Chapter 7: The Search for Truth
I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. “Her phone is still on, just not being answered. If she were dead, who would keep charging her phone?”
As I spoke, the phone suddenly rang back. My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly answered.
“Hello? Who is this?” It was a woman’s voice.
I tried asking, “Is this Emily?”
The voice on the other end replied, “Yes, who is this?”
Pretending to be a salesman, I rambled on, but the call was abruptly disconnected with impatience.
To confirm that the person on the phone was indeed Emily, we traced down the contact information of Emily’s parents in her hometown. Using the guise of a census taker, we engaged in a rambling conversation and I asked the crucial question, “Will Emily be coming home recently?”
“She just called yesterday to tell me she won’t be coming home for the New Year,” came the reply.
After hanging up, Jett slapped his forehead. “Well, after all this hassle, it turns out to be a misunderstanding. I think we should let Emily know that her boyfriend is a scoundrel who leaked their private video.”
That evening, we prepared to return, but as I sat in the airport terminal waiting for the flight, something felt off. Just before boarding, I couldn’t hold back and decided to cancel my ticket, opting to visit Michael and Emily once more. When I arrived at Michael’s place, he warmly welcomed us, mentioning that Emily had gone on a trip to Europe and suggested we call her. Everything seemed fine, but as we left his house, doubts grew. Michael and Emily’s speech patterns were eerily similar. When I called Emily again, my suspicions were confirmed; their way of speaking was too alike, possibly synthesized by a voice changer. We had the police bring Michael in for questioning, and after that, Emily’s phone went unanswered.
Despite searching Michael’s residence thoroughly, we found no concrete evidence, nor could we locate any record of Emily’s departure from the country. The truth seemed tantalizingly close, yet it eluded our grasp like a mirage. The case had taken a turn into the realm of the enigmatic, leaving us with more questions than answers.
