1 May 20th. My boyfriend and I headed to Prospect Park Lake to take some instant photos. When the pictures developed, I noticed a faint, unsettling detail: a woman in a pink dress, barely visible, standing behind my boyfriend in the shot. I asked him if he saw anything unusual, and he flatly denied it. As I described her features – her long, dark hair, the delicate lace on her dress – a cold sweat broke out on his brow. I thought that was the end of it. But then, it wasn't just that one photo. Our wedding portraits at home, even selfies on my phone… they all started to show the same woman in pink. My boyfriend, Alex Stone, finally admitted it. It was Kiera Vance, his ex-girlfriend. But he swore they'd broken up three years ago. He tried to contact Kiera's parents. Over the phone, they insisted they didn't know him at all. And they'd never had a daughter named Kiera Vance... "Alex Stone, what else are you hiding from me?!" The phone clicked dead, and in that instant, the man standing before me felt like a complete stranger. What secret was he keeping from me? Just before taking that instant photo, he’d pulled out a ring and proposed. We'd even set a wedding date. But now, with this unfolding horror, my mind was a chaotic mess. After a tense silence, Alex suggested we take the photo directly to the police. At the precinct, I handed the officer the sketch I’d drawn of the woman in pink. "Officer, could you please look into this young woman's information?" The officer searched for a long time, but found nothing. "There's no record of a person matching this description." "That's impossible, Officer! I even lived with her for a year. Old photos, right!" Alex fumbled for his phone, scrolling furiously through his gallery. He paused, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I got a new phone two years ago, and all the old pictures are gone." "Can they be recovered?" "You'd need your old phone for that. And the police department can't recover them. You'll have to take it to a specialized shop." Back home, Alex began frantically searching for his old phone while I looked for our old shared photos. Before we left, I checked: every single photo I had with him seemed to include Kiera Vance. But now, as I pulled them out again, Kiera was gone. And on that instant photo… her original sorrowful expression had twisted into a faint smile. I gasped, dropping the photo to the floor in sheer terror. "Found it!" Alex's old phone was ancient, its camera pixelated, at least eight years old. He'd lost it once before, taking a picture of me by Prospect Park Lake, when it slipped from his grasp and plunged into the water. Out of guilt, I'd bought him a new one. We found a phone repair shop. The owner was a surprisingly young, clear-faced guy. Alex leaned in, whispering to me, "He's so young. Can he really fix it?" To our surprise, the owner overheard him. He looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes. "If you don't trust me, the door's to your left." I tugged on Alex's arm, then handed the phone over. "How long will it take to recover the photos?" The owner didn't even lift his gaze. "Five minutes," he mumbled. Seeing his swift movements and the reasonable price, Alex and I waited anxiously. Ring! Ring! Ring! Alex's phone rang. It was his parents. His face grew darker with each passing second. "Avery, stay here. There's a drawing of Kiera Vance on my parents' front door!" His words sent a chill down my spine. I nodded. After Alex left, the owner handed me the phone. When he looked up, I froze. The boy before me bore a striking resemblance to Kiera—almost a spitting image. He lowered his voice. "Sis, it's Kyle." My body stiffened, but I quickly regained my composure. "The photos are recovered, but there's a hidden album that needs a password." Taking the phone, I eagerly opened the album. Most of them were everyday shots, with only a few solo pictures of Alex. It seemed Kiera's photos were indeed in the hidden album. I tentatively entered Alex's birthday. Incorrect password. I had no choice but to take the phone to Alex's parents' house. The moment I stepped through the door, Mrs. Stone flung a dirty rag at my face. "Was it you?! Trying to scare two old people like us?!" I was stunned by the sudden accusation. Alex stepped in front of me, shielding me. "Mom, can you just stop? Avery has nothing to do with this!" "Impossible! You're the only one who saw Kiera Vance's photos! That drawing on our door must be your doing!" I retreated to the hallway, examining the drawing on the door. It was an exact replica of Kiera from the instant photo. The paint wasn't even completely dry; it must have been drawn just hours ago. "Mrs. Stone, I know you've never liked me, but Alex and I have been together this whole time. How could I have had time to come here and draw this?" "She's right, Mom. Your mental state hasn't been stable lately. Let me handle this. You just stay out of it." Mrs. Stone wept, hitting her legs, muttering. "Arthur, look at your son. He's taking a stranger's side now. He doesn't even trust his own mother anymore." Annoyed, I left the Stone house. Alex had proposed to me a year into our relationship, but I couldn't stand his mother's temper; she was incredibly peculiar. Alex explained that she'd suffered a trauma once, which had affected her mentally. 2 I asked him what kind of trauma, and he just said it was because his father, Arthur Stone, had died, but he never really explained the specifics. As I walked downstairs, Alex caught up to me, trying to coax me. I ignored him, but then he simply dropped to his knees. "Baby, this is a time when we need to face things together. Please don't be mad at me, or at my mom. How much longer does she have? Our future is just for us." I nodded, then handed Alex the phone and asked if he remembered Kiera's birthday. Alex tried the password three more times, but it still wouldn't unlock. "That's odd. I'm sure Kiera's birthday was this." Alex was about to try a fifth time. But the system flashed a message: Too many incorrect attempts. Next attempt available in three days. Frustrated, this lead was dead too. "Alex, do you really know how Kiera died?" I gazed at the instant photo. Kiera's expression hadn't changed. I hadn't noticed it before, but her clothes were wet, the pink dress clinging to her thin shoulders. After telling Alex my theory, his expression grew uneasy. "Are you still hiding something from me?" I stared directly into Alex's eyes. "Given how things are now, if you hide anything else from me, we're through!" After a long silence, Alex finally spoke. "Kiera might have drowned." Alex said that whenever Kiera and he argued, she would threaten to jump into the river. And on the day they broke up, she'd said the same thing. "Then why didn't you tell me this before?" This was a crucial clue, and Alex had kept it from me. "Because... because Kiera cheated on me! That time I took Mom to Prospect Park Lake, I accidentally saw Kiera with another man... I was too embarrassed to tell you." A sudden realization struck me: Alex's head was glowing green with deceit. "What did that man look like? He might be the key to finding Kiera!" "I only remember he was carrying a dirty duffel bag, and he was covered in grime. He must have just arrived in the city." Alex wracked his brain but couldn't recall any specific facial features. "Maybe we can check the surveillance footage around Prospect Park Lake from that day." Alex and I went to the precinct again. But to our disappointment, that particular spot was a blind area for the cameras. Nothing could be seen. The police said it was common for many girls from rural backgrounds not to have birth certificates, so it was normal not to find them in the system. But Alex said, "No, that's not right. Kiera came from a good family. Her demeanor was nothing like someone from the countryside." "Oh, right, Avery, give me my old phone!" He opened the notes app. There was an address listed. Alex said Kiera had given it to him before. Following that address might lead us somewhere. When Alex and I arrived at Kiera's supposed address, I was shocked. It was a sprawling estate in a gated community. Alex sighed. "Now do you believe Kiera wasn't some unregistered girl from the countryside?" A security guard stopped us at the gate. "Hello, we're looking for Kiera Vance. Does she live here?" The guard claimed not to know anyone by that name. I handed him Kiera's sketch. He looked at it for a long time, then said, "I remember this person. She applied for a housekeeper position five years ago!" "You remember someone you met five years ago, just once?" Neither Alex nor I believed the guard. "Heh heh, because she was so beautiful, that's why I remember her..." The guard's face flushed as he spoke, making it seem like he wasn't making it up. "Did she go somewhere after that? Do you remember?" The guard thought for a long time, then shook his head. "Are there any surveillance archives from back then?" "Our security footage is only archived for one year. Anything from five years ago would definitely be gone." On the way back, Alex stared out the window, motionless. "At least we can confirm now that Kiera Vance really existed. All we can do now is wait." I placed my hand on Alex's, trying to comfort him. Seeing his low spirits, I changed the subject. "Alex, perhaps you could tell me about your father?"
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