FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 196

CHAPTER 196

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– SIMON

Martin arrived at the coffee shop carrying a thin folder and looking like he hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours. I’d chosen a table at the back, away from the windows. Jamie had insisted on coming, even though I’d suggested she stay home and rest.

I squeezed her hand beneath the table. She smiled, and for a moment I managed to forget the calls from the board and the sheer number of people waiting for answers I didn’t have.

Martin opened the folder, but Jamie stopped him before he could take anything out.

“How did you get inside the house?”

He hesitated.

“The back door was unlocked.”

“That doesn’t mean you had permission to enter,” she said.

“I knew she’d left. The neighbor told me.”

“You still went in illegally,” Jamie replied. “Be more careful. The last thing Hart or my husband needs is another problem.”

He nodded and pulled a photograph from the folder.

“This is what I found. I thought it might help us locate someone close to her.”

Jamie studied the picture.

“We’re not using this as evidence. Just a lead to someone who knows Annie.”

“Of course.”

The photograph was faded. It showed a girl of about eight standing in front of the counter of a small neighborhood grocery store. Beside her, an older woman in a floral apron rested a hand on her shoulder. Cases of soda were stacked by the door, and a handwritten sign advertised specials.

“Is that Annie?” I asked.

“Everything points to yes, I compared it with an old photo from her employment file at the factory.”

Another child stood on the right, almost completely obscured by a yellowish stain. The photo’s surface appeared damaged by light or moisture. There was no making out the child’s face.

“Who’s the woman?”

“Don’t know yet. Could be a relative, a neighbor, or the store owner.”

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Jamie brought the photograph closer.

“It’s old. Twenty years, maybe?”

“Possibly more,” Martin said. “It’s a traditional print. We don’t have the negative.”

“And how does that help us?” I asked.

“If we identify the store, we might find someone who remembers Annie. People remember kids who grew up in their neighborhood. That could lead us to relatives, since both her parents are dead.”

I studied the storefront again. There was no full name, only two partly visible letters on a sign cut off by the edge of the photograph.

Jamie turned the picture over in her hands.

“Wait.”

She angled it beneath the lamp.

“There’s something written on the back.”

Martin leaned in.

“I saw some marks, but I figured they were from the printing process.”

“They’re not. Look.”

On the back, in nearly vanished pencil, were the words “Miss Rosa, store anniversary,” followed by an incomplete phone number and four digits separated by a dash..

“Could be a date,” Jamie suggested. “Or part of an address. But somebody wrote this after the photo was printed. The pencil left an impression in the paper.”

Martin took out his phone and photographed the back with light coming in from the side.

“I’ll have it enlarged and check old business records. If the store was licensed, there might be an address on file.”

“We could search old advertisements, too,” Jamie said. “Neighborhood stores used to run anniversary specials. That wording might show up in digitized local newspapers.”

I looked at my wife. In a matter of seconds, she’d turned a nearly useless photograph into two solid avenues to investigate.

“What?” she asked, catching my smile.

“Nothing. Just admiring my lawyer.”

“Your lawyer charges for compliments, too.”

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Then I’m going broke.”

Martin cleared his throat, trying to hide a smile.

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“There’s something else. According to the neighbor, Annie had a visitor shortly before she left. Someone wearing a hood. After the person left, Annie started screaming and smashing things. She took off soon afterward.”

I set down my cup, leaving my coffee unfinished.

“You think someone’s threatening her?”

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