Chapter 3 The impossible date

Camelia sat motionless, her eyes fixed on the date printed on the back of the photograph. She turned it over again, hoping she had read it wrong the first time. The faded numbers remained the same, refusing to change no matter how many times she looked. A chill settled over her as questions crowded her mind.

She picked up another photograph and checked the back. This one was dated 1996. The next one read 2002, then 2009. Every photograph had been taken years apart, yet the man in every single one looked exactly the same.

"How is this possible?" she whispered.

Her first thought was that someone had forged the dates. It was the simplest explanation, but it quickly fell apart. Whoever had done this had also found seven women who had either disappeared or died, linked Adrian to every one of them, and somehow made the photographs look completely authentic.

She opened her laptop again and searched Adrian's name instead. Hundreds of results appeared, most of them recent articles about his company, charity events, business awards, and magazine interviews. There were photographs from galas they had attended together, but nothing hinted at a hidden life or a criminal past.

She searched further back, expecting to find traces of his younger years. Instead, the results slowly disappeared until there was almost nothing left. It was as though Adrian had simply appeared one day as a successful businessman with no life before it.

Camelia frowned. Everyone had a past. There should have been university records, old photographs, sports competitions, school achievements, or even forgotten social media posts from his teenage years. Instead, there was almost nothing.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

"Come in."

Lauren stepped inside carrying a file. "Your nine o'clock is here. Should I send her in?"

Camelia looked at the photographs scattered across her desk before lifting her eyes to Lauren. "Can you give me five minutes?"

Lauren studied her face with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I just need a moment."

Lauren hesitated for a second before nodding. "Okay. I'll let her know."

As soon as the door closed, Camelia gathered the photographs and slipped them back into the envelope. She locked everything inside the bottom drawer of her desk and tucked the key into her pocket. She couldn't afford to lose focus, especially not now.

For the next hour, she sat across from a young couple seeking counseling before their wedding. Normally, she listened carefully, noticing every hesitation, every glance, and every emotion hidden beneath their words. Today, however, her thoughts kept drifting back to the locked drawer.

She found herself watching the groom more than she listened to him. He smiled at his fiancée with warmth and sincerity, at least that was how it appeared. The thought made her uneasy, and she hated herself for it.

By the end of the session, Camelia had repeated herself twice and forgotten one of the questions she asked every new couple. It was the first time in years that her personal life had followed her into her office. When her clients thanked her and left, she remained seated until the sound of the closing door faded away.

She stood, closed her office door, and leaned against it.

"What is happening to me?"

Her phone buzzed before she could gather herself. This time it was her mother.

"Hello, Mom."

"I was wondering if you're still coming for dinner on Sunday."

"I am."

"You sound tired."

"I've just had a busy morning."

"You work too much."

Camelia smiled faintly. "So everyone keeps telling me."

Her mother laughed softly. "Bring Adrian with you. Your father has been asking about him."

"I'll ask if he's free."

After ending the call, Camelia's eyes settled on the framed wedding photograph sitting on her bookshelf. She walked over, picked it up carefully, and traced the edge of the frame with her thumb. Adrian stood beside her in a black tuxedo, smiling at her with the same gentle expression she had fallen in love with.

There wasn't a trace of cruelty in his eyes.

She wanted to believe that man.

She needed to.

Instead of putting the frame back, she unlocked the drawer and removed one of the anonymous photographs. She placed it beside her wedding picture and stared at them in silence. The resemblance was impossible to ignore. It was the same smile, the same eyes, the same face. Only the woman standing beside him had changed.

Camelia turned the photograph over so quickly it nearly slipped from her hand.

"No."

She refused to believe it. There had to be another explanation. Maybe Adrian had an older relative who looked exactly like him. Maybe someone had altered the dates. Maybe someone wanted to destroy his life by framing him for crimes he had never committed.

She reached for her phone and opened Adrian's contact. Her thumb hovered over the call button as she imagined how the conversation would go. She could tell him about the package, show him the photographs, and let him explain everything.

But something stopped her.

If the photographs were real, confronting Adrian now could ruin her only chance of learning the truth. If they were fake, accusing her husband without proof would destroy the trust they had spent three years building. Either way, she wasn't ready to take that risk.

She locked the photographs away again, picked up her handbag, and walked out of the office. Instead of driving home, she entered the address of the first missing woman into her navigation. If she wanted answers, they wouldn't come from staring at old photographs. They would come from the people those women had left behind.

As Camelia drove out of the parking lot, she never noticed the dark SUV parked across the street.

Inside, a man lowered his camera after taking another photograph of her. He picked up his phone and waited for the call to connect.

"She took the bait," he said quietly.

A calm voice answered from the other end.

"Good."

The line went dead.

The SUV started its engine and slowly pulled out behind Camelia's car.