“We reached out to him,” the officer responded, “but once Mr. Flynn realized why we were calling, he just hung up. We also tried getting in touch with her father, Becker Holland, but no one else stepped up. That’s why we turned to you. What are your thoughts?”
Judging by the officer’s uneasy voice, they probably expected Hadley to say no, too.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can!” Hadley’s breath caught as worry filled her chest. “Thank you for letting me know.”
Once the call ended, she pressed her palm to her eyes. The thought crossed her mind that Elissa never seemed to catch a break. Ernest’s refusal to acknowledge made sense to Hadley—he could not bear to admit Elissa was really gone. Still, pretending it wasn’t real would not bring Elissa back. Someone needed to do what was right.
When it came to Becker, his own daughter’s fate seemed to mean little to him. He kept himself as distant as any stranger.
“Elissa,” Hadley murmured, tears threatening to fall. “I’ll make sure you get home.”
Without wasting time, she threw together her things and left for the police station. Tamara came along, and together they handled all the paperwork.
Inside the morgue, Hadley stood before Elissa again. Nothing about her features looked the same—whatever traces of her old self had faded away completely.
“Hadley.” Tamara’s gentle voice broke the silence. “The funeral home people have arrived.”
Arrangements with the funeral home had already been sorted during their drive. Those staff members waited outside, prepared to take over.
“Let them come in,” said Hadley, her tone barely above a whisper.
A small group entered the room.
The morgue attendant briefed them, “She’s been put back together, but the remains are fragile. Please use extra caution.”
Upon hearing those words, Hadley’s eyes, already brimming with tears, burned even more. It felt like someone had rubbed sand into them, and pain clouded her sight.
gν
Choking back sobs, she instructed the funeral home staff, “Please, be careful.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll handle her with care.”
They wrapped Elissa’s remains in a body bag. As they lifted her, the stitched arms and legs shifted in a way that seemed almost cruel.
Hadley felt her stomach turn. She wanted to look away. Still, she dug her nails so deep into her palms they nearly broke the skin. She kept her eyes locked on the scene, refusing to blink. It was as if her heart splintered inside her chest.
“Elissa… Elissa!” Hadley lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the bag containing Elissa’s remains. She clutched it tightly, like she could somehow hold on to what was already lost.
They had been the same age. Elissa, once so lively and bright, now lay cold and silent. It struck her hard, a cruel picture of how quickly life could be stolen away.
Linda did this to her!
Hadley swore she would never let Linda get away with this. She would seek justice for her friend. Elissa couldn’t just disappear from the world without the truth coming to light.
.
.
.