{"id":11986,"date":"2026-09-16T21:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11986"},"modified":"2026-09-16T21:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:06:12","slug":"part-7-thomas-had-feared-our-former-accountant-for-years-and-martin-finally-revealed-the-secret-meeting-he-had-kept-from-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11986","title":{"rendered":"PART 7 \u2013 Thomas Had Feared Our Former Accountant for Years, and Martin Finally Revealed the Secret Meeting He Had Kept From Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We returned to my cottage because Martin refused to discuss Victor Lane in Graham\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>That alone frightened me.<\/p>\n<p>Martin was not theatrical. He did not lower his voice to create suspense or withhold information for effect. If he wanted privacy, he believed privacy was necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Graham followed in his car.<\/p>\n<p>Paige came too.<\/p>\n<p>I considered objecting.<\/p>\n<p>Then I remembered that Victor\u2019s forged document had appeared in the house she shared with my son.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever else I felt about Paige, excluding her would not make the danger smaller.<\/p>\n<p>We sat around my yellow kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s photograph watched from the refrigerator.<\/p>\n<p>Martin placed his leather case beside his chair but did not open it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said Victor tried to convince Thomas to transfer part of T&amp;E to Graham,\u201d I said. \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was before Thomas became seriously ill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you never told me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas asked me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anger rose fast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were my attorney too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen you had no right\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had every legal right to preserve a confidential conversation with Thomas when he consulted me separately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His answer was calm.<\/p>\n<p>That made me angrier.<\/p>\n<p>Graham shifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked directly at Martin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sat at our dinner table. You came to Thomas\u2019s funeral. You helped me settle his estate. And all that time you knew something involving my son that Thomas deliberately hid from me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word struck harder than an excuse would have.<\/p>\n<p>Paige looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Thomas hide it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin turned toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he believed telling you would force you to choose between protecting Graham and trusting him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt did to Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin folded his hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor approached Thomas with what he called an estate-planning opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe proposed transferring thirty percent of T&amp;E Property Holdings into an irrevocable structure benefiting you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might have been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcept Victor insisted he should serve as trustee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would an accountant be trustee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my anger cool into something heavier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Thomas say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could almost hear him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor persisted. He claimed the structure would reduce taxes and protect the assets if Thomas became ill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time, Thomas hadn\u2019t been diagnosed,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Dad already sick?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not that we knew.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas asked me to review Victor\u2019s proposal. I found several unusual provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat provisions?\u201d Paige asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne allowed the trustee broad discretion to borrow against company assets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Victor could have used Dad\u2019s property as collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepending on the final language, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrafting a bad trust is not criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrying to trick someone into signing one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can become another matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Martin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas confronted Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor denied any improper intent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound like Thomas would let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course he did not.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas could forgive carelessness.<\/p>\n<p>He despised deception.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe hired a forensic accountant,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did they find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>That hesitation angered me again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPayments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat payments?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmall ones initially. Consulting fees routed through entities that did business with T&amp;E.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKickbacks?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe never proved that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver several years, approximately eighty-four thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham swore softly.<\/p>\n<p>My mind went backward through time.<\/p>\n<p>Repairs costing more than expected.<\/p>\n<p>A roofing contractor Thomas refused to use again.<\/p>\n<p>Invoices he studied late at night.<\/p>\n<p>Arguments he dismissed when I entered the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Thomas do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe terminated Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had told me Victor was sloppy.<\/p>\n<p>Just that.<\/p>\n<p>Sloppy.<\/p>\n<p>After fifteen years working with us.<\/p>\n<p>I had accepted it because Thomas rarely discussed business grudges at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to the money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor repaid a portion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy wasn\u2019t he prosecuted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Thomas chose not to pursue criminal charges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was surprised too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is where Graham comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My son went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do I have to do with any of this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin reached for his case.<\/p>\n<p>He removed an old folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have not opened this file since Thomas died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He slid it across the table.<\/p>\n<p>My name was not on the front.<\/p>\n<p>Neither was Thomas\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Only one word.<\/p>\n<p>GRAHAM.<\/p>\n<p>My son stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething your father gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he believed Victor was using your name to pressure him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI barely knew Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin opened the folder.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were copies of checks.<\/p>\n<p>I leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>Several were made out to Graham.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-five hundred dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Five thousand.<\/p>\n<p>Eight thousand.<\/p>\n<p>All dated roughly seven years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Graham stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never got these.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were never deposited into accounts belonging to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige picked up one copy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it has his endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham looked.<\/p>\n<p>His face drained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a reasonable imitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I touched the page.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did the money go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccounts associated with a small consulting business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat business?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at Graham.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cG. Walsh Development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never owned a development company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one, functionally. It was a shell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham pushed back his chair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he stole money using my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Thomas let him walk away?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin removed another document.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas confronted him with the evidence. Victor claimed the transactions had been authorized as future distributions to Graham.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s absurd,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Thomas threaten?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice. Civil action. Professional complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor produced something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I already knew I would not like the answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA recording.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham sat again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked directly at him.<\/p>\n<p>My son stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was I saying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin rubbed the bridge of his nose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis occurred during the year you were struggling with debt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered that year.<\/p>\n<p>He was twenty-nine.<\/p>\n<p>Recently married.<\/p>\n<p>A failed business idea.<\/p>\n<p>Credit cards he insisted were under control.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas gave him money once, then refused further bailouts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou met Victor at a bar,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<p>Graham\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had been drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor encouraged you to complain about your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham gave a humorless laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat probably wasn\u2019t difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the recording, you said Thomas was sitting on money that should eventually be yours anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Graham looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were angry,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, Mom. I was entitled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His willingness to say it stopped me.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou also said that if somebody found a way to move some of the company into your name, your father might never notice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige whispered, \u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham covered his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Dad heard it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The grief on my son\u2019s face was immediate and unguarded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he think?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thought Victor had manipulated a drunken conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s generous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also thought you had given Victor exactly what he needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo claim I was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood at last.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why Thomas didn\u2019t prosecute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor threatened to produce the recording and claim Graham had authorized the transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Graham hadn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe could likely have proved that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat word mattered to Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham looked hollow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe protected me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd let Victor keep some of the money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoughly forty thousand remained unrecovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham stared at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cost Dad forty thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>He looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor cost your father that money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI handed him ammunition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt mattered to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I would not lie.<\/p>\n<p>It had mattered enough that Thomas wrote a letter years later warning our son against surrendering judgment.<\/p>\n<p>Martin closed the folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfterward, Victor moved away. Thomas believed the matter was finished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now?\u201d Paige asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow a forged document appears that gives Graham control of T&amp;E.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The implication sat plainly before us.<\/p>\n<p>Graham said, \u201cIf Victor comes back claiming Dad intended to give me the company\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe might use the forgery to create a dispute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That question mattered most.<\/p>\n<p>I had won the lottery months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>T&amp;E had bought Graham\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>The company, previously quiet, had become active again.<\/p>\n<p>Had that attracted attention?<\/p>\n<p>Or had someone been watching longer?<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho knows about the lottery?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou. Ruth. Graham. Paige.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lottery authority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial advisers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly people bound professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He turned to Paige.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour attorney knows Evelyn has substantial assets?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him she won.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My patience snapped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told a stranger exactly what I asked everyone not to discuss?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s my attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was your attorney for one phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd fear apparently gives everyone permission to distribute my private information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You said you panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham opened his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>I raised a hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stopped.<\/p>\n<p>I turned back to Paige.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell Daniel Cross the amount?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell him about T&amp;E?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas\u2019s estate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd when you found the document, you sent photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s face had become unreadable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaige, did Mr. Cross recommend you contact Graham before searching the files?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he ask whether you had permission to inspect Evelyn\u2019s papers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were in our house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was not my question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her cheeks reddened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you first speak with Daniel Cross?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you search?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEstate attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this area?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Cross appeared?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the first results.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said he handled an estate dispute involving one of your clients,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to make a call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He walked onto the porch.<\/p>\n<p>Through the window, I watched him speaking quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Graham turned toward Paige.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should\u2019ve told me before calling a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should\u2019ve told Mom before sending that document.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause every time I make a mistake lately, the entire family treats it like evidence that I\u2019m some greedy monster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered.<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou all get to have complicated motives. Evelyn gets to be hurt. Graham gets to be ashamed. Thomas gets to be wise from beyond the grave. I\u2019m just the villain who wanted a bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I studied her.<\/p>\n<p>Pain does not automatically make someone correct.<\/p>\n<p>But being wrong does not make every pain false.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were afraid,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her mouth trembled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Graham would leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Graham stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige wiped beneath one eye angrily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore any of this. Before the lottery. Before Pine Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would you think that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you\u2019ve been unhappy for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m tired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re absent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>There were conversations no mother belonged inside.<\/p>\n<p>Then Martin returned.<\/p>\n<p>His face told me the call had not reassured him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel Cross closed his law practice eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spoke to him yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou spoke to someone using that name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The kitchen went silent.<\/p>\n<p>Martin held up his phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe real Daniel Cross moved to Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paige\u2019s face went white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who did I send the document to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at the four of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is now the most important question we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11987\">Click here to continue reading: PART 8: Paige Had Not Called the Lawyer She Thought She Found, and the Phone Number Led Straight Back to Thomas\u2019s Old Enemy<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We returned to my cottage because Martin refused to discuss Victor Lane in Graham\u2019s house. That alone frightened me. Martin was not theatrical. 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