The apartment was empty.Adam was kind of expecting Harry to pop out of nowhere singing "Happy Birthday" when he got home.No surprises.Harry wasn't hiding anywhere.

Harry wasn't home at all.

For probably the hundredth time after entering the door, Adam looked at the dining table—at the unseemly cake on the table.

He checked his phone again.No missed calls from Harry, no texts explaining why he wasn't home or where he'd been.Harry's phone left in the kitchen.

Adam advised himself to control himself and stop worrying like a lovesick.Maybe Harry was just out for a walk and lost track of time.He is unfounded.It's only been a few hours.

Ten hours later, Adam could no longer find a reason for Harry's disappearance.He realized that Harry had nothing with him, not even his passport at home.Then he didn't sleep a wink all night.

It's just ridiculous.He had known Harry for several months and only now knew his last name and country of origin from his passport.

Harry Karuviennan.Apparently he was a Finn.

It's just ridiculous.There is only one step away from the cloud of happiness to the burning despair.

He called the police, so the situation wasn't funny at all.

"Must be a mistake," said Adam, wriggling his lips.

"No mistake, Mr. Crawford," said the officer. "It's a fake passport. It's pretty realistic, but it's fake."

Adam pulls out his phone and turns away, calling his friend Scott, who works at MI[-].There must be a mistake.Harry wasn't - he wasn't a goddamn criminal or anything.He absolutely does not believe it.

Six days later, Scott called back. "There's no match in any country. If I wasn't in my right mind, I'd say this guy doesn't exist, Adam."

Adam stared at the hideously ugly painting that Harry bought back a month ago, in a daze. "What a bargain", Harry was particularly proud.

He vaguely heard himself thank Scott and hang up.

Then he changed his clothes and went to work.

In the elevator, his neighbor Mrs. Wayne asked, "Is everything all right, honey?"

"Yes." Adam replied.

"I haven't seen your friend for a week," she said. "That good boy promised to look after my flowers when I was away. Can you remind him?"

Adam gritted his teeth. "He's gone," he said. "He lied to you. He's been lying."

He stepped out of the elevator without saying goodbye or looking at her surprised face.His rudeness might annoy her, but Adam didn't care about that.

He doesn't care.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like