Even when powerful light shone directly into her eyes, the expression remained fixed.
Doctors would soon prove that Chloe had not survived three years inside that cave.
She had been placed there only days earlier.
Someone had fed her.
Kept her warm.
Provided medication.
And, over the course of nearly 1,100 days, taught her that smiling and absolute obedience were the only ways to remain safe.
The person responsible would eventually be identified by one of the smallest objects left inside the cave.
An old steel carabiner.
June 15, 2020
At 6:30 a.m., 19-year-old Chloe Perez left her family home outside Roanoke, Virginia.
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