I stared at the frozen frame, the silent room on the screen mirroring the silent room I sat in. The grief was gone, replaced by a cold, crystalline purpose. They were still at the hospital. Still standing over my daughter, playing the role of the grieving family.
I closed the laptop and picked up my phone. I didn’t call Megan. I called the lead detective on Lily’s case.
“Detective,” I said, my voice steady and sharp. “I have the ‘blessing’ my mother-in-law was talking about. I’m coming down now.”
