Two agonizing days later, the police confirmed Henry’s story.

The teeth had been legally donated through his university’s program, and all documentation checked out. Henry admitted he hadn’t told his mother about switching his studies to forensic science because he didn’t want to trigger painful memories of his father’s death, who had been a police officer. The “DO NOT TOUCH” label was meant to protect her from discomfort, never imagining she’d open it or call the police.