The Obvious Hidden Clue by The Fresh French
May 24, 2017
Chloe Vernex-Loset, in her final attempt to contact her brother on February 11, 2015, left him a message saying she arrived at school.
When Zak’s ex-girlfriend began texting her frantically to ask about her brother, Chloe could only give the information she knew: he acted oddly before bed, he locked his door, and he did not answer her calls.
They agreed to meet at the Vernex-Loset house to check on Zak, and when Chloe and her grandmother came home to prepare for dinner, Zak’s ex-girlfriend pulled into the driveway in panic.
Chloe and her grandmother followed Zak’s ex-girlfriend to his room, the door still closed. Chloe’s grandmother picked the lock and peeked inside, immediately and quietly telling her granddaughter to go into the living room.
“I remember [Zak’s ex-girlfriend] coming upstairs in shock, crying and saying no over and over again, and my grandma walked up to me and hugged me, very calmly telling me that Zak had died,” Chloe said.
Chloe refused to believe it. She pulled away from her grandmother’s embrace and shook her head. Even when the police arrived, she did not fully grasp the idea that her brother had died.
Zak took a hit of heroin the night before without knowing it also contained Fentanyl. Combined with the effects of the strong narcotic painkiller, the heroin Zak injected caused his body to go into overdrive, resulting in his death.
“It wasn’t until I had to call my father and sister to tell them they needed to come to my house as fast as possible that it really hit me,” Chloe said. “I remember my sister crying as she ran into her car while she was on the phone with me. I never told her he was dead but I think she knew.”
The Vernex-Loset family all began making their way to the house, and one by one, they came in to face the news. Everything still a blur, Chloe only remembers the feeling of anger, panic, and overwhelming grief.
