Every day he not only beat me but also poured boiling water on me, roaring, ""I'll boil your belly until a son comes out!""

Evelyn paced the length of the hospital room, her hands digging into her hair.

"There's something else," she said, stopping abruptly and turning to Dr. Shah. "About a month after Dr. Mercer vanished, I received a piece of mail. It was sent to my apartment."

Evelyn walked over to her tote bag, dug past the copies of her returned emails, and pulled out a small, worn envelope. She handled it like a fragile artifact. She handed it to Priya.

"I kept it because it felt wrong," Evelyn explained.

Priya carefully extracted a single sheet of standard printer paper. There was no letterhead. No signature. Just three sentences typed in plain black ink.

Your sister may not be receiving accurate information about her health. Encourage her to seek an independent medical examination immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, discuss this letter with her husband.

I felt a chill race down my spine, cold enough to rival the boiling water that had burned my skin. Someone had known. Someone out there had seen the monster wearing my husband's skin.

"Did you trace it?" Dr. Shah asked, looking intently at the envelope.

"I tried," Evelyn said. "I drove to Caroline's house right after I got this. That was the October trip. The one where Luke took her to the cabin."

"He knew," I whispered. "He took me away because he knew someone was warning you."

Priya held the envelope up to the fluorescent light, examining the faded postal stamp. "This wasn't mailed from the town where Dr. Mercer's clinic was located."