Chapter 3

"Found something," a team member called out, holding up a phone he'd found in the tall grass.

My mother walked over.

I floated at her side, my heart pounding with a mix of hope and fear.

That was the phone my mother had given me three years ago. Her old backup phone.

My sister had just gotten a brand-new phone after her exams, and I'd thrown a fit, demanding one too. Mom said I was too young, that it would distract me from school. She had gently stroked my hair, then took the SIM card out of her old phone and gave it to me.

I wasn't happy. To appease me, she took a marker and drew a butterfly on the back case, one that matched the scar on my wrist.

Only then did I finally smile.

Captain Miller took the phone and examined it. "The screen is shattered. Won't turn on. The design on the back looks like it was drawn on. Is that a butterfly?"

My mother just glanced at it. "The design's ruined, can't tell what it is. Send it to forensics to see if it belonged to the victim."

The butterfly was actually still mostly intact. You drew that yourself, Mom.

Have you really forgotten?

My mother walked away, and the phone was placed in an evidence bag.

My heart sank into a black abyss.

Mom, you just missed another chance to know it was your daughter.