CHAPTER [75] ENGAGED
## Chapter 75: The Confession
The fluorescent light was still humming. That same persistent, low-frequency vibration that seemed to have burrowed into his skull and made a home there. Cole's eyes were open, fixed on the ceiling above him, but he wasn't seeing it. He was seeing his father's face, the way it had looked in the warehouse, the way the shadows had played across it, the way his voice had sounded—low, measured, filled with something that might have been sorrow.
The sheets beneath his fingers were still crisp and stiff. The same institutional fabric that scraped against his skin, that refused to soften no matter how many times it was washed. He could feel each thread, each tiny ridge, each imperfection that spoke of years of use. The antiseptic smell was sti
