He sat on the swing, maintaining the bent–over position of making a phone call for too long.
As soon as there was any movement, I felt a sharp pain in my wrist, and the hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.
Snap.
He watched helplessly as his phone fell beside the night light Karissa had installed on the terrace. His breath hitched, and his vision slowly blurred, unable to contain the overwhelming sadness that made him burst into uncontrollable sobs.
Karissa really didn’t want him anymore, she left him and everything from the past behind.
Stanley’s mind was in a daze, filled with a jumble of memories. There were scenes of him and Karissa exchanging rings at the wedding, as well as scenes of him later getting intimate with Monique in bed. There were also scenes of him lying and deceiving her over the phone, just to go out and have fun.
One by one, each and every one of them pushed him to the brink of madness.
Fortunately, another more important matter temporarily pulled Stanley out of the dilemma. Suddenly, he remembered something.
Money.
Even if Karissa didn’t want to see him, she would hide or go on a trip, she would definitely need money!
Stanley dared not delve deeper into his thoughts. He hastily picked up his phone, logged into online banking, and without considering any limits, he continuously transferred large sums of money into her account.
Karissa had little interest in money, and he knew that there was no way he could win her back by doing so. However, he could at least make her life outside better, perhaps causing her to occasionally think of him when she saw the remittance information.
The fantasy was quickly shattered by a phone call from the bank staff.
“Mr. Vargas, we regret to inform you that your transfer request cannot be completed as the user’s account information was officially deactivated two days ago. Please verify the information before proceeding.”
Stanley was stunned on the spot, “Can you help me get in touch with her? I have something very important to talk to her about.”
The staff replied in a professional manner, “We are sorry, but this is beyond the scope of our work.”
Stanley knew that he couldn’t control the bank’s security system, and he also didn’t have the ability to persuade them to take risks for him.
After he hung up the phone dejectedly, he had to think of another solution from a different perspective.
He remembered that Karissa had registered a social account called “KM” and often shared her video works in it. However, over time, he couldn’t
remember specifically which platform it was on.
Stanley was not accustomed to using social media platforms, but he opened the app store and went through each software in the front row one by one. Then, tirelessly, he searched for “KM” inside it.
But the account has not been used for a long time.
Below are all messages from strangers.
Can anyone get in touch with KM? I am an artist and I wanted to reference her photography works, but I couldn’t find her anywhere.
“What happened to KM’s account? It got deactivated?”
I miss KM. Her series of four–season pictures were so beautiful. Winter is coming soon, but where is she?
Stanley clicked on the exit button, feeling frustrated and upset.
The heartless fact was presented before him, Karissa not only cancelled her bank card but also erased all traces she had left on social media platforms.
He had no choice but to find a platform with imperfect user guidelines and called customer service.
Polite and formulaic wording of customer service: “May I ask how I can assist you?”
Stanley got straight to the point and said, “I am the husband of user KM, and I would appreciate your assistance in recovering her account information.”
The customer service representative said without hesitation, “Okay, please have her contact us directly and provide the relevant identification.”
“She disappeared.”
“Sorry, we couldn’t violate user privacy, please-”
Chapter 10
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“Don’t you understand? She disappeared!” Stanley erupted, “My wife has gone missing, and there’s a high possibility that her life is in danger. As the platform, if something really happens to her, you will be held responsible! I will sue you!”
He threatened hysterically.
The customer service remained unmoved: “I’m sorry, sir, we cannot assist you. If you wish to obtain user–related information, you can file an application
with the court.”
Polite in tone, but with no room for negotiation.
Stanley felt like he was drenched from head to toe with a bone–chilling bucket of ice water in the middle of winter. He pleaded, “Please, I beg of you, my wife is truly in danger right now. Don’t any of you have an ounce of sympathy?”
The other party remained silent on the other end of the phone.
Shortly after, the trembling in Stanley’s voice turned into a sob, and he almost pleaded with the other person, “I couldn’t wait any longer. My wife didn’t leave any instructions when she left, and I’m really afraid that something might happen to her. This account is my last hope…”
He spoke so emotionally that he couldn’t help but burst into tears, even regretting it deeply.
The customer service may have been moved by his persistence and his wholeheartedness towards his wife, and he relented, saying, “Alright, sir, I will submit an application to my superiors, but the specific restoration will depend on the final outcome.”
Stanley expressed his gratitude over the phone, after enduring a period of agonizing waiting, he finally got to see the hidden information in the KM
account.
