I deleted my sister’s voicemail because I was angry

Dear Delyara, My sister and I had a stupid argument about our mother’s estate. She called me three times afterward. I ignored the first two and listened to the third voicemail. She said, “Call me when you’ve finished being dramatic.” I became so angry that I deleted it immediately. She died in a car accident four days later. That voicemail was the last recording of her voice on my phone. I contacted the provider, searched backups, checked old devices, even paid someone who recovers deleted data. Nothing. I still have older recordings: birthday messages, a clip of her laughing at my dog, one where she sings badly. They are not the same. The deleted voicemail contained her alive in the final week of her life, irritated with me, expecting another conversation. I erased it because I wanted the satisfaction of rejecting her words for one evening. People tell me the voice is not the person. I know. But grief has made me greedy for evidence. I would give almost anything to hear her call me dramatic one more time.