{"id":14963,"date":"2026-09-20T16:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14963"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:06:29","slug":"part-26-marlenes-lie-about-thomass-death-forced-the-mercer-family-into-one-final-confrontation-and-evelyn-learned-which-daughter-she-had-truly-saved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14963","title":{"rendered":"PART 26 \u2013 Marlene\u2019s Lie About Thomas\u2019s Death Forced the Mercer Family Into One Final Confrontation, and Evelyn Learned Which Daughter She Had Truly Saved"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rachel went to the detention center immediately.<\/p>\n<p>No delay.<\/p>\n<p>No discussion.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene was brought into the interview room wearing the same plain jail uniform as before.<\/p>\n<p>When she saw Rachel\u2019s face, she knew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel placed it on the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said you weren&#39;t there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene looked at the image.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel laughed.<\/p>\n<p>There was no patience left in it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody is afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene lowered her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene stared at the photograph for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>Then began.<\/p>\n<p>She had been seventeen.<\/p>\n<p>Still living under the name Marlene Pike.<\/p>\n<p>Voss controlled her housing.<\/p>\n<p>Halcyon controlled her work.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn had finally found her.<\/p>\n<p>Not publicly.<\/p>\n<p>Not safely.<\/p>\n<p>They met in secret.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMama told me Thomas was gathering evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s hands tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe called him Mama?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes.<\/p>\n<p>Not always.<\/p>\n<p>Their relationship had been broken and reconstructed in fragments.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn believed surrendering Thomas\u2019s evidence might keep Emily alive.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas refused.<\/p>\n<p>He planned to take Rachel and Lucas and leave the state.<\/p>\n<p>Then he received a message.<\/p>\n<p>Emily wanted out.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene had asked for help.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas drove to meet her.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn came too.<\/p>\n<p>Hale followed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened on the road?\u201d Rachel asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHale tried to block us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUs?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was in the back seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared.<\/p>\n<p>The official story never mentioned a third passenger.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene continued.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas swerved.<\/p>\n<p>The car hit the barrier.<\/p>\n<p>Rolled.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene was thrown through a broken rear window.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn crawled out.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas remained trapped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHale came down the embankment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith a gun?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he shoot Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he stop you from helping?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene\u2019s mouth trembled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said the car was going to burn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was fuel everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Mom do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe tried to open his door.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI froze.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas was conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told Mama to take me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had chosen Emily.<\/p>\n<p>The daughter he had believed dead.<\/p>\n<p>The daughter he had spent years trying to recover.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told her where the storage unit was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s how she knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHale said police were coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said if they found me alive, Voss would know Evelyn had been meeting me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said they would take you and Lucas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel felt sick.<\/p>\n<p>Hale had turned rescue into a choice.<\/p>\n<p>Stay with Thomas and risk exposing Emily.<\/p>\n<p>Or run with Emily and leave Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene whispered, \u201cThe fire started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Dad say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s face twisted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told you to go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI pulled her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene began crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI pulled her away from him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There.<\/p>\n<p>The secret.<\/p>\n<p>Not Evelyn abandoning Thomas alone.<\/p>\n<p>Emily did it too.<\/p>\n<p>More precisely, Emily made the final physical choice.<\/p>\n<p>She dragged Evelyn from the burning vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to live,\u201d Marlene said.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s anger faltered.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene was seventeen.<\/p>\n<p>Terrified.<\/p>\n<p>Recently recovered from years of manipulation.<\/p>\n<p>Standing beside a burning car while an armed man threatened the remaining children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI pulled her up the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe followed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMade us promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPromise what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Thomas died alone. That I was never there. That Evelyn died too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he could make me disappear again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene touched her chest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel sat.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, she understood why Evelyn\u2019s story about the crash felt both true and incomplete.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn had let Thomas die.<\/p>\n<p>She also tried to save him.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas ordered her to leave.<\/p>\n<p>Emily dragged her away.<\/p>\n<p>Hale weaponized the threat to the remaining children.<\/p>\n<p>There was no clean version.<\/p>\n<p>No single villain inside that moment except the system that had created the choices.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel asked, \u201cDid Mom ever blame you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe blamed herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you blame her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I blamed Thomas for not just giving Voss the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI blame Voss. Hale. Orton. Mom. Myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She wiped her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepends on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>That might have been the most honest thing Marlene had ever said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn&#39;t you tell us after Hale was arrested?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause then you&#39;d know I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene looked toward the mirror.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid you would stop seeing me as the stolen sister and start seeing what I became.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n<p>When she did, her voice was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already see both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou helped steal my children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou drove Eli away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou helped forge placements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou also got trapped in this before you were old enough to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn&#39;t erase what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut what you did doesn&#39;t erase what happened to you either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene began to cry.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel did not reach across the table.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>Some wounds did not need immediate physical comfort.<\/p>\n<p>Some needed space.<\/p>\n<p>After the interview, Rachel called Evelyn from the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI talked to Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe shouldn\u2019t have carried that alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeither should you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn looked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe pulled me away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hated myself because part of me was relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelieved I didn&#39;t have to decide anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That confession cost Evelyn something.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel could see it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad told you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmily was seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHale threatened us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still made choices afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn looked at her daughter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s where responsibility belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not in one impossible minute beside the burning car.<\/p>\n<p>In the years afterward.<\/p>\n<p>The children she helped erase.<\/p>\n<p>The evidence she concealed.<\/p>\n<p>The choices she repeated once immediate danger had passed.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause now I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time the phrase sounded different.<\/p>\n<p>Not defensive.<\/p>\n<p>Smaller.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel asked, \u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn looked toward the guard outside her hospital room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTestify.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst everyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn had no promise of immunity.<\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors had not decided how to charge her.<\/p>\n<p>She could spend the rest of her life under legal scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>She no longer asked Rachel to shield her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood,\u201d Rachel said.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn smiled sadly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do sound like Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel almost replied.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sound like me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Across the next several days, cases moved faster than anyone could absorb.<\/p>\n<p>Charles Orton was indicted on kidnapping, conspiracy, obstruction, fraud, and charges tied to interstate child trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Additional charges remained likely.<\/p>\n<p>Hale faced similar counts, plus judicial corruption.<\/p>\n<p>Voss faced homicide-related charges connected to Anthony Reed and the concealment of deaths.<\/p>\n<p>Tasha faced abuse, unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy, evidence tampering, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Greg\u2019s cooperation did not erase his own criminal exposure.<\/p>\n<p>He understood that.<\/p>\n<p>Miranda Cross was charged for unlawful confinement, identity fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction, even as investigators documented cases where Sparrow may have protected children from worse harm.<\/p>\n<p>Angela faced charges for record manipulation and participation in illegal placements, though her later cooperation and rescue efforts would matter legally.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Warren faced consequences too.<\/p>\n<p>So did Marlene.<\/p>\n<p>No one became innocent merely because someone else was worse.<\/p>\n<p>That was perhaps the most important change.<\/p>\n<p>For decades, Halcyon survived by forcing binary stories.<\/p>\n<p>Good parent.<\/p>\n<p>Bad parent.<\/p>\n<p>Safe placement.<\/p>\n<p>Unsafe placement.<\/p>\n<p>Compliant child.<\/p>\n<p>Difficult child.<\/p>\n<p>Responsible professional.<\/p>\n<p>Unreliable witness.<\/p>\n<p>Real life refused those categories.<\/p>\n<p>People did harm and good.<\/p>\n<p>Victims became perpetrators.<\/p>\n<p>Perpetrators sometimes tried to stop what they helped create.<\/p>\n<p>Accountability had to follow actions, not labels.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rachel prepared to meet Eli in person.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee\u2019s first in-person meeting with him happened in a neutral family room run by an independent children\u2019s advocacy center.<\/p>\n<p>No Halcyon staff.<\/p>\n<p>No old agency.<\/p>\n<p>No familiar logos.<\/p>\n<p>Mia waited outside because therapists wanted the siblings to meet without extra social pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee agreed.<\/p>\n<p>She wore different shoes.<\/p>\n<p>Not pink.<\/p>\n<p>Blue canvas sneakers.<\/p>\n<p>Her choice.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel noticed.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee noticed her noticing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlue doesn\u2019t get to be theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eli entered holding the yellow blanket scrap.<\/p>\n<p>He stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee stopped too.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds neither child moved.<\/p>\n<p>Then Eli asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember pancakes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember you dropped syrup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That broke the tension.<\/p>\n<p>They sat.<\/p>\n<p>Talked.<\/p>\n<p>Built a tower from wooden blocks.<\/p>\n<p>At one point Eli chose a blue block.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee looked at it.<\/p>\n<p>Then at him.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing happened.<\/p>\n<p>It was just a block.<\/p>\n<p>Later, he asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you really my sister?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDNA says yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel laughed from the observation room.<\/p>\n<p>Eli frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means science checked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He considered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo I have to live with you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee looked toward the adults through the glass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eli seemed relieved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo I have to live with Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one\u2019s making that decision today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel heard and was grateful.<\/p>\n<p>Eli had a right to move slowly.<\/p>\n<p>He had known Sparrow as home.<\/p>\n<p>He cared about the caretaker there.<\/p>\n<p>He had routines.<\/p>\n<p>Friends.<\/p>\n<p>Memories.<\/p>\n<p>Returning him to Rachel immediately because biology existed would repeat Halcyon\u2019s central mistake from the opposite direction.<\/p>\n<p>Attachment could not be treated as paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>Reunification needed care.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel understood that better than anyone.<\/p>\n<p>Legal custody proceedings began with independent evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel did not demand possession.<\/p>\n<p>She asked for contact.<\/p>\n<p>Time.<\/p>\n<p>Trust.<\/p>\n<p>Truth.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee watched her.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that was how Rachel earned the word Mom.<\/p>\n<p>Not by birth certificate.<\/p>\n<p>By refusing to treat children as something adults could claim.<\/p>\n<p>One evening after an Eli visit, Kaylee asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we see Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel knew which one.<\/p>\n<p>Greg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel did not discourage her.<\/p>\n<p>A supervised visit was arranged.<\/p>\n<p>Greg sat behind a table in a secure hospital interview room, still recovering before transfer to detention.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee entered with Dana.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel waited outside.<\/p>\n<p>Greg\u2019s face collapsed when he saw her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t call me that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember Eli.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told me I dreamed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said Mom was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou let Tasha hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou stopped Hale from pointing the gun at me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou showed me Mom\u2019s picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou remember?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. They found the video.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee folded her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know what to do with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don&#39;t have to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was perhaps the first truly parental sentence he had spoken.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee studied him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going to jail?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you stole me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you think you\u2019re my dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greg struggled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn&#39;t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mouth trembled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love you like I\u2019m your dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee waited.<\/p>\n<p>Greg finally said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I shouldn&#39;t get to decide what you call me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stood.<\/p>\n<p>Greg looked panicked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWill I see you again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee looked toward Dana.<\/p>\n<p>Then back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not yes.<\/p>\n<p>Not no.<\/p>\n<p>Her choice.<\/p>\n<p>Greg cried after she left.<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee did not.<\/p>\n<p>Outside, Rachel asked nothing.<\/p>\n<p>They walked to the parking lot together.<\/p>\n<p>Halfway to the car, Kaylee slipped her hand into Rachel\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stopped.<\/p>\n<p>This time Kaylee knew she had said it.<\/p>\n<p>No accident.<\/p>\n<p>No correction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we get Mia?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee rolled hers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re crying again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaylee smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ortiz called.<\/p>\n<p>One unresolved case from the root archive had finally been matched.<\/p>\n<p>The child listed as Lucas Mercer\u2019s reassignment companion\u2014the second child transported with him after Anthony Reed\u2019s death\u2014had been identified.<\/p>\n<p>Name:<\/p>\n<p>Grace Holloway.<\/p>\n<p>Current status:<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>Profession:<\/p>\n<p>Federal judge.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>Because Grace Holloway had signed the emergency warrants that helped expose Halcyon during the last week.<\/p>\n<p>Another blue-circle child had reached a position of power without knowing who she had once been.<\/p>\n<p>And Ortiz had discovered something else.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s original identity was not Holloway.<\/p>\n<p>Her birth surname was Orton.<\/p>\n<p>Charles Orton had a younger sister everyone believed died in childhood.<\/p>\n<p>She had not died.<\/p>\n<p>Halcyon had taken one of its own again.<\/p>\n<p>The Orton family had built a machine so indiscriminate that eventually it consumed the people who created it.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=14964\">Click here to continue reading: PART 27: The Last Blue-Circle Child Became the Judge Who Could Expose Halcyon Publicly, but She Refused to Let Her Stolen Childhood Decide the Verdict<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rachel went to the detention center immediately. No delay. No discussion. Marlene was brought into the interview room wearing the same plain jail uniform as before. When she saw Rachel\u2019s &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14963","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\/14963","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=14963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14991,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14963\/revisions\/14991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}