Marina carefully packed Alexey’s suitcase, a routine she’d come to cherish. His rushed goodbye that morning felt off, but she brushed it aside. To distract herself, Marina visited the Meridian mall. Just as she was about to have lunch, a call redirected her to the Almond restaurant—where she spotted Alexey, supposedly on a business trip, dining with a younger woman.

Frozen with shock, Marina turned away, heart pounding. She called her friend Lena, who met her at a nearby café. “What if it’s not what it looks like?” Lena suggested. Torn between fear and suspicion, Marina agreed to follow him.

From a bookstore across the way, they watched Alexey and the woman part with a polite handshake. Then, Marina and Lena tailed him to his office building. Confused and tense, they watched him enter his boss’s office—leaving Marina with more questions than answers.