Chapter 2

With an unsettling feeling in my heart, I snatched Derek's phone, only to see a photo of a man who looked exactly like me. He was hugging a woman I'd never met before. The two of them were beaming widely.

I was utterly dumbstruck.

Meanwhile, Derek eyed me in annoyance and asked, "I've got other photos, too. Do you want to see them? I only saved these on my phone as samples to show my other customers. I didn't think I'd have to use them to prove that I'm not lying."

I stood frozen for what felt like ages, unable to get over the shock.

Christy grabbed the phone from me and started scrolling through it. She saw several photos of me with different women. In some, I was kissing their cheek. In others, I had my arm around their waist. Every single pose proved that I was in an intimate relationship with those women.

Her expression was dark as she confronted me. "Ethan Reed! I demand an explanation from you!"

I carefully went over the last 20 years of my life. I'd gone to school like everyone else and started working after I failed to get into college. It wasn't like I found it easy to date. Now, I had finally found a girl I truly loved. This was my first time celebrating Valentine's Day here in Sarlington with her.

There was no way I was the man in those photos.

Meanwhile, the spectating tourists were having fun fanning the flames.

"You should dump him, young lady. Who knows? Maybe you're just one of his many side chicks."

"Alas, men are all the same these days—they're all liars. He seemed like an honest young man. Who would've thought he'd turn out to be such a player?"

"Thank goodness this photographer here is a decent guy. Otherwise, she wouldn't have found out about this!"

Derek was clearly reveling in the compliments. He seized this opportunity to hand out his flyers. "It's not every day you get to enjoy such a good show, everyone. Why not commemorate the occasion with a photo? It's only ten dollars each, and who knows? In the future, it might come in handy in some unexpected way!"

The crowd chortled along with him.

However, I refused to give up.

"Are there any security cameras nearby?" I questioned Derek. "I want to see the footage. I can't let you come out of nowhere and slander me. You're ruining my relationship!"

Derek clicked his tongue and pointed at a security camera above the archway.

"You're the most stubborn guy I've met—look at you, insisting on digging your own grave. I've got a business to run here, so you can get the footage from the management office yourself!"

He shooed me away.

When I saw the hurt in Christy's reddened eyes, I knew that our Valentine's Day celebration would end in disaster if I didn't clear things up with her.

The manager at the management office carefully checked the security footage before shaking his head apologetically. "This is an extremely popular tourist destination. Far too many people come and go each day, so we only save a week's worth of footage. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Just as the frustration hit me, however, his eyes lit up. "Oh, there's a budget hotel about 50 yards away from the archway. The security camera they installed at their entrance might have caught some useful footage for you."

Feeling hope, I grabbed Christy's hand and dashed toward the budget hotel.

As we passed through the archway again, I saw Derek's gloating expression. The sight irritated me so much that I dragged him along with us. "I'll give you 200 dollars for your time. You're coming with me until I get to the bottom of this situation!"

His reluctance was immediately replaced with a massive grin. "Since you're paying, whatever you want, man!"

After heading into the budget hotel, I explained things to the receptionist, only for her to scrutinize me. "We don't need to check the footage. I remember you. You're a VIP guest at our budget hotel. Whenever you're here, you always have someone with you."

I was thunderstruck. "What are you talking about? This is my first time here! How can I possibly be a VIP guest of yours?"

She shot me an indifferent glance and asked for my name before tapping away on her keyboard.

"On 17 March 2026, a man named Ethan Reed checked in for one night, two guests. Further back on 25 September 2025, he checked in for one night, two guests. Even further back, on 18 April 2025, it was also for one night, two guests."

The more she read, the more impatient she looked. "Every single check-in you've made is recorded, sir. Why do you need me to check the security footage?"

It felt like the world was playing a practical joke on me.

"But I really am here for the first time! Could it be someone with the same name? There's no way I've checked into any kind of hotel that many times."

My mother had always been extremely strict with me, especially when it came to money. I had to budget my meals down to the very last cent and certainly didn't have the kind of money to spare on hotel rooms.

The receptionist scowled and tapped away on his keyboard again before rattling out the last four numbers of a state ID card. "Does that belong to you, sir?"

I nodded in shock. It was indeed my state ID number, but I had never lost it before. What was happening?

"We're a proper hotel, sir," the receptionist said flatly. "All of our guests have to register with some kind of ID when they check in with us. If there's nothing else, can you please stop keeping us from attending to our guests?"

She was telling me to leave.

Derek looked highly amused, and the other hotel guests in the lobby also started making comments.

"Isn't that the cheating scumbag from before? He came to check the security footage? The nerve of this guy."

"Honestly, what's wrong with him? It's not a big deal, yet he's acting like he's been accused of the greatest injustice in the world."

After smirking at me, Derek glanced at the guests and tapped on his temple to imply that I wasn't right in the head.

The more I thought about it, the more absurd this entire situation seemed to me. Derek might've been able to create those photos of me using AI just to prank me, but there was no way the hotel's records were forged, too.

I was 100% certain I'd never been to this hotel, dated anyone else, or gotten a hotel room with any other woman. So, if the receptionist was telling the truth, it meant that I was a victim of identity theft.

"This won't do. I have to call the police."

After careful consideration, I called 911.