A small, trembling voice.
“Mom? Can you come get me?”
The phone slipped from my hand.
Daniel walked in just as it hit the floor.
“What happened?”
“It’s Chloe,” I whispered.
Instead of telling me I was imagining things… he went pale.
He grabbed the phone and hung it up immediately.
“It’s a scam,” he said quickly. “Voice cloning, AI—people can fake anything now. Don’t go.”
“But she knew my name. She sounded like her.”
“Anyone could find that online,” he insisted.
When I reached for my keys, he stepped in front of me.
“Please don’t go,” he said, panic creeping into his voice.
I stared at him.
“If she’s dead… why are you afraid of me seeing her?”
He didn’t answer.
That was all I needed.
The drive felt unreal.
I don’t remember traffic lights, or turns—just the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears.
When I got to the school, I ran inside.
“She’s in the principal’s office,” the receptionist whispered.
I didn’t knock.
The girl sitting there looked older.
Thinner.
But it was her.
“Mom?” she whispered.
I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms.
She was warm.
Real.
Alive.
“My Chloe…” I sobbed.
She clung to me like she was afraid I might disappear.
“Why did you leave me?” she cried into my shoulder.