Her words kept haunting me: “It can’t be you.” She hadn’t looked merely disappointed; she had looked terrified, as though she’d seen a ghost. The next morning, I contacted Rachel and sent her Hannah’s photograph. Rachel recognized her from the hospital on the night of my accident. I couldn’t understand how they could have met. Rachel apologized for leaving after I saved her life, but I told her our relationship was over. I needed answers about Hannah, not another apology.

I contacted Nancy, a nurse who had cared for me during my hospitalization. When I showed her Hannah’s photograph, she recognized her immediately. Then she said something that stopped me cold: “Poor girl. She still feels so guilty about what happened to you.” I asked what she meant, but Nancy became uncomfortable and refused to discuss it. I pressed her, but she only repeated that she couldn’t tell me.