SWNOVELS Chapter 3
Chapter 3
At first, Karla thought she was seeing things. But when she scurried to her room to fetch the photo for comparison, she realized she was right–it was the same person.
There was something about this actor that made him unforgettable at just one glance. Sure, he was handsome, but it was his effortless, natural elegance that truly set him apart–an increasingly rare trait in modern times.-
Karla sat cross–legged on the floor, her gaze fixed on the screen, not missing a single frame of his performance.
In the movie, the character he portrayed seemed to be an anti–hero, morally ambiguous, making it difficult for people to figure him out. However, with just one look from him, you could tell whether he was up to something good or bad.
His screen time was limited. As the movie ended, Karla rewound it, obsessively watching hist every scene. Sometimes she even hit pause, her eyes locked onto the screen, unwilling to blink–as if she were under some spell.
By the time she finished, dawn had broken. With dark circles under her eyes, Karla stared at the man on the TV and muttered, “This guy is out of this world. How can anyone be this good–looking?”
She never imagined that she would spend an entire night fixated on a man–a gorgeous man who no longer existed, no less. If this actor were still around today, he’d probably be an old man by now, wouldn’t he?
The thought gave her pause. Why was she thinking in terms of ‘if‘? Did her subconscious believe he was already dead? Or could it be that the victim from the car incident was him?
No sooner had this crossed her mind than Karla had a sudden realization. She quickly scrolled through the credits.
The cast names rolled by, and near the end, she saw it-“Special Appearance by Johnson.“.
This man, his name was Johnson.
Karla’s instinct was to hit the web, but the search results were baffling. Typing ‘Johnson‘ into the search bar, she found nothing. No information about him, just a jumble of unrelated
entries.
Refusing to believe it, she searched for the film she had just watched, only to encounter something even stranger. The file was still there, but every single scene featuring Johnson had been meticulously cut out.
Karla touched her forehead, wondering if she had a fever. No, she was fine. She darted downstairs to check the DVD player and discovered what she’d been watching was actually a bootleg.
“Karla, what on earth are you up to so early?” Her father Glenn yawned as he passed by, only
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to be confronted with his daughter holding up the disc, demanding, “Where did you get this?”
Glenn, taken aback, chuckled nervously, “Oh, it was a gift from an old buddy. Just popped it In last night for kicks.”
“Did you forget to switch off the TV after?” Karla eyed him suspiciously.
Frowning, Glenn replied, “Did I? I thought I turned it off.”
“Never mind the TV for now. Dad, do you know anything about this actor named Johnson from the movie? I looked him up but found nothing. It’s like someone has deliberately erased all traces of him,” Karla said with grave seriousness.
Glenn, however, seemed unfazed as he retorted, “Why are you asking about this?”
Karla rubbed her temples, “Dad, you’re the police chief. Don’t you know about the case my team is handling?”
“I do, but what does that have to do with this actor you’re asking about?” Glenn still didn’t answer her directly.
To prevent him from dodging her questions, Karla relayed her discoveries from the night. before. Glenn just responded with a nonchalant “Don’t know.”
Karla had a strong suspicion that her old man was only prying to find out what she was investigating. Crafty as always.
With the mystery too intriguing to ignore, Karla hurriedly showered, skipped breakfast, and drove straight to the police station, hoping her colleagues could dig up some information. But perhaps her luck was just not on her side that day. As she waited at a red light, the car behind her slammed into her rear bumper. The impact sent her car lurching forward, crossing the traffic line.
Karla gripped the steering wheel, thoughts racing. Who would be so reckless as to hit at police officer’s car?
As she unbuckled her seatbelt to get out, a quick glance in the rearview mirror made her frown deepen. Exiting the offending vehicle were two burly men dressed in black suits. Ast they stepped out, they both instinctively touched something concealed at their backs.
Chapter 4