A simple silver hairpin lay in the center of the handkerchief.
Yannick froze completely on the spot.
He had given it to Hailey for her birthday when they were teenagers.
'After all these years, she actually kept it the entire time?'
He took the hairpin with trembling fingers. "Where is she now?"
The boy hesitated, struggling to find the right words. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Ms. Serrano stabbed herself in the chest to save every business owner and employee in Grayford. Everyone in the building saw it happen. Didn't you hear?"
The last of Yannick's hope collapsed, hollow without a single point of support.
The boy's words destroyed every desperate explanation he had invented for himself.
After a long silence, Yannick forced his voice to work. "What message did she l
