Warnings: Blood (may be mild gore), violence, profanity.

Rewriting as of 5/11/2021.

**No fixed update schedule. New chapters are posted sporadically, depending on my mood.