A romantic evening turns chilling when a simple facial recognition search reveals her perfect new boyfriend doesn’t exist.
The Face in the Feed
Lori stared at the condensation dripping down her iced coffee, Sally’s voice still vibrating through the phone speaker like a siren.
“Lori, listen to me,” Sally had whispered, keys clattering furiously in the background. “The facial recognition didn’t hit a LinkedIn profile or an alumni page. It hit an active federal warrant out of Virginia. And three missing persons files.”
The room tilted. Tom Burke—with his easy laugh, his warm calloused hands, the man who had kissed her forehead before stepping into his morning ride—didn’t exist. Or rather, he existed under four different names across six states.
“Sally, that’s impossible,” Lori managed, her chest tight. “He left his vintage silver watch on my nightstand by accident. He’s coming back.”
“He didn’t leave it by accident,” Sally replied, dead serious. “Get out of the apartment. Now.”
The line went dead.
Lori stood frozen in the quiet kitchen. Morning sunlight cut across the hardwood floor, illuminating the two coffee mugs in the sink. The deadbolt gave a sharp, metallic click.
The front door swung open.
Tom stood in the doorway, rain dripping from his jacket, a small bakery bag in one hand and his phone in the other. He smiled—the same disarming, gentle smile from the night before.
“Flight got canceled,” he said smoothly, locking the deadbolt behind him with a flick of his thumb. His eyes dropped to her pale face, then drifted to the laptop open on the counter. “Everything okay, Lori?”
How does Lori make it out, or does Tom already know what she found? What happens next? Share your ending in the comments.
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