It also meant the people who had silenced my mother could no longer assume she’d remain alone.

PART 15

Two weeks passed without a grand revelation.

There were interviews, document requests, long phone calls, and uncomfortable pauses.

Investigators did not share every detail with us, and Priya warned me not to mistake silence for inaction.

Meanwhile, life continued insisting on its ordinary needs.

I missed a deadline at work and had to apologize to a colleague.

The dishwasher broke.