I Overheard My 18-Year-Old Daughter Talking to Her Dead Father — What I Discovered Broke Me

My heart slammed so hard I thought I might faint. Before I could speak, she noticed me. Her eyes widened, and she hung up immediately—the click of the receiver sounding far too loud in the quiet house.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

“No one,” she replied too quickly. “Wrong number.”

She fled to her room, closing the door with a gentleness that somehow hurt more than if she had slammed it.

That night, sleep wouldn’t come. My thoughts spun in tight, panicked circles. Susie had never lied to me—not like that. Curiosity and fear twisted together until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I went to the kitchen and checked the landline’s call log.

The number wasn’t familiar.

With trembling fingers, I dialed it.

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