Chapter One-Hundred and Two

Lauren's POV

“Hello?” I whispered into the phone, my voice trembling despite my attempts to sound composed.

For a moment, there was only silence. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, drowning out everything else. Then, finally, a voice crackled through the line, sending chills down my spine. It was not the voice I heard the first time.

“Lauren.” The voice was calm, almost gentle, but I heard a hint of fear that made my skin crawl. “I’m sure you must know who I am by now. It’s Alice. Help me.”

Alice. The woman who had been with my mother on the night she died and had allegedly fled. The woman who now held the key to unlocking the truth, a truth that seemed to be slipping further and further away the closer I got to it.

“What do you want? What did you do to my mother? Where are you?!” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady, though my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw