Victor Sloane did not answer Nina\u2019s first call.<\/p>\n
He did not answer the second.<\/p>\n
By the third, his voicemail had been disabled.<\/p>\n
Nina looked at her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s usually not encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sat across from us at the lake-house table.<\/p>\n
For the first time since the investigation began, he had been invited rather than compelled.<\/p>\n
I hated how strange that felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Northcrest introduced him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout ten months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Redwood closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of their partners said Victor was good at simplifying complicated ownership structures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSimplifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was the partner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina searched.<\/p>\n
A photograph appeared.<\/p>\n
Mid-fifties.<\/p>\n
Silver hair.<\/p>\n
Managing partner at Northcrest Equity.<\/p>\n
I had never met him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Graham know about my fifty-one percent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRedwood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFairmont?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor learned during diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham knew before Northcrest advanced the twelve million.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my shoulders tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much did he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew there were environmental complications. He knew Redwood had been acquired outside Prescott\u2019s normal structure. He knew Fairmont Environmental held settlement proceeds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know the settlement entity benefited Halcyon?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
That did not absolve him.<\/p>\n
It meant someone may have built a structure more complex than Daniel understood.<\/p>\n
Nina drew another line on the wall chart.<\/p>\n
Northcrest.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Halcyon.<\/p>\n
Fairmont Environmental.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Northcrest advance twelve million before closing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo stabilize Redwood and clear transaction obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPay down acquisition debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor said we needed to clean up legacy liabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina stopped writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegacy liabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFairmont.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I assumed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he suggest Harrison Development?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatricia came up with Harrison?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Leonard wanted the land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat part we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted it resolved before the Northcrest sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe structured it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor knew Leonard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they ever speak directly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow often?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLand transfer documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Northcrest\u2019s consultant directly coordinated with the blackmailer controlling historical Halcyon evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say it like that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t another way to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
We called Mara Chen.<\/p>\n
This time, I did not wait for formal scheduling.<\/p>\n
Nina told her we had discovered Victor Sloane\u2019s role in Fairmont Environmental and needed an immediate answer about his relationship with Northcrest.<\/p>\n
Mara went silent.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cI need twenty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She called back in twelve.<\/p>\n
Graham Vale joined.<\/p>\n
His camera remained off.<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Morgan,\u201d Graham began, \u201cI understand there are concerns regarding Mr. Sloane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConcerns is becoming an overworked word.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s expression barely changed.<\/p>\n
Graham continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor is an independent restructuring adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIntroduced by Northcrest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPaid by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially by Prescott Logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn your recommendation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny prior work for Northcrest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny prior work for Halcyon Materials?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Mara looked off-screen.<\/p>\n
Graham answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a trust structure created by Sloane that lists Halcyon as beneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
This one was longer.<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s face changed slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSend that document.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began reading.<\/p>\n
Graham said nothing.<\/p>\n
I watched Mara.<\/p>\n
Not because I trusted her.<\/p>\n
Because lawyers often reveal more in what they stop doing than what they say.<\/p>\n
She stopped taking notes.<\/p>\n
Then she looked directly into the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthcrest was not aware of this structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Graham?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
He answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas anyone at Northcrest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is broader than you can know this quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara glanced toward his blank screen.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Even she recognized it.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho introduced Victor to Northcrest?\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA portfolio company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonarch Chemical Transport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s fingers stopped over her keyboard.<\/p>\n
She searched.<\/p>\n
Monarch transported industrial materials.<\/p>\n
One of its largest customers was Halcyon.<\/p>\n
I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not distant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlenty of logistics firms work with Halcyon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor work on Monarch\u2019s Halcyon contracts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will conduct an internal review.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreserve all communications involving Victor Sloane, Graham Vale, Halcyon, Redwood, Fairmont, Harrison, Daniel Prescott, Andrew Bell, and Patricia Prescott.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham said, \u201cThat is excessive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone used my forged authorization in a transaction your firm was buying. Excessive ended several days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
Daniel remained staring at the wall chart.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor always knew which problem would scare me most.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something cold move through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Redwood\u2019s covenant tightened, he told me Morgan Property Holdings was the fastest collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Northcrest wanted cleaner ownership, he suggested the trust structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Leonard threatened the records, Victor designed Fairmont Environmental and Harrison.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe solved every problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy moving more control away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course not.<\/p>\n
The structure gave Daniel what he wanted.<\/p>\n
The fact that it also benefited someone else remained invisible because greed had made him cooperative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor ask for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh, but normal for transaction work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEquity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccess payment?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a closing bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne and a half million.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormal.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ignored that.<\/p>\n
Nina searched the engagement letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBonus paid by Prescott?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthcrest, technically.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor had a personal financial incentive for the sale to close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd for Claire\u2019s control to be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The structure looked uglier by the hour.<\/p>\n
Not because Daniel was innocent.<\/p>\n
Because his misconduct had made him easy to steer.<\/p>\n
Someone did not need to force him to forge my approval.<\/p>\n
They only needed to present it as a shortcut to something he already wanted.<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s investigator called.<\/p>\n
She put him on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe traced Sloane\u2019s consulting entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive relevant ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHalcyon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo payments over four years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTotal seven hundred eighty thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnvironmental restructuring and legacy liability consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Victor had worked for Halcyon.<\/p>\n
Directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDates?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne engagement started six months before Prescott acquired Redwood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Daniel.<\/p>\n
His face had gone white.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore he met me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Northcrest introduced him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny link to Fairmont specifically?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvoice description references legacy transporter exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was close enough to make my skin crawl.<\/p>\n
Victor had advised Halcyon about the old Fairmont problem.<\/p>\n
Then he advised Daniel on buying Redwood.<\/p>\n
Then he helped structure an entity that quietly kept Halcyon tied to settlement funds.<\/p>\n
Then he helped push the land toward Leonard.<\/p>\n
Then he helped design a Northcrest sale that would remove my authority.<\/p>\n
It no longer looked like independent events.<\/p>\n
It looked like containment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Victor now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re checking public records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s running.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew this would surface.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Northcrest closing stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t automatically expose Halcyon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt exposes Fairmont Environmental.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor knew if you ever regained access, you\u2019d trace everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYet you still left the structures there.\u201d<\/p>\n
His laugh was bitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d close before you looked.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bluntness hurt less now.<\/p>\n
Perhaps because I had heard worse.<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
She read the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor boarded a flight yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cZurich.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan he be compelled back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDepends what authorities eventually do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Evelyn.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s old papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat papers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother kept a box after he died. Medical records. Employment documents. Letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything about Fairmont?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA letter he wrote to someone at Halcyon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months after the exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he send it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says the dumping was ordered by Halcyon management.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Nina.<\/p>\n
\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Sloane\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was his name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin Sloane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina was already searching.<\/p>\n
Martin Sloane had been Halcyon\u2019s regional operations counsel thirty years earlier.<\/p>\n
Victor had not stumbled onto Fairmont as a consultant.<\/p>\n
His own family was connected to it.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel says Martin promised him medical coverage if he signed a statement saying his exposure happened outside work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he sign?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father wrote that Richard Prescott tried to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Richard\u2019s empty chair in my memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave Samuel copies of disposal tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed everything again.<\/p>\n
Richard had admitted dumping.<\/p>\n
He had admitted silence.<\/p>\n
But apparently, at least once, he had tried to expose something.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes the letter say what happened to the copies?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould they be Leonard\u2019s records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn, I need you to bring that box to Nina.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already called a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a long pause.<\/p>\n
Then she asked, \u201cDid my father die because of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not give her certainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think they knew he was sick because of exposure?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
At Nina.<\/p>\n
At the structure on the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word hurt.<\/p>\n
Evelyn was silent.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cI want everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll get everything we lawfully can give you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean I want everything investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the call, Daniel sat down again.<\/p>\n
He looked defeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was protecting Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were protecting silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew enough before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes were red.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could be charged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could lose everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re still going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you be so certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause certainty is not the same as comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family built this whole structure around one assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat if the consequences became painful enough, someone would hide the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched the documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard hid dumping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hid records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatricia hid ownership schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew hid transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor hid Halcyon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd everyone assumed the next person would keep carrying it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done carrying it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, he did not ask me to reconsider.<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s laptop chimed.<\/p>\n
An email had arrived from Mara Chen.<\/p>\n
Subject: URGENT \u2014 NORTHCREST INTERNAL FINDINGS.<\/p>\n
She opened it.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthcrest found internal messages between Graham Vale and Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina read silently.<\/p>\n
Then aloud.<\/p>\n
Need Prescott closed before Morgan reengages.<\/p>\n
Second message:<\/p>\n
Halcyon exposure stays buried if the structure holds.<\/p>\n
Third:<\/p>\n
D.P. will do what\u2019s necessary if he thinks control is at risk.<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
He had not merely been a collaborator.<\/p>\n
He had been assessed.<\/p>\n
Predicted.<\/p>\n
Used.<\/p>\n
Nina scrolled farther.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one more.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham wrote: If Prescott balks, remind him what happens to his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face collapsed.<\/p>\n
The threat he thought he was managing had been managed around him from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Victor Sloane did not answer Nina\u2019s first call. He did not answer the second. By the third, his voicemail had been disabled. Nina looked at her phone. \u201cThat\u2019s usually not … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12110","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\/12110","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=12110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12138,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12110\/revisions\/12138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}