?Chapter 1051:


    Sharon retreated into distant memories, her forehead creasing with concentration. “The forensic technology then certainly paledpared to today’s methods. However, detectives discovered a pearl ne adorning the female victim—an essory Mrs. Hudson habitually wore, and therefore…”


    And thus, on this fragile evidence alone, authorities had established the identities of the departed.


    To conclude definitively that the remains belonged to Sadie’s mother, Brenda, based merely on a strand of pearls struck Sadie as appallingly premature.


    A leaden weight pulled at Sadie’s heart, yet simultaneously, a whisper of possibility flickered anew within her.


    If the authorities’ entire determination had rested upon nothing more substantial than a pearl ne, perhaps the entire identification process had been wed.


    She sped Sharon’s weathered hand within her own and guided her toward Laura’s photograph.


    Sadie indicated the pair of empty urns positioned beside the photograph. “Sharon, do these vessels look familiar to you?”


    Sharon’s attention shifted to the urns. At first, puzzlement clouded her features, then dawning recognition caused her pupils to constrict dramatically.


    Disbelief overwhelmed her as she vigorously rubbed her eyes and bent forward for closer inspection.


    Could these possibly be the very vessels she had personally chosen to house Dederick’s and Brenda’s earthly remains all those years ago?


    The memory crystallized with startling rity—she had carefully deposited what she believed were their “ashes” into these containers and interred them with her own hands.


    Your escape begins with ga ln ov els .


    How, then, could these sacred containers be empty?


    The room tilted precariously around Sharon, her knees threatening to buckle beneath the weight of this revtion.


    Sadie nodded, her voice trembling. “I went to Evergreen Cemetery earlier tonight, determined to finally bring my parents home. But when I opened them, the urns contained nothing but emptiness.”


    The blood drained from Sharon’s face, leaving herplexion ashen and ghostlike.


    She shook her head in vehement denial, her lips quivering uncontrobly. “No, it’s impossible… I distinctly remember…”


    She had unquestionablymitted Dederick and Brenda to their final resting ce with her own two hands!


    If these vessels had always been vacant, then what mysterious contents had she consigned to the earth all those years ago?


    This horrifying revtion cascaded through her nervous system like ice water, chilling her to the marrow.


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