Claire did not speak for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then she laughed.<\/p>\n
A tiny sound.<\/p>\n
Not amused.<\/p>\n
Exhausted beyond surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy school nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m almost certain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel moved closer to Rebecca\u2019s laptop.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer name wasn\u2019t Caroline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol Wynn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
I remembered the name.<\/p>\n
Not the woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWynn?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe treated my ankle junior year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI twisted it during volleyball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cDid she take blood?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire went still.<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire searched the memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said I looked pale. She did a finger-stick test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether I knew my blood type.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sat down.<\/p>\n
Marlene covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling said, \u201cSchool nurses sometimes ask medical history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether my parents had fertility issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not normal,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered something too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat physical?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSophomore year. Sports clearance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t play sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried out for soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Until now.<\/p>\n
There had been a health fair.<\/p>\n
Free physicals.<\/p>\n
Blood pressure.<\/p>\n
Vision.<\/p>\n
Blood draw.<\/p>\n
I looked at Marlene.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Carol Wynn there?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne spoke through the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael was furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe school blood drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a blood drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called it one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give blood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA vial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne whispered, \u201cMichael made the school destroy your sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling looked sharply toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the consent form was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Carol Wynn was Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew someone was collecting samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c2009.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cThrough the photograph album?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Carol in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Her code was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat code?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cC.V.-7.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas spoke through Daniel\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling asked, \u201cDo you have any of the school records?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at her parents.<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
Marlene looked uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept medical forms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou kept everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca immediately said, \u201cDo not go there alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
Marlene continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have police retrieve them if they matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked down at Luca.<\/p>\n
For several minutes, nobody said anything.<\/p>\n
Then a new call came through to Rebecca Sterling.<\/p>\n
She stepped away.<\/p>\n
We watched her listen.<\/p>\n
Her face changed slowly.<\/p>\n
Not alarm.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
When she returned, she closed the door fully.<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal investigators located Black Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went already?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. They verified the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStatus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClosed officially in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty taxes are current.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOwner?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
He seemed to sense it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale Medical Heritage Foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas whispered, \u201cThat was dissolved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel asked, \u201cWho controls it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne trustee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol Wynn.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
I stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
School nurse.<\/p>\n
Clinic administrator.<\/p>\n
Mercer medical successor.<\/p>\n
A woman who had stood feet from Claire and me as teenagers while our parents believed we were simply classmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she watching us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I saw the school code.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have warned us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were always hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said nothing.<\/p>\n
Claire continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Michael know we were both being monitored?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
That explained Dad\u2019s anger about the blood sample.<\/p>\n
His sudden interest in which school forms I signed.<\/p>\n
The way he had once told me not to let doctors \u201ckeep anything they didn\u2019t need.\u201d<\/p>\n
At sixteen, I had thought he was paranoid.<\/p>\n
Maybe he was.<\/p>\n
Maybe paranoia was what Mercer looked like from the inside.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling asked Adam, \u201cWhat was Carol supposed to monitor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompatibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s voice went flat.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween Evan and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer\u2019s later medical program tracked certain descendants who could consolidate lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared at her father.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put us in the same school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo monitor Evan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you didn\u2019t know Mercer wanted us together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Michael?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter your junior year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the adults moved Evan near me to watch him, and Mercer decided that was convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol began reporting both of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDirectly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have reports?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire said, \u201cSend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened the document.<\/p>\n
The date was nineteen years earlier.<\/p>\n
We would have been seventeen.<\/p>\n
Subject identifiers instead of names.<\/p>\n
CARTER-M16.<\/p>\n
BENNETT-F15.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
They had reduced us to line, sex, age.<\/p>\n
Rebecca read silently.<\/p>\n
Claire said, \u201cOut loud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOut loud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca did.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Observed social proximity increasing. No intervention recommended.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shut his eyes.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Both subjects demonstrate independent attachment not initiated through program contact.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something tight in my chest loosen by a fraction.<\/p>\n
Independent.<\/p>\n
At least that.<\/p>\n
Claire exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca read.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Genetic compatibility within approved threshold.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene whispered, \u201cOh God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018No known recessive conflict requiring separation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face emptied.<\/p>\n
I reached for her hand.<\/p>\n
She took it.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Carter guardian demonstrates suspicion regarding school sampling. Future collection should avoid institutional setting.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
He had noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Bennett guardian remains unaware of medical objective.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently for once you truly did not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Potential consolidation outcome remains statistically viable if attachment persists voluntarily.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVoluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not arranging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca read the final line.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Do not interfere unless either subject forms competing reproductive attachment.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s grip tightened around my hand.<\/p>\n
I felt anger rise slowly.<\/p>\n
Cold.<\/p>\n
Precise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf either of you dated someone else seriously, Mercer might intervene.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought back.<\/p>\n
College.<\/p>\n
Long distance.<\/p>\n
Claire and I broke up for eight months.<\/p>\n
I had dated someone briefly.<\/p>\n
Rachel Donnelly.<\/p>\n
Nothing serious.<\/p>\n
Except\u2014<\/p>\n
She had transferred schools abruptly.<\/p>\n
I looked at Claire.<\/p>\n
She saw something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDonnelly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe girl from your economics class?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou dated twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not helping your case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I smiled.<\/p>\n
Barely.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks after we stopped seeing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling said, \u201cThat proves nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel Donnelly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
My skin tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Donnelly in Black Creek records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cDifferent first name possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not jump.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
But my body already had.<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny competing attachment involving me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cJordan Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
I remembered him.<\/p>\n
College freshman year.<\/p>\n
Two dates.<\/p>\n
Maybe four.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about Jordan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cBlack Creek did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cHe got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember. Mono.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was common.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe missed a semester.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cAlso common.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she looked frightened now.<\/p>\n
Not because ordinary illness proved anything.<\/p>\n
Because Mercer had written down the name of someone she had barely dated.<\/p>\n
Adam continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program tracked social proximity. I never found evidence they harmed anyone because of dating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the full archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said, \u201cPolice are imaging it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another reason Carol matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew Michael had found the reproductive records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c2005.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was at St. Matthew\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother whispered, \u201cI knew that face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
Anne continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe worked there under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sent her the photograph.<\/p>\n
Anne inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam went silent.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that surname?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said quietly, \u201cAnd for Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel Price handled trust structures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cRelationship to Caroline?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas muttered, \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling looked at Claire.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Carol Wynn, Caroline Vale, and Caroline Price may be the same person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool nurse, hospital worker, Black Creek administrator, Mercer medical custodian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cAnd she watched us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cWhere is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam went silent.<\/p>\n
I felt the pattern.<\/p>\n
Every time the answer became dangerous, someone paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast confirmed location?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Matthew\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was she doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRequesting archived pathology samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s tissue.<\/p>\n
The sample Rebecca had just said might help verify our family relationships.<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cShe knew we would look for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did she take it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital pathology refused release without court authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor once,\u201d Claire whispered, \u201cpaperwork helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we know where the sample is now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cStill there, according to my source.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour source?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at the door.<\/p>\n
A soft knock.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m expecting no one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel moved toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
Rebecca called hospital security.<\/p>\n
Claire pulled Luca closer.<\/p>\n
I stood between the bed and the door.<\/p>\n
Another knock.<\/p>\n
Then a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to check the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire went completely still.<\/p>\n
The nurse assigned to her had a different voice.<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked through the door, \u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody breathed.<\/p>\n
The woman continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire did not speak for several seconds. Then she laughed. A tiny sound. Not amused. Exhausted beyond surprise. \u201cMy school nurse.\u201d Marlene nodded. \u201cI\u2019m almost certain.\u201d Daniel moved closer to … <\/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-17781","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\/17781","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=17781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17852,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781\/revisions\/17852"}],"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=17781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}