Margaret Caldwell did not ask what I was thinking.<\/p>\n
She knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter wasn't naming me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wasn't there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou arranged Vanessa's hospital access.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou monitored Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Dad's room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were secretly working with my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also had motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat motive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Peter exposed the development fraud, your family's company could collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband's company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wealth too.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn accurate lawyer's distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cWhere were you at 1:34?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
William and Margaret had two sons.<\/p>\n
At least, that was what I remembered.<\/p>\n
Margaret looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe died eighteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked for William. You weren't family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something about that sentence unsettled Vanessa.<\/p>\n
I noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes remained on Margaret.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca didn't die eighteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret went completely still.<\/p>\n
William's wife had looked frightened before.<\/p>\n
This was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca Caldwell disappeared eighteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOverdose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBody?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her silence answered.<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Rebecca involved with Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret's eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Vanessa answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence took several seconds to make sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret's face crumpled.<\/p>\n
Not theatrically.<\/p>\n
Quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore William.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was with Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were young.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had a child together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid William know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family tree had become a map of hidden leverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Rebecca disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe became involved with Thomas's schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer own father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found her after she was an adult.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo use her against William.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had access to Caldwell accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor's title work.<\/p>\n
William's money.<\/p>\n
Thomas's claims.<\/p>\n
Margaret's investigation.<\/p>\n
Maybe Rebecca connected them all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened eighteen years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret rubbed her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca stole money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly three million.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom William?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom one of the development entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas kill her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy say she overdosed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that is what Thomas told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca was alive after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI met her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret's face emptied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Anne's.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the pieces rearrange.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca was at the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came with Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second person in Ortega's stolen Mercedes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas entered disguised.<\/p>\n
Rebecca came with him.<\/p>\n
But only one person left in the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did Rebecca go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she have medical experience?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
We turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a respiratory therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew IV systems?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBasic hospital procedures, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould she create an air embolism?\u201d<\/p>\n
Priya answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany medically trained people could understand the mechanism. That doesn't prove anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the possibility was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Rebecca kill Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven't seen her in eighteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy was she with Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca hated Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she believed he caused Thomas's imprisonment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe testified against Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed Peter stole the family land.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas had passed his grievance to his daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Rebecca work with William?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOld property records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder what name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cole.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour surname.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she related to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used your name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave me mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked at Margaret.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca recruited me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said I recruited you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca found me first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted someone inside Caldwell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Rebecca was your original employer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Margaret later thought she'd independently recruited you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell either woman?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho were you really working for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid William know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat slowly.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Caldwell\u2014Thomas Carter's daughter\u2014had inserted Vanessa into the Caldwell organization years before Dad died.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret Caldwell unknowingly recruited the same woman.<\/p>\n
Vanessa had become a double agent before William ever used her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was Rebecca the night Dad died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost her after she entered the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see her again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Peter died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployee locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat condition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood on her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa's eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Thomas had lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
That pointed toward him.<\/p>\n
But Dad had said not Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Peter recognized her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad know Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Margaret whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe grew up around the Carters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Thomas went to prison?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould Dad trust her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hurt unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
My father had a niece I never knew existed.<\/p>\n
He had loved her.<\/p>\n
Then erased that entire branch of the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould he call her Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen his final word wasn't Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cUnless he was trying to identify Rebecca through her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Possible.<\/p>\n
But strained.<\/p>\n
Priya's radio interrupted.<\/p>\n
The investigators had located a retired St. Anne's nurse listed in the incident report.<\/p>\n
Her name was Carol Bennett.<\/p>\n
She had been the first nurse into Dad's room after the monitor alarm.<\/p>\n
And she was alive.<\/p>\n
Priya arranged a video call.<\/p>\n
Carol appeared twenty minutes later on a tablet screen.<\/p>\n
Seventy now.<\/p>\n
White hair.<\/p>\n
Alert eyes.<\/p>\n
She remembered Dad immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some reason that nearly broke me.<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Bennett, do you remember what Dad said before he died?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he speak?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBriefly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he tried to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat words?\u201d<\/p>\n
She thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething about Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone in the command vehicle froze.<\/p>\n
Margaret Caldwell leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
She whispered the sounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Tom. Marg\u2026 got\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was saying \u2018Marg got\u2019 or \u2018Mark got.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel immediately looked at me.<\/p>\n
Not a name.<\/p>\n
A phrase.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it have been \u2018Mark got\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is Mark?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she remembered something else.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe pointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt his arm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IV?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n
A mark on his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of mark?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw bruising.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the IV?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a small ink mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat shape?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret Caldwell inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used to mark injection sites.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she worked respiratory care, she drew a tiny circle when documenting difficult vascular access.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priya interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not unique enough to identify a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Margaret said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Peter would recognize it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca treated him once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Dad may have been saying the mark got\u2014what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol suddenly leaned toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face brightened with recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Not Tom. Mark got changed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Daniel repeated it.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Tom. Mark got changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad had not named Margaret.<\/p>\n
He had told them Thomas was not responsible and something about a mark being changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat mark?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IV tubing had a date and initials.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cInitials?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Staff marked lines when replacing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the mark altered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember thinking it looked overwritten.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what to what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn't tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priya asked, \u201cWould the removed tubing have been preserved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol's expression darkened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the police arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho removed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Carol paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the vehicle went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat woman?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me risk management needed the tubing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDescription?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMid-thirties. Dark hair. Hospital scrubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot me. I was blonde then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she give a name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Then opened them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa went pale.<\/p>\n
Rachel Cole.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's alias.<\/p>\n
Carol continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took the tubing.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father had cleared Thomas with his final words.<\/p>\n
The evidence disappeared moments later.<\/p>\n
And the woman who removed it had used Vanessa's surname.<\/p>\n
I looked at Margaret Caldwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour daughter was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began crying silently.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked toward the dark warehouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe contacted me three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Thomas was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas had looked very much alive before being shot, but perhaps he had an illness we didn't know about.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she needed to finish what started at St. Anne's.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say what that meant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did she contact you from?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa took out her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn encrypted email.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel examined the message.<\/p>\n
There was no obvious location.<\/p>\n
But an attachment had been included.<\/p>\n
A photograph.<\/p>\n
I recognized the room immediately.<\/p>\n
My kitchen.<\/p>\n
Taken from outside my house.<\/p>\n
Recent.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had been watching me.<\/p>\n
Under the photograph was one sentence:<\/p>\n
ELENA STILL HAS WHAT PETER KEPT FROM US.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Dad keep from them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
Then Robert looked toward the packet from box 317.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never finished opening everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was right.<\/p>\n
One envelope remained sealed.<\/p>\n
Not addressed to me.<\/p>\n
Not Robert.<\/p>\n
Not Samuel.<\/p>\n
Across the front, in Dad's handwriting, were two words.<\/p>\n
FOR REBECCA.<\/p>\n
Margaret Caldwell did not ask what I was thinking. She knew. \u201cPeter wasn't naming me.\u201d \u201cHow can you know?\u201d \u201cBecause I wasn't there.\u201d \u201cYou arranged Vanessa's hospital access.\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cYou … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12172","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\/12172","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=12172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12196,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12172\/revisions\/12196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}