The file on the flash drive was called Track_7v_Final.wav
Final.
That word did something to me.
Like a punch and a prayer at the same time.
I sat there in the studio, headphones on, ready.
Then I pressed play.
---
It wasn't a song.
It was a studio session recording — the kind that captured everything: background noise, tuning, mistakes, talking.
And then…
Her voice.
> "Okay… starting now. This is for Ezra. If he ever makes it here."
Deep breath. Slight laughter.
"I know you hate riddles. I know you hate talking to the dead even more. But I also know… you never deleted my number. You never cleaned out the closet. And I know you never forgave yourself."
"So this is me. Trying to finish what you never let me start."
She started playing the guitar.
Slow. Shaky. Not like her polished performances.
It felt real. Raw.
And then she sang:
> "If my ghost could speak in songs,
Would you finally sing along?
If my silence told a truth,
Would you call it something strong?"
I choked.
I had buried this version of her. The honest one. The one who looked me in the eyes when she sang and said everything without needing to.
Then her voice stopped.
And she whispered:
> "Ezra. There's something I never told you. Something no one knows but you… and someone else."
I froze.
> "Before I died… I wasn't alone."
---
Silence.
My blood ran cold.
What did she mean?
> "You always said I was drifting. I was. But not the way you thought."
"The truth is in Day 6. It's with the producer. The one I worked with behind your back."
"You'll find him. You have to."
She sighed.
> "Please don't hate me. I left too many things unsaid. But this story… it's not just about grief anymore. It's about guilt. And forgiveness. And a secret I should've confessed while I still had the chance."
Click.
The track ended.
---
I sat there shaking.
I had thought this was a love story. A path back to her.
But now it felt like something else.
A confession. A betrayal. A truth wrapped in love and lies.
She had worked with another producer?
Behind my back?
Before she died?
And she wanted me to find him?
---
A notification popped up.
Email received: Day 6
No subject.
No message.
Just a file.
But I didn't open it.
Not yet.
Because everything I thought I knew about her… just changed.
And the only way to understand any of it now…
Was to follow the trail she left behind — even if it broke me.