“We’ll walk you through the entire operation. But there’s one more thing you need to see.”

She placed a USB drive in my hand.
“This was recovered from Lily’s phone backup. She recorded something the day before she died.”

My breath caught.
“Recorded… what?”

“We haven’t viewed it yet,” Hayes said gently. “But whatever it contains, Lily believed it was important.”

My knees threatened to buckle. I pressed the drive to my chest, its small weight feeling impossibly heavy.
“Then we listen to it. Right now.”

Hayes and Clarke exchanged a look.
“Not here,” she said. “Somewhere secure.”

As they led me toward a rear exit, my grief hardened into resolve. Someone had murdered my daughter. Someone believed they could erase her voice. They had no idea what they had awakened in me.

And whoever was tied to this—whether it was my sister or someone hiding behind her name—was about to discover that I was no longer the shattered, helpless mother they expected.

I was going after the truth. And I would not stop.

If you imagine this happening to someone you love, what would you tell them to do first? Trust the agent? Trust the doctor? Or follow their instincts? Share your thoughts—because sometimes a single perspective can change everything.