Samuel wanted to cancel my meeting with David.<\/p>\n
I refused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf David believes I suspect him, he\u2019ll prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel removed his glasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not conducting a criminal investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are also not your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood, because Richard occasionally believed preparation made him invulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is affectionate criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sat across the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel and I answered simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas raised both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
We compromised.<\/p>\n
I would meet David at Collins Industrial Supply.<\/p>\n
Samuel would arrive thirty minutes later for what David believed was a routine ownership review.<\/p>\n
A forensic accountant Samuel trusted would come with him.<\/p>\n
Thomas would stay away.<\/p>\n
The company occupied three connected buildings on the industrial edge of town.<\/p>\n
I had worked there during college, but I barely recognized it.<\/p>\n
The old warehouse had doubled in size.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s tiny administrative office had become a glass-fronted two-story building.<\/p>\n
The sign still used the same block lettering he had designed himself.<\/p>\n
COLLINS INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY.<\/p>\n
Seeing it tightened something in my chest.<\/p>\n
This was not an abstract asset.<\/p>\n
Dad had spent forty years building it.<\/p>\n
People depended on it.<\/p>\n
Employees.<\/p>\n
Drivers.<\/p>\n
Warehouse workers.<\/p>\n
Sales staff.<\/p>\n
Families I had never met.<\/p>\n
I suddenly understood why he had not simply sold everything and divided the cash.<\/p>\n
A receptionist greeted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to see David Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was becoming a familiar reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll let him know.\u201d<\/p>\n
David came downstairs himself.<\/p>\n
He was exactly as I remembered from the funeral.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Careful movements.<\/p>\n
A face that seemed naturally serious.<\/p>\n
He extended his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father would be glad you came.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wondered whether that was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould he?\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s eyes flickered.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
He led me upstairs.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s office remained at the end of the corridor.<\/p>\n
The door was closed.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs anyone using it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
David unlocked the door.<\/p>\n
The smell hit me first.<\/p>\n
Coffee.<\/p>\n
Paper.<\/p>\n
The faint oily scent Dad carried home from the warehouse.<\/p>\n
His desk remained exactly as he had left it.<\/p>\n
Yellow legal pad.<\/p>\n
Pens.<\/p>\n
A photograph of Mom.<\/p>\n
Another of the three of us as children.<\/p>\n
I touched the back of his chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept our picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at David.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when he was angry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially then.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Thomas.<\/p>\n
Mom.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Dad had never been good at saying what photographs apparently said for him.<\/p>\n
David walked toward a cabinet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father kept certain corporate documents here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas this the cabinet someone searched?\u201d<\/p>\n
His hand stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer was technically true.<\/p>\n
David turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed someone entered the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas anything missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust documents, some internal correspondence, and copies of acquisition proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcquisition proposals from Northbridge?\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s face became careful.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat in Dad\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n
He noticed.<\/p>\n
I noticed him noticing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you sign a letter of intent eighteen months ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
David did not move.<\/p>\n
For a moment, every sound from the warehouse below seemed louder.<\/p>\n
Forklift.<\/p>\n
Metal.<\/p>\n
A distant reversing alarm.<\/p>\n
Then he closed the cabinet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthbridge package.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat document is not what it appears to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Everyone in my family had used some version of that sentence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it appear to be?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA preliminary agreement to explore a sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA preliminary agreement to explore a sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it appears to be exactly what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
David almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad authorize you to sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was trying to learn who was behind Northbridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not the answer I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I studied his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe Dad told you to negotiate secretly with a company he distrusted?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t distrust them yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the first meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
David sat across from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthbridge knew things they should not have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPricing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomer lists?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSupplier terms?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe eventually learned that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this was eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
David nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Thomas began taking direct payments, as far as we knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did Northbridge know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what Richard wanted to discover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you signed the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep them talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Samuel know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard wanted the inquiry compartmentalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like Dad.<\/p>\n
It also sounded conveniently impossible to verify.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked toward Dad\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the bottom drawer.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be a folder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat folder?\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulled the drawer completely out.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at the empty space.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2019s authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe document proving your story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand how this looks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have emails.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
We went to his office.<\/p>\n
David logged into the company archive.<\/p>\n
He found a series of messages between himself and Dad.<\/p>\n
Most were mundane.<\/p>\n
Supplier issues.<\/p>\n
Budgets.<\/p>\n
Staffing.<\/p>\n
Then one email contained a line:<\/p>\n
Proceed with the preliminary conversation. Do not commit ownership. I want to know what they know.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
Another:<\/p>\n
They have internal numbers. Find the source before we shut the door.<\/p>\n
Another:<\/p>\n
Do not tell Helen yet.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard was beginning to suspect someone in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe discovered the private reserve account.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard showed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Mom was receiving Northbridge payments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout nine months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you stop doing business with them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe began unwinding contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBegan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIndustrial contracts are not light switches, Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
His tone sharpened for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome supply commitments ran twelve to twenty-four months. Canceling everything immediately could have exposed the company to litigation and disrupted customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood enough from my summers there to know that was plausible.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked away.<\/p>\n
That was answer enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he suspect you of?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you prove that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the internal transaction review.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rows of payments appeared.<\/p>\n
Northbridge invoices.<\/p>\n
Vendor adjustments.<\/p>\n
Consulting charges.<\/p>\n
David had highlighted anomalies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy isn\u2019t this in Dad\u2019s notebook?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept only summaries there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I looking at?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo accounting streams.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot literally two company ledgers. Two reporting versions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne real, one false?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore subtle.\u201d<\/p>\n
He showed me invoice 48117.<\/p>\n
The purchasing system showed $214,000.<\/p>\n
The vendor reconciliation file showed $187,000.<\/p>\n
A difference of $27,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did the difference go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what Richard was trying to establish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another invoice.<\/p>\n
Another difference.<\/p>\n
Another.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least thirty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much total?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately nine hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s reserve account contained only part of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho could alter these records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames.\u201d<\/p>\n
David hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe controller.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel Kim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdministrative access existed under an old executive credential.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom worked here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I vaguely remembered.<\/p>\n
Before Sarah was born, Mom handled payroll.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she hasn\u2019t worked here in decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe credential should have been disabled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\n
David shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father kept it active for occasional family administrative work.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Another door left unlocked because Dad trusted the person behind it.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Mom alter invoices?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith that credential, certain fields.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Eric Lawson?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot without access.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould somebody use Mom\u2019s login?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
I wrote it down.<\/p>\n
David watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really are Richard\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three of us are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel arrived with the forensic accountant, a woman named Priya Shah.<\/p>\n
I told them what David had shown me.<\/p>\n
Priya immediately asked for system logs.<\/p>\n
David gave her access.<\/p>\n
For two hours, I understood perhaps half of what they discussed.<\/p>\n
Authentication records.<\/p>\n
Archived databases.<\/p>\n
Invoice histories.<\/p>\n
Metadata.<\/p>\n
Backup snapshots.<\/p>\n
I resisted pretending.<\/p>\n
Whenever I didn\u2019t understand, I asked.<\/p>\n
Dad would have approved.<\/p>\n
At noon, Priya found the first useful pattern.<\/p>\n
The altered records had been changed mostly late at night.<\/p>\n
Often remotely.<\/p>\n
The login used was Mom\u2019s old credential.<\/p>\n
But the network addresses varied.<\/p>\n
Some connected through the company\u2019s own remote-access system.<\/p>\n
Others came from an outside location.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you identify it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
She worked.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, she looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis block belongs to Northbridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
David swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Northbridge accessed our system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priya held up one finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily. It shows traffic associated with infrastructure registered to them. We need more before stating who actually logged in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel nodded approvingly.<\/p>\n
Facts.<\/p>\n
Not conclusions.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to understand why Dad trusted people like them.<\/p>\n
Priya continued through the logs.<\/p>\n
Then she stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She enlarged one record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis session is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came from a residential connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
She ran the information through company records.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe account on file belongs to Thomas Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach sank.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Another layer.<\/p>\n
Another secret.<\/p>\n
But Priya frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
She compared dates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis session occurred at 2:13 a.m. on March fourteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was in the hospital that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis youngest daughter had emergency surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
Appendicitis.<\/p>\n
I had visited the next morning.<\/p>\n
Thomas had slept in a chair beside her bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo someone used his home internet while he wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had access?\u201d<\/p>\n
I already knew one person.<\/p>\n
Mom had a key to Thomas\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
She had stayed there with the children often.<\/p>\n
But Thomas\u2019s wife had access too.<\/p>\n
So did his teenage son.<\/p>\n
We needed facts.<\/p>\n
Priya examined more sessions.<\/p>\n
Several occurred while Thomas was demonstrably elsewhere.<\/p>\n
One during a family wedding.<\/p>\n
Another during a business trip.<\/p>\n
Someone had been using his connection.<\/p>\n
Or routing traffic through it.<\/p>\n
David leaned over the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the authentication pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priya nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe login uses Helen\u2019s credential, but the device signature is consistent across most sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same computer appears to have been used.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we identify the computer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot from this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then David went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed at the device label embedded in an old connection log.<\/p>\n
HC-LAPTOP-02.<\/p>\n
Helen Collins.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s laptop.<\/p>\n
I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
Samuel said nothing.<\/p>\n
Priya did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis still doesn\u2019t prove Helen personally made the changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I appreciated her precision.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it proves her laptop did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt strongly indicates that device was used.\u201d<\/p>\n
David sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard bought her that laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Mom at the dining-room table.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand what it was like.<\/p>\n
Maybe I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
But I was beginning to.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Sarah.<\/p>\n
I stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded strange.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m at Mom\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought the bracelets back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer clothes are here. Her car is here. But she\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she went for a walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause her laptop is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah, listen carefully. Don\u2019t touch anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Mom\u2019s phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the kitchen counter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That frightened me more than if it had been missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Thomas. Tell him to meet you there. I\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked through the glass at Priya\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n
At the device label connecting Mom\u2019s laptop to years of altered company records.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Then David\u2019s office phone rang.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He slowly held out the receiver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Eric Lawson.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was no longer polished.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret, if your mother is missing, I know where she may have gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the office turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old Northbridge property on Route Nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would she go there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she called me forty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo give me the one thing your father hid that could destroy both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel wanted to cancel my meeting with David. I refused. \u201cThen I\u2019m coming.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cMargaret.\u201d \u201cIf David believes I suspect him, he\u2019ll prepare.\u201d Samuel removed his glasses. \u201cYou are not … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10389,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10369\/revisions\/10389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}