{"id":14886,"date":"2026-09-20T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14886"},"modified":"2026-09-20T15:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:35:00","slug":"part-13-david-knew-emily-reeds-name-because-peter-had-been-searching-for-her-long-before-my-mother-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14886","title":{"rendered":"PART 13 \u2013 David Knew Emily Reed\u2019s Name Because Peter Had Been Searching for Her Long Before My Mother Died"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I stared at David\u2019s message until the words blurred.<\/p>\n<p>Emily Reed is not safe if Peter finds her first.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel read it over my shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow does he know her name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is what I intend to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I called David.<\/p>\n<p>He answered before the first ring finished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn&#39;t your concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah, this isn&#39;t a game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. It stopped being a game when I found my forged signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen to me. You need to stay away from Emily until we know who else is watching her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s expression sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew about Emily before today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore Mom died?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at my mother\u2019s handwritten inventory again.<\/p>\n<p>She had moved the discrepancy pages because she trusted none of the men involved.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps she had known exactly how close they were getting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Peter tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Thomas Reed had a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat cannot be all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thought Thomas may have left records with family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he wanted you to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you investigated her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI looked her up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you contact her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel wrote something on her legal pad.<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cHow did Peter know Emily existed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublic records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn&#39;t an answer. Anyone can find a name. Why did she matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David remained quiet long enough that I knew the next answer would cost him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Daniel Vance had been trying to locate Thomas\u2019s missing documents before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel died years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Peter inherited the search.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know what his father told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou seem to know plenty when it benefits you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He ignored that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah, if Evelyn sent something to Emily, Peter will want it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already know that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, you don&#39;t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice became urgent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think Peter wants proof he is owed money. It is bigger than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I met him the first time, he told me Thomas\u2019s records could expose people who are still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never gave me names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you kept working with him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI needed financing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was again.<\/p>\n<p>Need as absolution.<\/p>\n<p>I looked around the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>Boxes filled with the remains of decisions people had made while telling themselves they had no choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Peter say the records contained?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOffshore accounts. Investor side agreements. Political donations. Private settlements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom twenty-five years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome structures continued long after Carter Meridian was sold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother had written that Daniel\u2019s influence extended beyond the company.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the sale had ended one corporate entity without ending the financial network behind it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Mom know this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think she started to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I gripped the phone harder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Michael tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn&#39;t there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou always have enough information to create another question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah, I am trying to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You&#39;re trying to stay necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went silent.<\/p>\n<p>I had finally identified the pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Every time David\u2019s control weakened, he revealed one more secret.<\/p>\n<p>Never the whole truth.<\/p>\n<p>Just enough that I still needed him for the next answer.<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cTell me everything you know about Emily Reed now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe works in compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA regional bank outside Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Reed\u2019s daughter had become someone whose career revolved around financial rules.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe lives alone. Divorced. No children. She handled her mother Margaret\u2019s finances before Margaret died two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret was Thomas\u2019s wife?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ever visit Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Peter ask you to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI refused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want credit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you refuse?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause by then I knew who Peter\u2019s father was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYet you continued taking his financing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#39;ve already admitted that was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You have admitted it was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>That difference mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel tapped the address written on her pad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should verify Emily is safe before going there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>I asked David, \u201cHas Peter contacted Emily recently?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did he last mention her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA week ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether Evelyn had ever spoken about the Reeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas that true?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just told me Evelyn sent something to Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I froze.<\/p>\n<p>I had not.<\/p>\n<p>Not on the call.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>She noticed too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid,\u201d I said quietly, \u201chow do you know Mom sent something to Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then a curse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assumed\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I told you nothing about the trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stopped talking.<\/p>\n<p>The storage unit seemed suddenly too exposed.<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward the corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stood.<\/p>\n<p>We both understood at the same moment.<\/p>\n<p>Peter knew about the trunk.<\/p>\n<p>He knew before I did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTen minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe called me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether you had gone to Lakeshore. Then he said if you found the Reed connection, you needed to stay out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter knows we&#39;re here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel was already gathering the photographed records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk how.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did.<\/p>\n<p>David said, \u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell him where I was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Brenda?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen someone else did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The storage manager.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Michael.<\/p>\n<p>Or Peter had simply followed the trail we were following.<\/p>\n<p>I ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel immediately called Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need someone to contact Emily directly and confirm her safety without giving away why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel arranged for a private investigator who already worked with the estate to make the call.<\/p>\n<p>While we waited, I searched Emily\u2019s name online.<\/p>\n<p>Her professional profile appeared first.<\/p>\n<p>Emily Margaret Reed.<\/p>\n<p>Senior compliance officer.<\/p>\n<p>A photograph showed a woman with dark blond hair, direct eyes and a composed expression.<\/p>\n<p>She looked nothing like the frightened child I had imagined.<\/p>\n<p>She looked capable.<\/p>\n<p>That comforted me slightly.<\/p>\n<p>Then I saw a conference biography from six months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Emily had spoken on a panel about financial fraud.<\/p>\n<p>The title of her presentation made me sit back.<\/p>\n<p>Why Old Records Still Matter: Detecting Hidden Liabilities Across Corporate Generations.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel read it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is either coincidence or your mother chose her very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother didn&#39;t believe in coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither did I anymore.<\/p>\n<p>The investigator called Samuel back.<\/p>\n<p>Emily had not answered her phone.<\/p>\n<p>Her employer said she had taken the day off.<\/p>\n<p>Her car was registered at her address.<\/p>\n<p>No one had seen her that morning.<\/p>\n<p>I felt fear move through me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#39;re going there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#39;ll request a local officer for a welfare check.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t want police arriving first and frightening her if she is simply home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don&#39;t know whether she is simply home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was right.<\/p>\n<p>We compromised.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel contacted a retired detective used by the firm who could reach the address before us.<\/p>\n<p>We left the storage facility.<\/p>\n<p>I drove behind Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>At the first traffic light, David called again.<\/p>\n<p>I ignored it.<\/p>\n<p>Then Brenda.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice sounded strained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wouldn&#39;t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he take the scanner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My grip tightened on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrenda, listen carefully. Lock the office. Do not let anyone into the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Jason coming?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot unless I tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about David?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>It was still his home too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not interfere physically if he comes back. Call me. Call Samuel. Photograph anything he removes if you safely can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She whispered, \u201cWhat is happening?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat scares me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt should.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated saying it.<\/p>\n<p>But softening reality had created enough damage.<\/p>\n<p>A new message arrived from Michael.<\/p>\n<p>Peter contacted me.<\/p>\n<p>I called him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he mention Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Evelyn made a mistake involving Thomas\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wouldn&#39;t explain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell him I know about Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know Mom sent her the trunk?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost believed him.<\/p>\n<p>Almost.<\/p>\n<p>Then he said, \u201cBut it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn trusted Margaret Reed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was new.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told me she barely knew Thomas\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said very little because there was very little I could prove.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow well?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Thomas died, Evelyn helped her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe education trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe helped Margaret relocate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Margaret was frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she ever say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s uncertainty sounded genuine.<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cCould Margaret have known what Thomas discovered?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she ever have the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I kept it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat might she have had?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas kept copies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer hit me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCopies of what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before I could ask more, Rachel called.<\/p>\n<p>I switched lines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur investigator is at Emily\u2019s address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFront door is open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOpen how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlocked and partially ajar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs anyone inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe hasn&#39;t entered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlready called.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We were fourteen minutes away.<\/p>\n<p>Those fourteen minutes lasted longer than the entire morning.<\/p>\n<p>When we arrived, two police vehicles were parked along the curb.<\/p>\n<p>The house was small, brick, carefully maintained.<\/p>\n<p>No broken windows.<\/p>\n<p>No obvious damage.<\/p>\n<p>An officer spoke with Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>I stayed near the driveway.<\/p>\n<p>After several minutes, she returned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmily isn&#39;t inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSigns of a struggle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything missing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey can&#39;t determine that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer car?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the open front door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago area code.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A woman whispered, \u201cSarah Carter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I straightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Emily Reed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned away from the officers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone is at your house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI left before they arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmily, my mother sent you something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have the pages she removed from CMH-17?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relief and fear hit together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter Vance knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he came to my office three days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same thing everyone eventually wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas Reed\u2019s evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father&#39;s records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you give him anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour mother was already dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Right.<\/p>\n<p>Six months.<\/p>\n<p>My sense of time had collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Peter say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Evelyn had left me something that didn&#39;t belong to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he threaten you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did you leave your house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emily\u2019s voice became colder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause yesterday someone broke into my office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the police cars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was taken?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded familiar.<\/p>\n<p>The break-in at my childhood home.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing valuable taken.<\/p>\n<p>Only papers disturbed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat were they looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmily, I need to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to know whether I can trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don&#39;t know me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I don&#39;t know you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is why your mother left instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat instructions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said before I showed you anything, I should ask you one question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat question?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emily paused.<\/p>\n<p>Then said, \u201cYour mother wanted to know whether, when you learned the truth about David, you protected him or yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked down the quiet suburban street.<\/p>\n<p>The answer came without hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMyself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emily breathed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen she said I could trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14887\">Click here to continue reading: PART 14: Emily Reed Opened My Mother\u2019s Trunk, and the Missing Pages Proved Someone Had Rewritten Carter Meridian\u2019s Financial History<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I stared at David\u2019s message until the words blurred. Emily Reed is not safe if Peter finds her first. Rachel read it over my shoulder. \u201cHow does he know her &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14886","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\/14886","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=14886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14912,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14886\/revisions\/14912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}