{"id":19921,"date":"2026-09-25T14:03:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=19921"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:03:06","slug":"part-7-daniel-found-the-brother-his-father-hid-only-to-learn-michael-vale-had-been-working-inside-rachels-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=19921","title":{"rendered":"PART 7 \u2013 Daniel Found the Brother His Father Hid, Only to Learn Michael Vale Had Been Working Inside Rachel\u2019s Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I left the interview room carrying a photograph of Michael Vale on Ortiz\u2019s phone screen.<\/p>\n<p>Thirty-one.<\/p>\n<p>Five years younger than me.<\/p>\n<p>Dark hair.<\/p>\n<p>Same heavy brow my father and I shared.<\/p>\n<p>Same crooked left smile.<\/p>\n<p>There was no need to wait for DNA language to make him feel familiar.<\/p>\n<p>Grace was waiting outside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I handed her the report Ortiz had printed.<\/p>\n<p>She read the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe works here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For a second I thought I had misheard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Mercy General?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat department?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked toward the elevators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOncology research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every muscle in my body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he treat Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has consulted on her case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I started walking.<\/p>\n<p>Grace caught my sleeve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch wing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake me there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrtiz will stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe can catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace blocked me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he really is connected to Vale, charging into his office isn\u2019t going to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd possibly involved with the man Elaine says threatened Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is precisely why I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>Then she pulled out her badge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We used a staff elevator.<\/p>\n<p>The research wing was two floors above oncology, quieter and colder, with frosted glass doors and laboratories visible through narrow windows.<\/p>\n<p>Grace led me past a conference room.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the corridor, a brass plate read:<\/p>\n<p>DR. MICHAEL VALE<br \/>\nCLINICAL RESEARCH DIRECTOR<\/p>\n<p>The office door was open.<\/p>\n<p>No one was inside.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped in.<\/p>\n<p>Grace remained at the threshold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re trespassing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not a legal exception.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I ignored her.<\/p>\n<p>The office was meticulously clean.<\/p>\n<p>Medical journals lined one wall. A framed photograph showed Michael beside an elderly man in a dark suit.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Harlan Vale.<\/p>\n<p>I knew him immediately, though I had never seen him before.<\/p>\n<p>Tall.<\/p>\n<p>Silver-haired.<\/p>\n<p>Smiling.<\/p>\n<p>One hand rested on Michael\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>I took a photograph with my phone.<\/p>\n<p>Then Grace said, \u201cLook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Michael\u2019s desk was Rachel\u2019s chart.<\/p>\n<p>Not a digital file.<\/p>\n<p>A paper copy.<\/p>\n<p>Red tabs marked laboratory results.<\/p>\n<p>I reached for it.<\/p>\n<p>Grace caught my wrist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy does he have this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe isn\u2019t her doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the papers.<\/p>\n<p>One page listed multiple blood draws.<\/p>\n<p>Another carried dates going back four years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been following her case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>Her face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose aren\u2019t routine tests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are they?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExpanded genetic panels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor cancer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome. Not all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She traced one abbreviation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is kinship sequencing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was testing Rachel\u2019s family connections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout telling her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The office door closed behind us.<\/p>\n<p>We turned.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Vale stood there.<\/p>\n<p>He wore a white coat over dark blue scrubs.<\/p>\n<p>The resemblance to my father was stronger in person.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me for three seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Then said, \u201cYou\u2019re Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not a question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father kept photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father is Harlan Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd mine is Samuel Whitmore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace inhaled.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you knew we were brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor about six years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to contact you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father convinced me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father appears very persuasive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at Grace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDNA confirmed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s eyes softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s voice turned cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou ran genetic testing on my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found the chart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He glanced toward the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel, if my father knows you\u2019re here\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe threatened Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElaine says he threatened to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael moved immediately to the desk and picked up his phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElaine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He dialed.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>He tried again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalling security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor your father?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo lock down Rachel\u2019s floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou believe Elaine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe my father is capable of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>I studied him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael lowered the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have time for the full story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMake time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father spent decades running illegal adoptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You know the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s underneath?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t only sell babies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace crossed her arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedical research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn infants?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael nodded.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenetic tracking. Hereditary disease. Drug-response markers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Elaine\u2019s claim about blood tracers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe marked them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at me sharply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElaine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe remembers more than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he mark?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlood samples, not children physically. He created coded genomic profiles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause adoption separated biological families. He saw that as an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn opportunity to do what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrack inherited traits across different environments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn trafficked children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked ashamed.<\/p>\n<p>I did not care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow are you involved?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found his records during medical school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd turned him in?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t understand the scale yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael held my stare.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe paid for my education.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was twenty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElaine was twenty-three. Rachel was twenty-four. Everyone was young when they decided what I didn\u2019t need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael flinched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think this is only about you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy daughters were sold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo was I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room became silent.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael removed his glasses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan Vale is not my biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the DNA says Daniel\u2019s father is your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy biological father was Samuel Whitmore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stepped back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Vale raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at the photograph on his desk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause my mother died giving birth to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho was she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA patient at his clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid my father know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said he was in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael opened a drawer and removed a small envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Inside was a photograph of my father standing beside a young woman I did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>She was visibly pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is my mother, Anna Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I held the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>My father looked perhaps forty.<\/p>\n<p>Smiling.<\/p>\n<p>His arm was around her.<\/p>\n<p>I had been five years old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had an affair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Vale took you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Anna died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Samuel didn\u2019t want your mother to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother forged adoption papers to hide my daughters. I think she knew more than anyone gives her credit for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe eventually learned about me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe found letters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Grace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSilence really is genetic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace did not smile.<\/p>\n<p>Michael returned to the chart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel\u2019s genetics mattered to my father because of the twins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIdentical twins are valuable for comparative research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s expression turned sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe tracked us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor twenty-six years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>Grace stepped toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you track me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word cracked through the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince when?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince you submitted your DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew before Rachel found me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace slapped him.<\/p>\n<p>Hard.<\/p>\n<p>Michael did not move.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI deserved that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t turn what you did into something noble because you admit it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou watched me live my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI only monitored medical records connected to the registry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is still my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She backed away.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy track Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael touched the chart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause her cancer is unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt contains a mutation my father has been studying since before you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked at the chart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich mutation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVQ-17.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not a standard classification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s his internal code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA hereditary repair defect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt increases susceptibility to certain cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrace and Leah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMay carry it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why you tested Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you test me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou carry the marker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Leah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never entered any public medical system long enough for a usable sample.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Leah hiding.<\/p>\n<p>Moving.<\/p>\n<p>Escaping Elaine.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe she had not been paranoid.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe she had been surviving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t carry it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it came from Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Rachel\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy does your father care?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause if he can prove the mutation behaves predictably across generations, his research becomes valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValuable how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPharmaceutical licensing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s disgust deepened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe trafficked babies, tracked them without consent, and now wants to monetize their genetics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you work in oncology research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou use his data.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>That was answer enough.<\/p>\n<p>A hospital alarm sounded.<\/p>\n<p>Not fire.<\/p>\n<p>Security.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s phone buzzed.<\/p>\n<p>She read the screen and went white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We ran.<\/p>\n<p>By the time we reached oncology, two guards stood outside Rachel\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz was shouting into her phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at Grace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest seized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone transferred her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace grabbed a nurse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho authorized it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The nurse looked terrified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned toward Michael.<\/p>\n<p>He shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The nurse swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe order says Harlan Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said your father isn\u2019t here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wasn\u2019t supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz held up a tablet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecurity footage shows a private medical transport leaving twelve minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDestination?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere would he take her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>I grabbed his coat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me with naked fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe old Vale Women\u2019s Clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought it closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow far?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThirty-five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>This time I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz started to object.<\/p>\n<p>Then Michael\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Harlan.<\/p>\n<p>We all froze.<\/p>\n<p>Michael answered on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>A calm elderly voice filled the corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harlan laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound upset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>Harlan continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd bring both girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo finish what should have been resolved twenty-six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The line went dead.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=19922\">Click here to continue reading: PART 8: At the Abandoned Clinic, Daniel Finally Faced Harlan Vale and Learned Why Rachel\u2019s Twins Had Never Been Accidents<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I left the interview room carrying a photograph of Michael Vale on Ortiz\u2019s phone screen. Thirty-one. Five years younger than me. Dark hair. Same heavy brow my father and I &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19921","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\/19921","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=19921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19999,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19921\/revisions\/19999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}