I called Ella again.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
I called Rachel.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
My hands were shaking.<\/p>\n
Michael took the phone from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't send anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have her photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean they have her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey threatened her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know whether the threat is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we don't make their job easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah stood beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could be in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we can't sit here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called Thomas.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, the house filled with movement.<\/p>\n
Phones.<\/p>\n
Keys.<\/p>\n
Documents.<\/p>\n
Questions.<\/p>\n
I had never seen a crisis organized so quickly.<\/p>\n
It was the opposite of my usual instinct.<\/p>\n
No panic.<\/p>\n
No shouting.<\/p>\n
No reckless decision.<\/p>\n
Everyone had a task.<\/p>\n
Thomas contacted the authorities.<\/p>\n
Michael traced the number.<\/p>\n
Sarah called her sister to confirm the children were safe.<\/p>\n
I called Ella again.<\/p>\n
This time she answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly collapsed with relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm at the library.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone took your photograph from our house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they know where I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think someone followed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDescribe them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA dark sedan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't leave the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs you to keep her safe, not to walk into a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated hearing that.<\/p>\n
Because it was true.<\/p>\n
For once, I had to resist the urge to act simply because action made me feel less helpless.<\/p>\n
Michael sent someone to the library.<\/p>\n
Thomas contacted local authorities.<\/p>\n
Sarah stayed on the phone with Ella.<\/p>\n
I stood beside her, listening.<\/p>\n
Ella sounded frightened.<\/p>\n
But she didn't cry.<\/p>\n
That somehow made it worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d Sarah asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Ella asked, \u201cIs my father there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ella was quiet.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cTell him I don't blame him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
I took the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't change that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I'm going to do what I can now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ella was silent.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cThat's all I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
Sarah looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou heard her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn't need you to become perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs you to keep showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
The words were simple.<\/p>\n
But they felt heavier than anything I had heard in years.<\/p>\n
An hour later, we received confirmation.<\/p>\n
Ella was safe.<\/p>\n
The person following her had left when police arrived.<\/p>\n
No arrest.<\/p>\n
No identification.<\/p>\n
But she was safe.<\/p>\n
For the moment.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas arrived with new information.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis office is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmpty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnew what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat the evidence was moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the ledger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the original?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the copies?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDistributed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means they can't destroy everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I should have felt relieved.<\/p>\n
Instead, I felt something else.<\/p>\n
A question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did they threaten Ella if they knew the evidence was already copied?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they still need something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final page.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the ledger.<\/p>\n
We had photographed nearly everything.<\/p>\n
But one page had been damaged.<\/p>\n
The bottom corner had been torn away.<\/p>\n
I remembered it.<\/p>\n
My father's final entries.<\/p>\n
The names.<\/p>\n
The witness list.<\/p>\n
The note about protecting the children.<\/p>\n
The missing portion could contain the identity of whoever had ordered the relocations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the missing piece?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah's face changed.<\/p>\n
Then she stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She walked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
She opened a cabinet.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Finally, she removed a small metal box.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found this months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat's inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside was a folded piece of paper.<\/p>\n
I recognized the handwriting immediately.<\/p>\n
My father's.<\/p>\n
I unfolded it.<\/p>\n
There was only one paragraph.<\/p>\n
The names of the people responsible had been recorded elsewhere because the ledger itself could be seized.<\/p>\n
Then came a location.<\/p>\n
An abandoned property.<\/p>\n
One I recognized.<\/p>\n
My father had owned it briefly.<\/p>\n
A house outside Charleston.<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to go there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot without protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police would accompany us.<\/p>\n
We would retrieve whatever remained.<\/p>\n
Then everything would be handed over.<\/p>\n
No more secrets.<\/p>\n
No private deals.<\/p>\n
No hiding.<\/p>\n
Before we left, Sarah stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this ends badly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't make this about proving something to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPromise?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to make promises anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked surprised.<\/p>\n
Then smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood what she meant.<\/p>\n
Promises had become words I used when I wanted someone to trust me without giving them evidence.<\/p>\n
Now I needed actions.<\/p>\n
We drove toward the old property.<\/p>\n
The sky had darkened.<\/p>\n
Storm clouds gathered over the trees.<\/p>\n
The abandoned house stood beyond a rusted gate.<\/p>\n
We stopped outside.<\/p>\n
Police officers moved ahead.<\/p>\n
Michael stayed near us.<\/p>\n
Sarah held my hand.<\/p>\n
Not romantically.<\/p>\n
Not as husband and wife.<\/p>\n
Simply because neither of us wanted to walk into that place alone.<\/p>\n
We entered through the broken front door.<\/p>\n
Dust covered everything.<\/p>\n
The house smelled of damp wood.<\/p>\n
A narrow hallway led toward the back.<\/p>\n
My father's old study was still there.<\/p>\n
The desk remained.<\/p>\n
The shelves were empty.<\/p>\n
Michael searched the drawers.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then Sarah noticed a loose floorboard.<\/p>\n
She knelt.<\/p>\n
I helped her lift it.<\/p>\n
Beneath it was a metal case.<\/p>\n
My father's final hiding place.<\/p>\n
We opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside were photographs.<\/p>\n
Bank records.<\/p>\n
A cassette tape.<\/p>\n
And one handwritten letter.<\/p>\n
I picked up the letter.<\/p>\n
The first line made my heart stop.<\/p>\n
David, if you are reading this, then they failed to keep you from knowing the truth.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
My father wrote that the ledger wasn't merely evidence of financial crimes.<\/p>\n
It was proof that several families had been controlled for generations.<\/p>\n
People were threatened with the safety of their children.<\/p>\n
Witnesses were relocated.<\/p>\n
Records were altered.<\/p>\n
And one person had coordinated everything.<\/p>\n
I reached the final line.<\/p>\n
The name was there.<\/p>\n
Edward Mercer.<\/p>\n
But beneath it was another sentence.<\/p>\n
Edward did not act alone.<\/p>\n
I looked at Sarah.<\/p>\n
She was reading over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Then her face went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She pointed to the signature beneath the note.<\/p>\n
I recognized it immediately.<\/p>\n
It belonged to someone we trusted.<\/p>\n
Someone who had helped us for days.<\/p>\n
Someone who had known where every copy of the evidence had gone.<\/p>\n
Michael saw the name.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at the signature.<\/p>\n
Then he whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called Ella again. No answer. I called Rachel. Nothing. My hands were shaking. Michael took the phone from me. \u201cDon't send anything.\u201d \u201cThey have her photograph.\u201d \u201cThat doesn't mean … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14329","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\/14329","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=14329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14354,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14329\/revisions\/14354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}