Home Entertainment Game Technology Advertisement Part 2: For eight years, my parents made me leave the house every time my brother brought his fiance over; Mom said, “She comes from a good family, don’t embarrass us”; Dad added, “Just disappear for the weekend”; I did; then one weekend, I never came back; it took them four years to find out where I went.

The memorial fund statements.

And Ruth's letters.

Then she looked at me.

"Stacey, first we need to establish the status of your identity in every relevant record."

I nodded.

"Can someone really declare a living person dead?"

"False records can be created, and administrative systems can contradict one another. But we need to determine whether this certificate was genuinely registered, whether it was altered, and how it was used."

I looked down.

"And the money?"

Nora examined the insurance documents.

"If the claim relied on false evidence of death, that's a serious matter."

My hands shook.

She continued.

"We should preserve everything and make a formal report."

Then she turned to Avery.

"Has Stacey seen Ruth's final statement?"

Avery hesitated.

"Not yet."

I looked between them.

"What statement?"

Nora reached into her folder.

She placed a sealed envelope on the desk.

It was addressed to me.

But this time, the handwriting wasn't Ruth's.