Behind the plywood was a section of chain-link fence that had already been cut open.
My mother had prepared an escape route. DNAtest kits
The man outside spoke again.
“Open the unit, Emily. Your mother is dead because she stopped cooperating.”
That sentence told me everything.
She had not simply died.
Someone had made it happen.
I grabbed the red folder, pushed the plywood aside, and crawled through the fence. The wire tore my blouse, but I kept moving.
Behind me, someone slammed against the unit door.
I ran through weeds along a drainage path until I reached the service road near the highway.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Two more texts from my mother’s number. DNAtest kits
Go to Daniel Brooks. County Recorder’s Office. Trust no one else.
A minute later:
And Emily, if Hale finds you first, burn everything.
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