Susan stared at the cracked plate.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, she didn't move.<\/p>\n
Then she turned off the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Arthur's voice filled the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Your mother made the same mistake.<\/p>\n
She trusted the wrong sister.<\/p>\n
Susan listened without expression.<\/p>\n
When the message ended, she dried her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's trying to divide us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he lying?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt more than a denial would have.<\/p>\n
I sat at the table.<\/p>\n
Lily appeared at the top of the stairs but stayed quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Mom trust you with?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan pulled out a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to tell this carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've had careful for ten years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother gave me power of attorney during the final months of her illness.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing Sanders doesn't know about.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI moved money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily came downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan looked toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor's personal savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy account.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Susan didn't stop me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole from her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put her money in your account.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt her instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question came out sharper than I intended.<\/p>\n
Susan flinched anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a safe-deposit box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Every adult in my family seemed to have hidden documents in boxes.<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the money for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor was afraid Arthur would gain control of everything immediately after her death. The estate documents were strong, but she didn't trust him not to challenge them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she gave you money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan's eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Another missing fund.<\/p>\n
Another betrayal.<\/p>\n
I stepped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily whispered, \u201cOn what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose lawyers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was eight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat legal case?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustody.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen disappeared around that word.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat custody case?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn't one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Eleanor changed her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat again.<\/p>\n
Susan inhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother originally asked me to fight Arthur for guardianship after she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted me to live with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question I had asked days earlier returned.<\/p>\n
Why didn't she leave me with you?<\/p>\n
Susan had said Eleanor thought Arthur would remain my father.<\/p>\n
That had been true.<\/p>\n
But incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must have suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily became still.<\/p>\n
Susan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor dictated a draft guardianship statement. Carol had access to paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily sat slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Mom told Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe confronted Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan's voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't there for the first conversation. I was there for the second.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her if she tried to remove you from him, he would challenge everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust. The house. Her mental capacity. Her medical decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened a dying woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Mom do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe changed the guardianship instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBack to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he told her a custody fight would destroy you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you would be interviewed. Evaluated. Passed between homes. That he would accuse me of manipulating her because she was ill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her he would make the last months of her life a courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of my mother's warning.<\/p>\n
Do not sign because someone who loves you says urgency is proof of love.<\/p>\n
She had learned that lesson the hard way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the two hundred thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept it because she told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Arthur challenged the trust after she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why spend it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there were smaller fights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan stood and left the kitchen.<\/p>\n
She returned with a file box.<\/p>\n
Inside were invoices.<\/p>\n
Attorneys.<\/p>\n
Accountants.<\/p>\n
Estate consultations.<\/p>\n
Private investigators.<\/p>\n
I looked at dates spanning years.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were investigating Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI turned eighteen three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell me then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is becoming a popular excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you'd hate me for not getting you out.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced me.<\/p>\n
Susan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had money. Lawyers. Evidence that Arthur was manipulative. And I still let you stay with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't let me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom changed the instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have challenged him anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you have won?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facts.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
I looked through the invoices.<\/p>\n
One private investigator had billed Susan repeatedly around the time Arthur met Carol publicly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Arthur had misused estate money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found suspicious things. Not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you find Carol?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears before Arthur introduced her as his girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily turned pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew they had been together before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't tell Diane?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan's expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you were nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everybody just decided children shouldn't know anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bluntness surprised us.<\/p>\n
Susan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd sometimes that was correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither of us argued.<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
Children did not need every adult betrayal placed in their hands.<\/p>\n
But hiding harm and hiding complexity were not always the same thing.<\/p>\n
I looked at the investigator reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad know you were investigating?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat explains the voicemail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants me to distrust you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there anything else he can use?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan went still.<\/p>\n
That answer was visible.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was one document I didn't give Sanders.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Eleanor asked me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat document?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan opened the bottom of the file box.<\/p>\n
A sealed plastic sleeve.<\/p>\n
Inside was a handwritten statement.<\/p>\n
My mother's.<\/p>\n
Not a copy.<\/p>\n
Original.<\/p>\n
Dated eleven days before her death.<\/p>\n
I read.<\/p>\n
If Arthur contests Diane's inheritance or attempts to transfer Magnolia before Diane is eighteen, Susan may release all records regarding my concerns about his financial conduct and my planned guardianship change.<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
Below that:<\/p>\n
If he leaves the estate intact and raises Diane without interfering in her inheritance, these records should remain private. I do not want my daughter growing up believing her father was only the worst thing he ever did.<\/p>\n
I stopped reading.<\/p>\n
The words blurred.<\/p>\n
That was my mother.<\/p>\n
Even while protecting me, she had tried to protect my memory of him.<\/p>\n
She had left him a path.<\/p>\n
Raise Diane.<\/p>\n
Leave her inheritance alone.<\/p>\n
Let the worst thing stay buried.<\/p>\n
Arthur had been given ten years to keep one promise.<\/p>\n
He hadn't.<\/p>\n
I looked at Susan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you release this when he started taking money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know the full extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you know enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was waiting for Sanders to secure the property first.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made legal sense.<\/p>\n
Emotionally, I still hated it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else knows about this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows Eleanor wrote something. He doesn't know I still have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The voicemail made sense now.<\/p>\n
Arthur was probing.<\/p>\n
Trying to make me force Susan's hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Sanders.\u201d<\/p>\n
We did.<\/p>\n
He arrived within an hour.<\/p>\n
When Susan showed him the statement, his expression moved from surprise to anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor never gave this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't want it in the estate file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Arthur might discover it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders read the whole page twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis corroborates her concerns about financial pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it help?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPattern. Intent. Her state of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Susan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it explains why you were paying private investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan nodded.<\/p>\n
Sanders asked for every invoice, report and note.<\/p>\n
We spread them across the dining table.<\/p>\n
One investigator report stood out.<\/p>\n
Date: nine years earlier.<\/p>\n
Subject: Arthur Reynolds.<\/p>\n
Observation: repeated visits to Pacific Crest Bank.<\/p>\n
Account connection: unknown.<\/p>\n
The following page contained a photograph of Arthur entering the branch with Carol.<\/p>\n
Another report.<\/p>\n
Five years earlier.<\/p>\n
Arthur meeting a man named Joel Mercer.<\/p>\n
I didn't recognize him.<\/p>\n
Sanders did.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worked for the trust administrator that acquired the education account.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company that approved Lily as beneficiary?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
We found six meetings between Arthur and Mercer over three years.<\/p>\n
Susan had never known why they mattered.<\/p>\n
Now we did.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Mercer still there?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Sanders searched his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cRetired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we find him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales found him faster.<\/p>\n
Joel Mercer lived in Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n
When contacted, he initially refused to speak.<\/p>\n
Then detectives mentioned forged beneficiary documents.<\/p>\n
He changed his mind.<\/p>\n
The next morning, Morales called.<\/p>\n
Mercer admitted Arthur had pressured him to process unusual trust changes.<\/p>\n
Not through threats.<\/p>\n
Through money.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Morales answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifty thousand dollars over several years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBribes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer describes them as consulting payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he knew the beneficiary substitution was questionable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuestionable?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe claims he believed Eleanor had signed documents before her death that were processed later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years later?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales didn't defend him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the education account?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer says Arthur insisted Lily was functionally Diane's sibling and that Eleanor would have approved family educational use.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother never met Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer kept emails.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed everything.<\/p>\n
Arthur had always been careful verbally.<\/p>\n
The ledger was damaging.<\/p>\n
Recordings more so.<\/p>\n
Emails could connect instructions directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen do we see them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce processed.\u201d<\/p>\n
By evening, we had one.<\/p>\n
Forwarded from Mercer.<\/p>\n
Arthur to Mercer.<\/p>\n
Subject: beneficiary update.<\/p>\n
Process as discussed. Do not contact Diane. She is a minor and emotionally fragile. All family educational expenses are approved under my authority.<\/p>\n
Sanders read it silently.<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
Emotionally fragile.<\/p>\n
Arthur had been using that description for years whenever someone tried to contact me directly.<\/p>\n
The same story he told Victor.<\/p>\n
The same story he told estate administrators.<\/p>\n
The same story he probably told himself.<\/p>\n
A second email followed.<\/p>\n
Mercer questioning whether direct guardian authority extended to beneficiary substitution.<\/p>\n
Arthur replied:<\/p>\n
Use the executed amendment. E signed. C witnessed. There is no issue.<\/p>\n
Eleanor signed.<\/p>\n
Carol witnessed.<\/p>\n
Both false.<\/p>\n
A third email.<\/p>\n
Mercer asking for clarification because Eleanor's date of death predated the amendment.<\/p>\n
Arthur's response:<\/p>\n
Dating discrepancy is clerical. Process it.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Not perfect proof of forgery by itself.<\/p>\n
But no ignorance.<\/p>\n
No innocent reliance.<\/p>\n
He had been warned about the impossible date.<\/p>\n
He told Mercer to proceed.<\/p>\n
Arthur's defense was collapsing document by document.<\/p>\n
Then Morales called again.<\/p>\n
His voice was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur didn't appear for a scheduled interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe his lawyer canceled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis attorney can't reach him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily came into the room.<\/p>\n
She heard enough from my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Morales continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis vehicle was found at Los Angeles International Airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe flew somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo record under his name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean he didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPassport?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Carol asking about my passport.<\/p>\n
Identity manipulation was not theoretical in this family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about his house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmpty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did anyone last see him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at my mother's statement lying on the table.<\/p>\n
Arthur had spent years controlling everyone else's movement.<\/p>\n
Mine.<\/p>\n
Carol's.<\/p>\n
Lily's.<\/p>\n
Victor's.<\/p>\n
Now, for the first time, he had vanished from everyone else's view.<\/p>\n
Then Lily's phone rang.<\/p>\n
She looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Her face drained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone froze.<\/p>\n
Morales spoke through my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not answer alone. Put it on speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur's voice came through clearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily started crying instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales was already recording.<\/p>\n
Arthur continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiane is going to destroy everything if she keeps listening to those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily looked at me.<\/p>\n
I stayed silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe isn't destroying anything,\u201d Lily said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't understand what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand Mom pretended to be Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand you used my name to move Diane's money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur's tone changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn't matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt matters because they're manipulating you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Then Arthur said, \u201cI need you to do one thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a file in my study.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales shook his head violently.<\/p>\n
Lily saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat file?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue binder. Bottom cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt proves Victor is lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
Arthur continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBring it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then gave an address.<\/p>\n
Morales wrote it immediately.<\/p>\n
A marina in Long Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome alone,\u201d Arthur said.<\/p>\n
Lily looked at me.<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales muted his recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily looked terrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to meet him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want him to think you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur had finally stopped using paperwork.<\/p>\n
Now he was asking his favorite daughter to walk into the middle of his escape.<\/p>\n
Susan stared at the cracked plate. For several seconds, she didn't move. Then she turned off the water. \u201cPlay it.\u201d I did. Arthur's voice filled the kitchen. Your mother made … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12216","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\/12216","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=12216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12240,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12216\/revisions\/12240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}