Phần I
Nora booked the flight at 3:12 in the morning, sitting cross-legged on her bed with the lights off.
Sacramento (SMF) → Dayton (DAY), 1 stop. Departs 6:05 a.m.
She had three days off. She'd told the charge nurse it was a family emergency. That wasn't a lie.
Her phone had buzzed eleven times since the parking garage. DAD. DAD. DAD. Then a text:
DAD: Please call me, sweetheart. Whatever you think you know, let me explain.
Then, an hour later, from Caleb:
CALEB: Dad says you were in Mom's closet. What the hell, Nora? Call me before you do anything stupid.
She didn't answer either of them.
The only person she called was Lily, from the gate at the airport, while the sky outside the windows was still black.
"You're what?" Lily's voice was thick with sleep.
"I'm going to Dayton. I'll be back Thursday."
"Alone? To meet a stranger from the internet? Nora, that's literally how true-crime podcasts start."
"She's not a stranger." Nora watched a plane taxi past, its lights blinking red. "According to science, she's my mother."
Lily was quiet for a long time.
"What do I tell Mom and Dad?"
"Nothing. Tell them nothing. Please, Lil."
"Okay." A pause. "Text me every two hours. If you don't, I'm calling the FBI. I'm serious. I'll call the actual FBI."
Despite everything, Nora smiled. "Deal."
"Nora?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever she tells you…" Lily's voice wobbled. "You're still my sister. DNA can go to hell."