Hostage Choice: My Wife Saved Her First Love and Left Me

Charlie is kidnapped alongside Zach, his wife Wendy's first love. When the kidnappers let him call Wendy for ransom, she refuses to believe him, accusing him of staging the kidnapping for attention. She has already paid $500,000 to save Zach, and she blocks Charlie's number, telling him to die if he wants to. The kidnappers, enraged that no ransom will come, beat him to death.

Rather than passing on, Charlie's spirit drifts back to Wendy. He watches her wait anxiously outside Zach's hospital room, relieved that Zach survived his shock. She embraces Zach, calls Charlie a beast who deserves to die, and dismisses him as a burden. Zach feigns concern while secretly delighting in her contempt.

Charlie, an orphan Wendy once promised to protect, sees how completely he has been replaced. Even as Wendy takes Zach on a trip to heal his trauma, Charlie remains bound to her, forced to witness the love he was denied.