"That's odd because the patients are not allowed access to phones. And even weirder because Evelyn Scott died in her sleep last night."
The words felt like a hammer to my skull. A dull, echoing thud that didn’t register at first. The wretched-faced nurse was still standing there, looking between Cheryl and me like she had just announced the weather. Casual. Indifferent. Like she hadn’t just told me that the woman I spent years searching for was now nothing but a cold body.
"No," I said. It wasn’t a question. It was a rejection.
The nurse frowned. "Excuse me?"
"No. You’re lying. That’s not possible."
Something primal burned in my chest, a slow, spreading fire that threatened to consume me whole. I had been so close. A few goddamn hours.
"Aiden—" Cheryl’s voice was soft, but I wasn’t l
