Discovering that blooms were vanishing from his wife’s tomb, a prosperous man set up a surveillance camera, and after viewing the recording, the husband was utterly stunned…

Michael said this, squatting down to be at the boy’s eye level. Adam sighed and said earnestly, OK, I love the park. Mum used to take me there, but I don’t remember much now.

I was still little then, and now I’m almost seven. Sophia and Adam quickly hit it off. Michael had a wonderful weekend with them, gradually realising he wanted to take Adam home right away.

Returning him was very difficult, but Mike promised to visit during the week. He also asked how to find his grandmother’s grave and promised to bring her a new bouquet of flowers. In return, Adam vowed not to run away from the shelter.

Michael asked the boy once more about the woman at the cemetery. He spoke confidently, clearly. Michael believed him when Adam remembered that the woman had an accent, especially Catherine pronounced the letter R differently.

It sounded beautiful like a French woman, so there couldn’t have been any mistakes. Believing that his wife hadn’t died was difficult. Michael racked his brain.

If she staged her own death, then why? He asked his acquaintance, a detective, for help and told him about his suspicions. The phone call took place late in the evening. Michael dialed and asked if he had woken him up, then explained the whole situation to Liam.

You’re a detective, your mind is geared for this, I just can’t understand. Is it possible that the boy really saw her, and if so, why would she do this? Maybe someone forced her, huh? Liam had been a long-time friend of Michael’s older brother, once they even spent Christmas holidays together. His brother maintained friendly relations with Liam, so he was glad to help.

It took the professional detective only thirty minutes to solve this mystery. I think your wife went for a scam for money. It’s all quite banal, unfortunately.

Her life was insured. The payout was cashed by a certain Jacob Cortez. Does that name ring a bell? Michael dropped the phone from his hand, awkwardly trying to catch it on the fly, but failed.

Picking up the receiver from the floor, he cleared his throat. I’m sorry, what did you say? Jacob Cortez. Kate was insured in case of death? At that moment, when Michael realised that Kate was alive, she truly died to him.

How could she? How much pain she caused him? I ran this guy, a couple of arrests for drunken brawls, and that’s it. He’s a programmer, works remotely, divorced, recently settled a large sum in alimony payments, probably from the money he received. And what was the insurance amount? Quite substantial to go to such lengths, I was even surprised.

Do you happen to have Jacob’s address? Michael asked, and I do, write it down. The next day, Michael stood at the threshold of a small private house. He was ready to talk to this person calmly.

He just wanted to know where Kate was now. He needed to find her, talk to her, explain. He could give her the money, just give it and that’s it.

Yes, when they got married, Michael’s lawyers insisted that she sign papers stating she couldn’t claim any money from the company. Other property was acquired before the marriage. Maybe she just wanted money.

But Mike wouldn’t have refused her if she just asked. Why did she do it this way? Maybe something happened to her, some kind of trouble. Well, she could have just said so.

Michael pressed the doorbell for the second time, and the door in front of him swung open. He saw Kate, alive and unharmed. She wore a pink terrycloth robe, her hair wet, apparently just after a shower.

Kate, you’re alive? He looked at her, unable to believe, while she seemed entirely unsurprised. Suddenly Michael felt an excruciating pain on his head. The sound of the blow echoed, and he lost consciousness.

Standing behind him was Jacob with a baseball bat, the tool of the blow. Michael woke up in a basement room, dim light filtered in from above, where there was a small window barred with iron. His head was throbbing, nausea and panic washing over him in waves.

He sat on the ground. His hands were tightly bound with ropes, numbing them. His legs were bound tightly too, making any attempt to escape futile.

The pain was so intense that Michael let out a hoarse groan, attempting to free himself. His fingers barely obeyed him. He realised he couldn’t even stand up.

And who were these sadists who had treated him like this? Suddenly Kate’s image surfaced in his mind. Apparently it was her lover who had done this. How wrong he had been about her.

Living with someone under the same roof for years, it turns out you cannot know them at all. Are you awake? came a voice from behind. Kate entered the basement.

She was completely calm. He turned around seeing his wife. You’re alive, Kate.

I was so worried. I cried so much. Why did you do this? Suddenly the question seemed utterly foolish to him.

He was sitting tied up in her lover’s basement. Why did she do this? Well, apparently not out of great love. Because I got tired of living under the same roof with someone who doesn’t appreciate me…