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Chapter 14: The Photograph

Author: C. D
last update publish date: 2026-10-30 03:14:29

The records office gave me a thick manila envelope and a polite apology.

"The final pages are under legal review," the clerk said, sliding it across the counter. "Ten business days."

"Ten days," I repeated.

"For the cause-of-death addendum. Standard procedure."

It wasn't standard. I could tell by the way Imogen's pen stopped moving. But I took the envelope, thanked him, and walked out of St. Anselm's with my mother's last year pressed against my chest like a shield.

I had not read a single page
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