Chapter 103.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," Darlene said. "She was already gone by then. I went to visit her body one last time... and I'll never forget what I saw. It wasn't my mother lying there, but someone else." She paused for a moment, gathering herself, then let out a soft breath. "This is where I came when I needed to be alone with her. But it's not like we can talk back here."

I frowned, moving my hand across the ground to wrap my fingers around hers. "You still don't remember anything? The night she died?"

Darlene shook her head. "No. I told you before. I lost consciousness before then, and when I woke up..."

"Yeah," I whispered. "You were in your car, outside the old church."

"But not Sister Claire."

She turned away from the gravestone, letting go of my hand and placing the flashlight down next to her feet. Then she wrapped both arms around her stomach, curling into herself and looking more vulnerable than ever before. Her scarf fell against the ground,