THE MAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
1551 Words
Monday afternoon had barely reached its middle when Elena realized she was staring at a dead man.
She did not know why that thought came first. The man standing in front of her looked perfectly alive. He was breathing. His chest rose beneath the black suit, his eyes were fixed on hers, and there was nothing ghostly about him except the unnatural stillness with which he stood.
Yet his face belonged to the photograph.
The photograph was old.
The man wasn't supposed to be.
Elena slowly lowered her hand from the frame.
Adrian Vale glanced at it, then at her.
"First day?"
His voice was quieter than she expected.
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
He looked at the temporary identification card clipped to her blouse.
"Elena Carter."
It wasn't a question.
She swallowed. "You've heard of me?"
"You're working in the executive division."
"Yes."
His gaze remained on her for another moment before moving toward the photograph.
"You should get back to your desk."
There was something about the way he said it that made her want to argue.
Instead, she looked at the photograph again.
"Are you Adrian Vale?"
His expression didn't change.
"Yes."
Elena's eyebrows pulled together.
"But..."
She stopped.
Adrian waited.
She couldn't exactly say, You died years ago, when she wasn't even certain where she'd gotten that information.
He seemed to understand what she was trying to say anyway.
"Something you'd like to ask?"
"No."
A faint crease appeared between his eyebrows.
"Then don't ask it."
He walked past her.
Elena remained where she was.
She watched him disappear through the glass doors leading toward the executive offices.
Only then did she breathe properly.
"Okay."
She looked at the photograph again.
Adrian stood in the same position as before.
Same face.
Same expression.
Same dark suit.
But there was something different.
Elena stepped closer.
She could have sworn the photograph had shown him looking slightly to the left.
Now his eyes seemed to be facing directly toward her.
She blinked.
They were back where they had been.
"You're tired," she whispered to herself.
She turned away.
The rest of the afternoon should have been ordinary.
It wasn't.
She returned to her desk and forced herself to concentrate. She answered emails, organized files and learned how the company's internal system worked. Every few minutes, however, her attention drifted toward the glass office at the far end of the floor.
Adrian was inside.
She could see him through the partially open blinds.
He was standing beside his desk, reading something.
At one point, he looked up.
Their eyes met.
Elena immediately looked back at her computer.
A few minutes later, Ethan appeared beside her desk.
"Don't stare at him."
Elena looked up.
"I wasn't."
Ethan gave her a look that said he didn't believe her.
"You were."
"Why does everyone act strange whenever his name comes up?"
Ethan glanced toward Adrian's office.
"Because people here know better."
"Know better than what?"
He lowered his voice.
"Than asking questions."
Elena leaned back.
"You've been here long?"
"Two years."
"And you don't find anything strange about him?"
Ethan gave a small laugh.
"Strange?"
"Yes."
He looked at her for several seconds.
Then he picked up a file from her desk and placed it in the tray beside her computer.
"Finish those before five."
"Ethan."
He walked away.
Elena stared after him.
That was becoming irritating.
She wasn't asking anyone to tell her the secrets of the universe. She wanted one simple answer.
Why did everyone behave as though Adrian Vale was something they shouldn't talk about?
At 4:30 p.m., she finally got her answer.
Or at least part of one.
Nina stopped beside her desk.
"Mr. Vale wants you upstairs."
Elena looked up.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Nina shrugged.
"He didn't say."
She walked away before Elena could ask anything else.
Elena looked toward Adrian's office.
The door was closed.
She took a breath, saved her work and stood.
The executive corridor was quieter than the rest of the floor.
The carpet swallowed the sound of her shoes as she approached the office.
She knocked.
"Come in."
Elena opened the door.
Adrian was sitting behind his desk.
His office was larger than she'd expected. Dark wood covered most of the room, but the huge windows behind him made it less oppressive. Several shelves held neatly arranged files and books. There were no family photographs, no decorations and nothing that suggested anyone actually lived a life outside these walls.
He motioned toward the chair.
"Sit."
Elena did.
Adrian picked up a document.
"Your previous employer?"
She frowned.
"What about them?"
"You resigned."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Elena shifted in the chair.
"Personal reasons."
"Are those reasons resolved?"
She stared at him.
"Yes."
He nodded once.
"Good."
He placed the document down.
"Your work today has been satisfactory."
"Thank you."
"You'll be handling some of the executive records."
"Okay."
"Some of them are confidential."
"I understand."
He studied her.
"Do you?"
Elena felt irritation rise.
"Yes."
For the first time, something almost resembling amusement touched his expression.
It disappeared so quickly she wondered if she'd imagined it.
"Good."
He opened another file.
"One more thing."
Elena waited.
"Don't stay late."
She remembered the note on her schedule.
"Because of company policy?"
"Because I said so."
She stared at him.
That wasn't much of an explanation.
"Is there a reason?"
His eyes lifted.
"Yes."
Elena waited.
He said nothing.
She sighed quietly.
"You really don't explain anything, do you?"
"No."
The answer was so blunt that she almost laughed.
Almost.
Adrian closed the file.
"You're dismissed."
Elena stood.
She reached the door before his voice stopped her.
"Elena."
She turned.
He was looking at her strangely.
Not angrily.
Not suspiciously.
Something else.
Something she couldn't identify.
"Yes?"
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he looked away.
"Nothing."
Elena left.
The moment she stepped into the corridor, she felt a strange pressure release from her chest.
She hadn't realized how tense she'd been.
She returned to her desk.
The office floor was beginning to empty.
Five o'clock came.
Then six.
Elena checked her phone.
Maya had sent three messages.
Maya: How was day one?
Maya: Are you alive?
Maya: Should I send help? 😂
Elena smiled.
She typed:
Elena: I'm alive.
She paused.
Then added:
Elena: The company is weird.
Maya replied almost instantly.
Maya: WEIRD HOW?
Elena looked around.
Nina was packing her things.
Ethan had already left.
The corridor was empty.
She typed:
Elena: I'll tell you later.
She put the phone away.
At 6:20 p.m., she finished the last file.
The rain had started again outside.
Elena stood and stretched.
She was about to leave when she noticed a folder on the corner of her desk.
She hadn't seen it there earlier.
It was old.
The cover was brown and worn around the edges.
There was no department name.
Only one word written across it.
VALE.
Elena stared at it.
She glanced around the office.
Nobody was there.
She picked it up.
The folder was heavier than expected.
Inside were several documents.
The first contained a list of names.
The second was an old company report.
The third was a newspaper clipping.
Elena unfolded it.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
The headline was faded, but still readable.
VESPERA CEO FOUND DEAD IN COMPANY BUILDING
Her stomach dropped.
She read the date.
Sixteen years ago.
Her eyes moved to the photograph beneath the headline.
Adrian Vale.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same man she'd spoken to less than an hour ago.
Elena's fingers tightened around the paper.
She read the article again.
The details were brief.
Adrian Vale, former CEO of Vespera Corporation, had been found dead inside the company's headquarters.
The circumstances surrounding his death had never been publicly explained.
The case had remained unresolved.
Elena slowly lowered the newspaper.
Someone had placed this folder on her desk.
Someone wanted her to find it.
A sound came from behind her.
A soft click.
Elena turned.
The door to the executive corridor had closed.
She hadn't heard anyone walk through it.
She stared at it.
Then at the folder.
Her phone vibrated.
She nearly dropped the newspaper.
A message.
Unknown number.
Leave the folder.
Elena's pulse quickened.
Another message appeared.
You were not supposed to find it.
She stared at the screen.
Then a third message came.
Go home, Elena.
She looked toward the corridor.
The lights above it flickered once.
Then twice.
The third time, they went out completely.
Elena stood frozen.
From somewhere beyond the darkness came the sound of footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming toward her.
She grabbed the folder.
The footsteps stopped.
A man's voice drifted through the darkness.
"Elena."
She knew that voice.
Adrian.
But there was something different about it now.
It sounded much farther away.
Almost as though he were standing somewhere he couldn't possibly be.
She took one step backward.
The lights came on.
The corridor was empty.
Elena looked down at the newspaper still clutched in her hand.
Then she looked toward Adrian's office.
The glass door was open.
His office was empty.
And on his desk, visible from where she stood, was the exact same newspaper clipping.
Only his copy was dated sixteen years ago.
The one in her hand was dated tomorrow.
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