In 1990, their daughter went missing during her prom night, and after 22 years, her father discovered an ancient yearbook that left him in shock upon spotting something astonishing inside. …

After the ceremony, as the procession headed back to town, Doran approached the Petersons with an update on the case. Samuel confessed, he reported quietly. He told the full story of what happened.

According to Samuel’s confession, he held Mary captive in the cabin for several days after abducting her. He was obsessed with her since their brief relationship, and couldn’t accept her dating Daniel Sokolov.

He said he promised to make their relationship official if she broke up with Daniel and told everyone she was going on a solo trip to celebrate graduation, Detective Doran explained.

But Mary refused. She told him that after years of trying to love him and believe he could change, she finally realized he was hopelessly broken. The detective continued, his voice soft but factual.

Samuel said her words hurt him deeply, and they got into a physical struggle when Mary tried to escape. They fought at the cliff’s edge, and according to Samuel, Mary nearly pushed him over. In rage, he overpowered her and struck her multiple times with rocks…

When he realized she was dead, he panicked and buried her body instead of calling for help. Olivia wiped fresh tears. I remember Mary starting to ask me about Samuel, wondering if he could change.

I never understood why she was so interested when she knew how much I disliked him. I didn’t know they had a secret relationship. She turned to John and Nancy.

Forgive me. If I’d known, maybe I could have warned her, protected her somehow. It’s not your fault, Olivia, Nancy said firmly.

Samuel was manipulative and dangerous. Mary believed she could help him, and he exploited her kindness. Roman Shepherd, the retired detective who had searched for Mary for years, shook his head sadly.

Since Mary never publicly dated him, and Samuel had no record, we directed the investigation elsewhere.

Daniel Sokolov was our main suspect at first, given he was her known boyfriend at the time. Samuel must have just gone on with his life, and no one looked at him again.

As the procession returned to town, John looked back at the river, where the white hyacinths were still visible, bobbing on the waves.

22 years of uncertainty had finally ended. The pain hadn’t gone.

It never would completely, but there was a sense of closure, of finality. That evening, John and Nancy sat on the back porch, watching the sunset. Nancy placed a framed photo of Mary on the small table between them.

Not the formal senior portrait from the yearbook, but a candid shot of her laughing by the riverbank, hair blowing in the wind, face full of joy.

«I think we can move forward now,» Nancy said quietly, taking John’s hand.

Not forgetting her, but remembering who she really was—vibrant, loving, full of compassion.

John squeezed her hand. «She was so much like you, you know, that desire to see the good in people, to help them become better.» «And she had your stubbornness,» Nancy replied with a sad smile…