Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law

Chapter 336: Suspicion

"Surveillance from that day? Why?" Max asked slowly but Adam’s jaw was clenched so tight that he could barely speak a word. Max waited for another moment, giving Adam time to answer but when no reply came through, he asked again, "Wait. Adam... why now? Why surveillance all of a sudden? Do you think there’s a clue in it? Maybe something that could tell us who hurt Melanie... or where Melody was taken to? But how will the hospital surveillance help? Melanie said that she walked directionlessly for an hour or two before she got to the hospital."

Adam didn’t answer immediately. He kept walking, one hand in his coat pocket, the other holding the phone tighter than necessary, his mind in a whirl.

Max, finally sensed something was off, pushed again. "Adam?"

Still no answer.

Then came the faint sound of a door closing and Adam had entered the stairwell where he finally seemed to collapse on the stairs as he spoke quietly, his voice colder than an iceberg, "I need access to that surveillance," he said quietly, his voice stripped of emotion. "We need to find out who took Melanie... and what Melody is really up to."

The words hit like a thunderclap and seemed to echo in the quiet stariway.

"What did you say?" Max nearly fell out of his chair as he just heard the words. "Did you just say who took Melanie? Adam, what the hell are you talking about?"

Adam leaned against the cool metal railing, head tilted down. He hadn’t meant to say it. Or even believe it. Not yet. Not until he had proof. But the words had slipped out and he knew they were the truth.

"I don’t know what I’m talking about," he said at last, but Max wasn’t buying it.

"No," Max said sharply. "You do. You wouldn’t say something like that unless you had a reason. What’s going on? What happened? You want to check the surveillance of the hospital because you think Melanie was taken away?"

Adam exhaled slowly. "I want the hospital surveillance... because I think the girl who showed up that night-the one in that hospital bed—is Melody Thomas."

There was a stunned silence. Then Max let out a string of half-choked curses. "Are you serious right now? Are you saying Melody showed up pretending to be Melanie? That she faked her identity? Adam, that’s insane. Are you sure you’re not mistaken? That’s... that’s not just far-fetched, it’s unhinged."

Adam didn’t respond to the panic in Max’s voice. He wasn’t even hearing it, not really. Like someone who’d already accepted a horrible truth and was now simply working backwards from it.

"From the moment I heard about the attack, something didn’t sit right. I couldn’t name it, just this deep unease I couldn’t shake. But when I saw that Melanie was alive and safe, I pushed it all aside. I told myself I was being paranoid. I told myself it was just fear. That I was just relieved."

Max’s curses died off as he listened to the quiet certainty in Adam’s voice. That tone he hadn’t heard it in years. Not since Adam had vowed revenge against Robert Collins. And even then, it hadn’t sounded this bleak.

"Adam," Max said more carefully this time, "are you saying you know she’s not Melanie? That you’re sure?"

Adam was silent for a beat too long.

Then, he spoke quietly, "I don’t want to touch her."

"What?" Max asked in confusion.

"I don’t want to kiss her. I don’t want to hold her. I can’t even bring myself to meet her eyes for too long. She keeps trying to get close to me, and all I feel is—" he stopped, then forced the words out— "repulsion."

Max frowned, even more confused at this explanation. "That’s your reason? You’re suspicious of her because you’re not attracted to her anymore? Adam, I get that it’s strange, but that’s not solid evidence. That’s not enough to accuse someone-"

Adam interrupted, and this time his voice had an edge. "Max. If there ever comes a day that I stop finding Melanie attractive, it won’t be because I’m disgusted by her. It won’t feel wrong. I would never find her repulsive. Not even on her worst day. And I’d never want to pull away from her like this."

Max was quiet again. He could hear the weight behind those words. Adam wasn’t speculating, he was convinced.

"I don’t know how Melody did it, or why, but I need that footage," Adam continued. "Go back to the time she came to the hospital. When you find her, you will have evidence. I’ll text you a picture of what Melon was wearing when she left home."

Max’s throat had gone dry. "And if I find her?"

"Then you’ll know who’s in that room right now," Adam said grimly. "And where we need to start looking for my Melanie."

Max’s fingers flew over his keyboard, his mind already racing at all the implications. They were looking for Melody but if Melody was here pretending to be Melanie, things were going to get much more messy... "Alright, I’m on it. I’ll bypass the red tape so that we don’t have to make calls and get permissionsno calls. It’ll save hours of having to grease palms and get clearance from security heads."

Adam didn’t speak, just waiting for the evidence of his own stupidity.

Within minutes, Max had accessed the hospital’s internal system. He was fast, efficient, his screen lighting up with windows and code. "Almost there. I just need to isolate the shift logs and surveillance archives for that date—"

He stopped mid-sentence. "Fu*k"

Adam, still leaning on the stairwell rail, straightened. "What happened?"

Max didn’t answer right away. His eyes were fixed on the screen, a single message blinking back at him in stark red: "Surveillance Records: Files Not Found."noveldrama

He tried another route. Then another. But the result was the same. A cold knot formed in his stomach. "They’re gone The footage. It’s all been wiped, Adam."

Adam’s heart stopped as he straightened, "What do you mean wiped?"

"I mean every single entry cam, corridor feed, emergency room log has been completely erased. No trace left. Someone scrubbed it."

Adam’s jaw clenched. "Then someone knew we’d come looking. This was planned..."