Chapter 2
After Ethan came back from the mountains, he was like a whole new person. Even the little things only the two of us would notice didn't match up at all.
And now he could move his arms freely—nothing like the way they used to be, all weak and numb from nerve damage.
The officer listened, his expression subtle.
He tapped the keyboard and said, "We checked, and Ethan is at home."
"His phone works, his socials are active. He posted something yesterday, right?" he added.
I nodded.
"Sorry, but given the circumstances, we can't file a case," he said.
I protested, desperate. "That's not Ethan! He's an impostor!"
The officer shot me a look like I'd lost my mind.
"Mrs. Shaw, you say he's not your husband, but all his social media and ID check out.
"Do you have any proof he's not who he says he is?" the officer asked.
My voice caught in my throat. I couldn't say a word.
All I had was a gut feeling.
And the secret that was just between us.
But that didn't count as evidence.
The officer stood up, his tone turning serious.
"Mrs. Shaw, if you keep this up, we'll have to ask you to leave for interfering with police work."
I was shown the door at the station.
Standing outside the station, the sunlight burned my eyes, making them ache.
Ethan had no other family. In this world, I was the closest person he had.
If he was still alive, he had to be out there somewhere, waiting for me to rescue him.
If he was already gone...
Then at the very least, I had to find him and bring him home.
Suddenly, a new notification popped up on WhatsApp. It was Ethan.
I stared at the screen, my fingertips numb with cold.
Ethan's phone was now completely under this impostor's control.
If the real Ethan wanted to get in touch or leave me a clue, he'd hide it somewhere only the two of us knew about.
If he wanted to contact me, or if there was something he needed to tell me...
Suddenly, it hit me. I bolted back home.
At home, there was an old black coat Ethan had kept safe all these years.
It was the coat he wore on the day of his accident, ten years ago.
I took it out and traced the fabric with my fingers.
Suddenly, I felt something small and hard hidden in the inner lining.
It felt like a piece of paper.
My heart raced as I grabbed some scissors and carefully snipped open the seam.
Just as I thought, there was a piece of paper tucked inside.
There were only three words on it: The Locust Woods.
I kept whispering those words, and memories rushed in.
The Locust Woods was way out on the edge of town, deep in Westridge—a wild, forgotten patch of forest, ancient trees tangled together, almost nobody ever went there.
Ethan and I had only ended up there because a crappy GPS sent us the wrong way.
No one else knew about it, just the two of us.
Even if the odds were a million to one, I had to give it a shot.
So the guy pretending to be Ethan wouldn't catch on, I sent him a message at home.
[Honey, work suddenly sent me out to the suburbs for a few days to deal with something urgent. I'll be back soon to keep you company.]
He replied almost instantly: [Sure thing, honey. Stay safe, I'll be waiting for you.]
His tone was just as gentle as always, but there was something off about it, something I couldn't quite place.
I grabbed a power bank, a flashlight, and a safety whistle, quietly slipped out the back door of the villa, and headed straight out to Westridge on the outskirts of town.
The Locust Woods was way more isolated and creepy than I remembered. The ancient trees blocked out the sunlight, and the ground was buried under a thick carpet of fallen leaves, not even a real trail in sight.
The moment I pulled up to the edge of the woods, my back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
This was the same woods we'd wandered into by mistake back then.
If Ethan really was here, and it was against his will...
Then all of this...
It must've been the impostor's doing.
From beginning to end, only by copying Ethan could he have discovered this secret spot that only the two of us knew about.
I sat there in a daze, unable to pull myself together for a long time.
Ethan was always so gentle with me. Even after his arms were hurt, he still put me before everything else. We'd promised to go see the flower fields together.
But now, that guy wearing his face—pretending to be him—had stashed him away in a place like this.
Why would he hide Ethan in a place like this? My heart was pounding. What could he possibly gain from doing something so twisted?
What was that impostor really planning for my husband? I wondered, dread creeping up my spine.
No time to dwell on anything else. Right now, finding Ethan was the only thing that mattered.
I pulled myself together, parked at the edge of the woods, and stepped out of the car.
A few elderly folks were sitting outside their homes, and as I came by, they watched me with suspicion.
I went around asking each of them if they'd seen a well-dressed stranger, someone who looked out of place, being taken into the woods about a week ago.