{"id":17771,"date":"2026-09-23T15:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17771"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:36:17","slug":"part-6-rebecca-found-the-mercer-access-record-my-father-tried-to-destroy-and-the-name-beside-mine-belonged-to-a-man-who-was-supposed-to-have-vanished-twenty-two-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17771","title":{"rendered":"PART 6 \u2013 Rebecca Found the Mercer Access Record My Father Tried to Destroy, and the Name Beside Mine Belonged to a Man Who Was Supposed to Have Vanished Twenty-Two Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rebecca did not let Daniel leave.<\/p>\n<p>Neither did Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene tried once to say we should all go home, sleep, and deal with the rest in the morning.<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just had a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t slept properly in two days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd somehow I\u2019m still the person in this room asking the clearest questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene sat back down.<\/p>\n<p>Claire adjusted Luca against her chest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo nobody leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t ask me to overrule her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca spread the Mercer documents across the narrow hospital table.<\/p>\n<p>She had photographed several originals before bringing them. Others had come from county filings, old insurance records, and documents Thomas Vale apparently believed nobody would connect.<\/p>\n<p>One page carried a faded diagram.<\/p>\n<p>Not of the building.<\/p>\n<p>Of access levels.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca tapped the top.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer wasn\u2019t just owned in shares. Entry itself was divided.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>There were four columns.<\/p>\n<p>CARTER.<\/p>\n<p>BENNETT.<\/p>\n<p>SLOAN.<\/p>\n<p>RENNER.<\/p>\n<p>Claire said, \u201cFour families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFour custodians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFamilies inherit. Custodians are appointed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcept the Carter and Bennett interests clearly became hereditary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho changed them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would the man Dad feared give me permanent access?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel answered quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Charles didn\u2019t fear you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s hand stopped moving over Luca\u2019s blanket.<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cExplain that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles believed Mercer needed someone outside the original group eventually. Somebody raised without knowing the structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds noble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cControl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted a successor he could shape later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael believed so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Claire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire gave a short, humorless laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene said, \u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe deserves the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m giving it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You\u2019re giving the parts that make Michael responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at his wife.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene\u2019s face trembled, but she continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou signed too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSigned what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe restriction order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s chair scraped against the floor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen tell them what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2004, after Charles disappeared, Michael and I signed instructions preventing either of you from being told about Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou made a legal agreement to lie to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause two people had already died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca\u2019s head lifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene whispered, \u201cPeter\u2019s wife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca turned toward her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was her name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca Renner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The attorney beside us went still.<\/p>\n<p>Not because it was her name.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the surname.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelated to Charles?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cPeter Sloan married Charles Renner\u2019s sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd she died?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCar accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOctober 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Charles disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeven months later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnybody else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>I already knew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdam Renner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles\u2019s son?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe disappeared in December.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Charles disappears, his sister dies, then his son disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you all decided the solution was not telling us anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believed someone was eliminating people connected to Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Michael suspected Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense if Charles had disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca opened her laptop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found an Adam Renner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at her sharply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot where. When.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned the screen.<\/p>\n<p>A corporate filing from eighteen years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Renner.<\/p>\n<p>Authorized representative.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer Storage Cooperative.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stood so quickly his chair nearly fell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca enlarged the signature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecognize it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene did.<\/p>\n<p>Her hand went to her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Claire saw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s Charles\u2019s handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot know that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw his notes for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked from one to the other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen somebody filed documents under Adam\u2019s name using Charles\u2019s handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt suddenly tired.<\/p>\n<p>Not ordinary tired.<\/p>\n<p>The kind that made every object in the room look slightly unreal.<\/p>\n<p>My father had been dead for years.<\/p>\n<p>Yet his decisions were still moving around me.<\/p>\n<p>Charles had disappeared before I was old enough to understand any of this.<\/p>\n<p>Yet his name was now tied to my newborn son.<\/p>\n<p>Claire reached for my hand.<\/p>\n<p>I gave it to her.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca scrolled farther.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an access log.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel moved closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDigitized from a private security archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer never used outside security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently it did for six months in 2005.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She opened the file.<\/p>\n<p>Dates.<\/p>\n<p>Entry times.<\/p>\n<p>Badge numbers.<\/p>\n<p>No full names.<\/p>\n<p>Then one column changed.<\/p>\n<p>AUTHORIZED SPONSOR.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Carter appeared repeatedly.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Sloan.<\/p>\n<p>Then, on March 17, 2005:<\/p>\n<p>ADAM RENNER.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdam was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMissing isn\u2019t dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow old was Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca scrolled.<\/p>\n<p>Another entry.<\/p>\n<p>March 17.<\/p>\n<p>Two hours after Adam\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>EVAN CARTER.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never been inside Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked sick.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca examined the code.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis may not mean physical entry. It could mean credential creation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dad create access in my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene whispered, \u201cMichael took Evan somewhere that spring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked apologetic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were supposed to spend a weekend with us. Michael cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered.<\/p>\n<p>Barely.<\/p>\n<p>A fishing trip.<\/p>\n<p>Dad had driven for hours.<\/p>\n<p>We had stopped at a diner.<\/p>\n<p>Then a motel.<\/p>\n<p>I had thought the trip was pointless because we never actually fished.<\/p>\n<p>My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe took me north.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer is south.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cUnless he was establishing an alibi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n<p>I searched the memory.<\/p>\n<p>Dad buying coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Dad checking the parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>Dad insisting I stay in the motel room while he went to get food.<\/p>\n<p>He had been gone almost three hours.<\/p>\n<p>I had watched some terrible action movie twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe left me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fishing trip.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cExact date?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpring break.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She checked the access log.<\/p>\n<p>March 17.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her screen.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s badge entered Mercer at 8:41 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>My credential activated at 8:47.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Renner\u2019s badge had entered at 6:12.<\/p>\n<p>No exit time.<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cMichael met Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe record says somebody using Adam\u2019s credentials entered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cAnd Dad used my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody corrected me.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca opened another file.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was attached to the same archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A scan.<\/p>\n<p>Handwritten.<\/p>\n<p>My father\u2019s writing.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized it instantly.<\/p>\n<p>EVAN WAS NEVER HERE.<\/p>\n<p>IF THE CARTER CREDENTIAL APPEARS, IT WAS ME.<\/p>\n<p>DO NOT LET CHARLES PUT THIS ON MY SON.<\/p>\n<p>I read it twice.<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cHe was protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever happened that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at Michael\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael called me at 11:20.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Adam was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlene gasped.<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked, \u201cDid he see him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my heart beating harder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Adam had come because Charles contacted him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cCharles was alive too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Charles want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s eyes moved to Luca.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking at my son every time the answer gets ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles wanted the descendant clause activated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2005?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFifteen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe weren\u2019t even together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo how could there be a child?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca understood first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wasn\u2019t planning for a specific child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was planning for a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words settled heavily.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Luca.<\/p>\n<p>A generation.<\/p>\n<p>Not a baby.<\/p>\n<p>Not our son.<\/p>\n<p>A condition in a document written before he existed.<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t belong to Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t belong to Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t belong to whatever agreement you signed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen say his name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis name is Luca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at his grandson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLuca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire adjusted the blanket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemember that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca returned to the log.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s one final entry that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We looked.<\/p>\n<p>11:06 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>MICHAEL CARTER \u2014 EXIT.<\/p>\n<p>11:08 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>EVAN CARTER \u2014 CREDENTIAL REVOKED.<\/p>\n<p>11:14 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>ADAM RENNER \u2014 EXIT.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdam left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo whatever Michael told you afterward, Adam walked out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel whispered, \u201cThen why did Michael tell me he was gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly did Dad say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel took a long breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said, \u2018Adam is gone. Charles will blame me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat could mean Adam left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t how Michael said it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did he say it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike he had done something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Dad.<\/p>\n<p>The man who taught me to change a tire.<\/p>\n<p>Who overcooked every steak.<\/p>\n<p>Who once drove forty minutes because I had left my wallet at a movie theater.<\/p>\n<p>The man who apparently used my identity to enter a warehouse and then spent years hiding what happened there.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca closed the access log.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told you. I moved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>Marlene answered for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou put the evidence inside the building everyone was trying to keep closed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked embarrassed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seemed safer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca did not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we get inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot without the active Carter credential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was revoked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe old one was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe descendant trigger created a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked down at Luca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said it too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel lifted both hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody needs to involve Luca physically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe system only needs confirmation that the descendant exists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cBirth certificate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we find another way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>One message.<\/p>\n<p>WELCOME BACK, EVAN.<\/p>\n<p>Below it was a photograph.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer Warehouse.<\/p>\n<p>Taken at night.<\/p>\n<p>A side door stood open.<\/p>\n<p>And in the doorway was a man.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>Thin.<\/p>\n<p>Gray-haired.<\/p>\n<p>But Daniel recognized him immediately.<\/p>\n<p>His face lost all color.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17772\">Click here to continue reading: PART 7: Charles Renner Was Alive, but the Message He Sent About Luca Forced Daniel to Admit Why Our Families Had Been Bound Together Before Claire and I Ever Met<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rebecca did not let Daniel leave. Neither did Claire. Marlene tried once to say we should all go home, sleep, and deal with the rest in the morning. Claire looked &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17771","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\/17771","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=17771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17837,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17771\/revisions\/17837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}