“You said the apartment is under R. Salinas?”
He found a Facebook profile: Michael Salinas, living in Mexico City, working at a logistics company.
The profile photo was older, but unmistakable.
It was his father.
Aged. Glasses. But undeniable.
Ethan whispered, “Son of a—”
Rachel started crying again—rage and grief mixed together.
They called Lucas, who didn’t answer at first because he was in class.
When he called back and heard the news, he was in total disbelief.
“That can’t be him. It has to be someone who looks like him.”
But when Ethan sent the Facebook photo, Lucas fell silent for a long time.
Then he said, “I’m coming.”
That afternoon, seventeen years after Michael’s disappearance, his family sat in a park a few meters from where he lived, trying to decide how to confront a reality that felt like a surreal nightmare.
They argued for hours.
Rachel wanted to confront him immediately—she needed answers.
Ethan wanted to call the police first.
Lucas was in shock, swinging between rage and tears.
Finally, they decided: Rachel and Ethan would go to the apartment early the next morning.
Catch him before he left for work.
They wanted answers before involving authorities.
None of them slept.