It had been there the whole time.

And when the video from May 4th loaded onto the technician’s screen, and George, who had insisted on being present, saw what was about to play, he stopped breathing.

On the monitor, in his own kitchen, George was packing a blue suitcase while Chloe sat at the counter, coloring.

“Daddy,” her small recorded voice asked, “when is Grandma coming?” “Tomorrow morning,” his recorded voice answered.

“There’s yogurt and cereal.