Chapter 5

“No. That’s impossible. There has to be something wrong with the test.”

My mother snatched the report from the staff member and searched through the pages in disbelief.

When she realized there was no mistake, she took a sudden step back.

The report slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

She did not pick it up.

She stood there as all the color slowly drained from her face.

The young woman brought into the emergency room the day before had burns covering more than ninety percent of her body. Her face had been burned beyond recognition.

My mother had treated her wounds.

She had made the final attempt to save her.

She had written the time of death in the medical chart.

She had never recognized her own daughter.

“It was Claire. It was really her. How could this happen?”

My mother looked toward the morgue. Her voice was barely audible.

My father bent down and picked up the report.

My name was printed clearly at the bottom of the page.

Claire Hart.

He stared at it for a long time without speaking.

Now that my identity had been confirmed, the police needed to trace my movements before the murder and identify anyone who might have had a conflict with me.

The detectives soon arranged a conference room for the interviews.

They brought my parents, Ethan, Adrian, and Evelyn inside.

The lead detective opened his notes and questioned my father first.

“What time did Claire leave the estate last night?”

My father frowned.

“I don’t know.”

“Did she tell anyone where she was going before she left?”

My father did not answer.

My mother sat beside him and spoke quietly.

“Everyone was preparing for the engagement party. No one noticed when she left.”

The detective looked up at them.

“So you did not realize she was gone until she called you for help?”

My father remained silent for a moment.

“That’s right.”

The detective continued.

“Where did she usually go?”

“Her university,” my father answered.

“Where else?”

My father froze.

He could not answer.

My mother thought about it.

“She used to live on the Southside. She went back there sometimes.”

“What was the address?”

My mother could not answer either.

The detective asked about my friends, professors, and daily schedule.

My father only knew that I was still in college.

My mother remembered that I rarely attended social events. She thought I did not have many friends.

That was all she could tell them.

Ethan finally spoke.

“She used to live on Seventh Street on the Southside. She already gave up the apartment.”

“Her closest friend at school is Mia. Her academic advisor is Professor Wilson. She usually enters campus through the east gate, and she goes to Professor Wilson’s studio every Wednesday.”

The detective wrote everything down.

“Did she mention anyone threatening or following her recently?”

My parents fell silent again.

Ethan shook his head.

“She never mentioned anything.”

The detective studied my parents for a moment before returning to his notes.

My father’s expression darkened.

They had brought me back to the Hart family three years ago.

Now the police wanted to know about my life, and Ethan was the only person who could answer their questions.

The phone company soon provided my call records.

I had tried to contact three people before I was killed.

The first was Ethan.

He had been on a flight and could not answer.

The second was my father.

The call had been placed at 9:17 p.m.

The fire department estimated that the fire at the abandoned clinic began around 9:15 p.m.

The detective pushed the record toward my father.

“What did she say?”

My father stared at my number on the page.

“She said someone had locked her inside. She asked me to save her.”

“Did you hear anything in the background?”

“She kept coughing. I also heard her hitting the door.”

My father lowered his head after answering.

The ballroom had been loud.

He had still heard those sounds clearly.

The room remained silent for several seconds.

When the detective spoke again, disbelief filled his voice.

“She told you where she was and clearly asked you to call 911. Why didn’t any of you do anything?”