FINDING YOU , LOVING ME

THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH

CHAPTER 10

The Woman in the Photograph

Mia's POV

"Your father told me you'd come looking for me."

Those words stayed in my mind even after the woman disappeared through the bookstore doors.

I stood frozen.

Ethan was the first to move.

"Wait!"

He ran toward the entrance.

I followed him.

But when we stepped outside, the woman was already gone.

The street was crowded.

Cars passed by.

People walked in different directions.

There was no sign of her.

Ethan returned, frustrated.

"She's gone."

"Who was she?"

Mrs. Clara approached us slowly.

"Her name is Elena."

I looked at her.

"Adrian's sister?"

She nodded.

"Why does she know my father?"

Mrs. Clara sighed.

"Because your father trusted her."

"Then why did she disappear?"

"I don't know."

Ethan looked at the photograph.

"How long has she been gone?"

"Years."

"Then why did she come back now?"

Mrs. Clara looked at the blue box.

"Because you opened it."

---

We returned to the table.

I unfolded the letter from the box.

The handwriting was my father's.

My heart immediately tightened.

I had seen his handwriting before, but never on a letter meant specifically for me.

I began reading.

Mia,

If you're reading this, then you're old enough to know that some parts of your childhood were hidden from you.

I stopped for a moment.

Ethan quietly waited beside me.

I continued.

I never wanted you to become involved in the problems between our families. I wanted you to grow up without fear.

My eyes began to sting.

But there are truths that cannot stay hidden forever.

I turned the page.

There was only one more sentence.

Trust Elena. She knows what really happened that night.

I stared at the words.

"That night."

The same night Ethan and I had first met.

"What happened that night?" I whispered.

Ethan looked at me.

"That's what we need to find out."

---

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find Elena.

We searched through old records at the bookstore.

Nothing.

Then Ethan remembered something.

"Wait."

He opened his phone.

"My father kept an old address book."

"Do you have it?"

"At home."

I looked at him.

"Then let's go."

---

Ethan's house was quiet when we arrived.

He led me to a small study filled with old books and boxes.

"My father doesn't use this room anymore."

He opened a drawer.

Inside were dozens of papers.

After several minutes, he found a worn address book.

He flipped through the pages.

Then stopped.

"Elena Reyes."

There was an address beside her name.

My heart raced.

"That's her."

Ethan stared at the address.

"It's not far from here."

"Let's go."

He shook his head.

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

"It's getting late."

I looked at the clock.

He was right.

"We'll go tomorrow."

He nodded.

As we walked toward the door, something fell from the address book.

A small photograph.

Ethan picked it up.

His face suddenly changed.

"What?"

He handed it to me.

It was a picture of our parents.

But this time, there were only three people.

My father.

Ethan's father.

And Elena.

On the back was a handwritten message:

"If anything happens to us, she has the proof."

I looked at Ethan.

"Proof of what?"

"I don't know."

"But my father trusted her."

"Apparently."

I carefully placed the photograph back inside the address book.

Then Ethan looked at me.

"There's something else."

"What?"

"My father once told me that the truth about Adrian wasn't the biggest secret."

I frowned.

"Then what was?"

He looked toward the window.

"The reason our families separated."

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I kept thinking about the letter.

My father's handwriting.

The photograph.

Elena.

And Ethan.

I reached for my notebook.

Without thinking, I drew the little star symbol again.

Then I stopped.

Something felt familiar.

I turned to an old page.

There was a sentence written in my childhood handwriting.

"Ethan knows where the door is."

I stared at it.

"What does that mean?"

I didn't remember writing it.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

A message.

Unknown number.

I opened it.

There was only one sentence:

STOP LOOKING FOR ELENA.

My heart dropped.

Another message appeared.

SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER LEFT BURIED.

I immediately locked my phone.

Then another message arrived.

This time, there was a photograph attached.

It was a picture of me and Ethan at The Book Nook earlier that day.

Someone had been watching us.

I felt a chill run through me.

Then my phone rang.

It was Ethan.

"Mia?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

I hesitated.

"How did you know something was wrong?"

"I got a message too."

My heart sank.

"What did yours say?"

There was silence.

Then Ethan answered quietly.

"It told me to stay away from you."

I closed my eyes.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then Ethan said something that made me smile despite everything.

"I'm not going anywhere."

I looked down at the photograph on my desk.

For the first time, I realized that finding the truth might be dangerous.

But I also knew one thing.

I wasn't searching for it alone anymore.

Because somewhere between old photographs, forgotten promises, and unanswered questions—

Ethan had become part of my story.