Andrew arrived at the Vance house thirty-five minutes later.<\/p>\n
He came angry.<\/p>\n
Not at me.<\/p>\n
At the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine was Keene\u2019s daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine thought Samuel had a daughter adopted under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Catherine\u2019s original surname was Marsh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat proves nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paced beside the old furnace.<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy hated Keene.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he leave me with Keene\u2019s daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew stopped.<\/p>\n
That possibility hurt differently.<\/p>\n
Tommy had built his identity around protecting Andrew from the Keene network.<\/p>\n
If Catherine belonged to it by blood without knowing, then biology meant little.<\/p>\n
If she knew, everything changed.<\/p>\n
We needed records.<\/p>\n
This time we did not break into anything.<\/p>\n
The attorney connected to Elaine\u2019s estate helped obtain a sealed birth inquiry because Catherine was dead and her records had become relevant to an active criminal investigation.<\/p>\n
Hours later, we had enough.<\/p>\n
Catherine Marsh was born in 1958.<\/p>\n
Mother listed as Anna Marsh.<\/p>\n
Father blank.<\/p>\n
An amendment in 1965 changed her surname to Mercer after Anna married Joseph Mercer.<\/p>\n
Tommy\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
So Catherine had been Tommy\u2019s stepsister, not biological sister.<\/p>\n
Andrew sat with the record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever call her his stepsister?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies simplify.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
Then investigators found the adoption file.<\/p>\n
Samuel Keene was named in a confidential physician affidavit connected to Catherine\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
Not father.<\/p>\n
Physician.<\/p>\n
My hope rose.<\/p>\n
Then fell when DNA records surfaced from a genealogy sample Catherine had submitted late in life.<\/p>\n
The match was conclusive.<\/p>\n
Samuel Keene was her biological father.<\/p>\n
Andrew closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Rose chose the Mercer family without knowing Catherine was his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The escape route had carried Andrew into another branch of Keene\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Not intentionally.<\/p>\n
Human plans rarely remain pure after decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Catherine know?\u201d<\/p>\n
We did not know yet.<\/p>\n
Rachel did.<\/p>\n
Or thought she did.<\/p>\n
When we asked, she became pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother told my mother before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandmother Anna?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Catherine know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Andrew came to live with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Catherine learned she was Keene\u2019s daughter while raising Keene\u2019s victim\u2019s child.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe contacted Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine wanted answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout herself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she told him about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked away.<\/p>\n
Andrew understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how he found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
At four years old, Andrew had seizures and entered the hospital.<\/p>\n
We thought hospital records exposed him.<\/p>\n
Maybe that had only confirmed what Samuel already knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Catherine wanted to send me to an institution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n
Andrew walked away.<\/p>\n
I followed but kept distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor which generation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared through the basement window.<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy took me from Catherine because he found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Probably.<\/p>\n
We needed Tommy\u2019s version.<\/p>\n
His letters.<\/p>\n
His papers.<\/p>\n
The Briar Glen storage unit.<\/p>\n
Police secured it before anyone else could reach it.<\/p>\n
The unit was small.<\/p>\n
Furniture.<\/p>\n
Fishing gear.<\/p>\n
Boxes.<\/p>\n
An old bicycle.<\/p>\n
Tommy had kept ordinary things.<\/p>\n
That moved me more than expected.<\/p>\n
Amid all the archives and conspiracies, his life had included camping stoves and tax receipts and a broken lamp he never threw away.<\/p>\n
Andrew smiled when he saw the fishing rods.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe taught me on Lake Dunmore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then his smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
The Dalton lake.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Different side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still.<\/p>\n
Water held too many memories now.<\/p>\n
We found a locked green trunk.<\/p>\n
Andrew had the key.<\/p>\n
Inside were Tommy\u2019s private papers.<\/p>\n
A journal began in 1971.<\/p>\n
Tommy was seventeen.<\/p>\n
The handwriting was uneven.<\/p>\n
October 15.<\/p>\n
They took Martha home.<\/p>\n
She keeps asking where the baby is when she wakes, then she forgets.<\/p>\n
Margaret says stop visiting.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n
Andrew sat down.<\/p>\n
Tommy had known from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Another entry.<\/p>\n
October 20.<\/p>\n
Catherine says the baby will come here.<\/p>\n
Dad says we\u2019re getting money.<\/p>\n
I told him I don\u2019t want Robert\u2019s money.<\/p>\n
He told me to shut up.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
October 23.<\/p>\n
Baby came.<\/p>\n
Catherine scared.<\/p>\n
He cries a lot.<\/p>\n
I held him.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
Andrew covered his face.<\/p>\n
Tommy had been seventeen holding a newborn he had no obligation to love.<\/p>\n
November.<\/p>\n
Named Andrew already.<\/p>\n
Margaret says Martha picked it.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
He should keep it.<\/p>\n
I looked at Andrew.<\/p>\n
He nodded through tears.<\/p>\n
Another entry.<\/p>\n
1972.<\/p>\n
Catherine found letter from Keene.<\/p>\n
She says he might be her father.<\/p>\n
She is excited.<\/p>\n
I am not.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
She wrote him.<\/p>\n
Bad idea.<\/p>\n
Months later:<\/p>\n
Keene wants to see Andrew.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Catherine says he is family.<\/p>\n
He is not.<\/p>\n
Another:<\/p>\n
Catherine took Andrew to clinic without telling me.<\/p>\n
I found out from nurse.<\/p>\n
I hate her.<\/p>\n
Andrew stared at the words.<\/p>\n
That had been the first clinic visit.<\/p>\n
Not hospitalization.<\/p>\n
Deliberate.<\/p>\n
He whispered, \u201cShe took me there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tommy wrote:<\/p>\n
Samuel says Andrew is special.<\/p>\n
I told him if he touches the kid again I\u2019ll kill him.<\/p>\n
I believe me.<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Tommy had always been dramatic.<\/p>\n
Then the key entry.<\/p>\n
1974.<\/p>\n
Catherine wants Andrew enrolled in Keene program.<\/p>\n
Says he can help with nightmares.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Dad agrees because money.<\/p>\n
I took Andrew.<\/p>\n
We left.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Tommy had fled.<\/p>\n
Three years.<\/p>\n
Daniel had said he vanished with Andrew.<\/p>\n
The journal explained where.<\/p>\n
Motels.<\/p>\n
Friends.<\/p>\n
Seasonal work.<\/p>\n
Tommy raised a toddler while moving across three states.<\/p>\n
Not heroic in the polished way stories liked.<\/p>\n
Messy.<\/p>\n
Poor.<\/p>\n
Terrified.<\/p>\n
One entry:<\/p>\n
Andrew sick. No money.<\/p>\n
Called Arthur.<\/p>\n
Hated myself.<\/p>\n
He sent cash.<\/p>\n
No questions.<\/p>\n
Another:<\/p>\n
Arthur wants to come.<\/p>\n
Said no.<\/p>\n
He sounded broken.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
Maybe I care a little.<\/p>\n
Andrew laughed through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like Tommy.\u201d<\/p>\n
We read on.<\/p>\n
1977.<\/p>\n
Andrew nightmares bad.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m scared I\u2019m making it worse by hiding everything.<\/p>\n
Called Richard because Arthur said he knows memory.<\/p>\n
Mistake.<\/p>\n
The entry ended there.<\/p>\n
Next page:<\/p>\n
Richard used drug.<\/p>\n
I punched him.<\/p>\n
Andrew blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Tommy had struck Richard after learning he sedated Andrew.<\/p>\n
Another entry:<\/p>\n
Arthur came.<\/p>\n
He sat with Andrew.<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t touch him until Andrew reached first.<\/p>\n
I hated watching.<\/p>\n
Andrew called me Dad.<\/p>\n
Arthur left.<\/p>\n
That matched Richard\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
Then something new.<\/p>\n
Arthur gave me name of lawyer.<\/p>\n
Says if anything happens to him, Andrew gets money.<\/p>\n
I said no.<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s not for me.<\/p>\n
Kept papers.<\/p>\n
So Arthur\u2019s trust began then.<\/p>\n
Another entry, 1982.<\/p>\n
Margaret dead.<\/p>\n
Arthur says Edward did it.<\/p>\n
Wants me to move Andrew again.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re done running.<\/p>\n
That sentence made Andrew straighten.<\/p>\n
Tommy had drawn a boundary.<\/p>\n
Enough movement.<\/p>\n
Enough fear.<\/p>\n
Stay.<\/p>\n
Then 1988.<\/p>\n
Catherine contacted me.<\/p>\n
Says Samuel sick.<\/p>\n
Wants Andrew to meet him.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
She says Andrew deserves family.<\/p>\n
I said I am his family.<\/p>\n
Simple.<\/p>\n
Clear.<\/p>\n
Years later:<\/p>\n
Samuel dead.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Then one line beneath it.<\/p>\n
Catherine cried.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Andrew closed the journal.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole childhood is in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to continue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer was immediate.<\/p>\n
We did.<\/p>\n
1993.<\/p>\n
Vivian appeared.<\/p>\n
Tommy knew her.<\/p>\n
He wrote:<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s aunt.<\/p>\n
Dangerous.<\/p>\n
Says Jonathan wants records.<\/p>\n
I told her I burned them.<\/p>\n
Lie.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
1996.<\/p>\n
Richard says someone watching Andrew.<\/p>\n
Moved hospital bracelet to bank box.<\/p>\n
So the bracelet had been deliberately hidden.<\/p>\n
2003.<\/p>\n
Peter learned he isn\u2019t father.<\/p>\n
Came to me.<\/p>\n
Wanted to tell Andrew.<\/p>\n
I said if he needs confession, confess to Martha first.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Coward.<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Tommy had no patience for Peter.<\/p>\n
2007.<\/p>\n
Arthur asked again if he can tell Martha.<\/p>\n
I said yes.<\/p>\n
Andrew looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He reread.<\/p>\n
Tommy had changed.<\/p>\n
He had told Arthur to reveal the truth.<\/p>\n
But Arthur still did not.<\/p>\n
2010.<\/p>\n
Vivian wants DNA.<\/p>\n
Arthur says no.<\/p>\n
Later:<\/p>\n
Arthur did test anyway.<\/p>\n
Idiot.<\/p>\n
So Tommy knew about the genetic test.<\/p>\n
He had objected.<\/p>\n
2014.<\/p>\n
Tommy\u2019s final year.<\/p>\n
His handwriting weakened.<\/p>\n
One entry:<\/p>\n
Andrew still angry at mother he never knew.<\/p>\n
My fault some.<\/p>\n
I let anger stay because it kept him away from Oakridge.<\/p>\n
Maybe protection became habit.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The same realization Margaret reached.<\/p>\n
The same one Arthur reached too late.<\/p>\n
Protection becoming habit.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
Need tell him truth.<\/p>\n
Soon.<\/p>\n
But Tommy died before he did.<\/p>\n
Andrew closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
A word with a graveyard behind it.<\/p>\n
I touched his shoulder.<\/p>\n
He did not move away.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the trunk sat a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
TO ANDREW IF I FAIL.<\/p>\n
He opened it.<\/p>\n
Tommy\u2019s final letter.<\/p>\n
Andrew,<\/p>\n
I told you Martha gave you away because the truth was dangerous.<\/p>\n
That was wrong.<\/p>\n
I should have told you she was drugged, that she held you, that she named you.<\/p>\n
I thought anger would keep you from looking for her and keep Keene from finding you.<\/p>\n
Maybe it did.<\/p>\n
But it also stole your mother from you a second time.<\/p>\n
That is mine.<\/p>\n
No one else\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Andrew stopped.<\/p>\n
I could hear him breathing.<\/p>\n
Tommy continued.<\/p>\n
Catherine loved you for a while.<\/p>\n
That matters.<\/p>\n
She also let Samuel near you.<\/p>\n
That matters too.<\/p>\n
People can do both.<\/p>\n
I was slow to learn that.<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
That lesson had reached all of us eventually.<\/p>\n
The letter ended:<\/p>\n
If you ever find Martha, do not arrive demanding answers as if she owes you for what others did.<\/p>\n
Ask first whether she remembers.<\/p>\n
If she doesn\u2019t, believe her.<\/p>\n
And if she does remember someday, tell her I\u2019m sorry I kept you.<\/p>\n
Not because I regret loving you.<\/p>\n
Because I forgot she loved you too.<\/p>\n
Andrew folded the letter.<\/p>\n
For several minutes he said nothing.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew you loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd still kept me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you hate him?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question surprised me.<\/p>\n
I thought carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause hatred would be simpler than what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
We kept searching.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the trunk was a photograph of Catherine.<\/p>\n
Young.<\/p>\n
Holding infant Andrew.<\/p>\n
She looked terrified.<\/p>\n
On the back, Tommy had written:<\/p>\n
BEFORE SHE KNEW WHO SAMUEL WAS.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Catherine\u2019s first love for Andrew had been real.<\/p>\n
The later choices came after identity changed how she saw him.<\/p>\n
Maybe she began seeing Andrew not as a child but as a link to Samuel.<\/p>\n
That was the infection in the Keene family.<\/p>\n
People becoming evidence.<\/p>\n
Rachel held the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t always like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t evil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked relieved.<\/p>\n
We were learning how to speak about complicated people without rescuing or condemning them wholesale.<\/p>\n
Then David opened a file folder labeled REUNION.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
Tommy died twelve years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could he have reunion material?\u201d<\/p>\n
The folder contained planning notes for our fiftieth reunion in 2021.<\/p>\n
Canceled during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Tommy had apparently been on an early alumni committee before his death.<\/p>\n
Inside was correspondence from someone named H. Greene.<\/p>\n
2013.<\/p>\n
Harold.<\/p>\n
Jonathan.<\/p>\n
The message asked whether future class reunions could include medical-history questionnaires for \u201cnostalgia research.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tommy had written across it:<\/p>\n
NO.<\/p>\n
Another email asked for alumni contact information.<\/p>\n
Tommy refused.<\/p>\n
Then a final one.<\/p>\n
IF MARTHA CALDWELL ATTENDS, CONTACT ME.<\/p>\n
Tommy had circled it.<\/p>\n
Beneath:<\/p>\n
WHO IS H. GREENE REALLY?<\/p>\n
Tommy had been investigating Jonathan before he died.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat killed Tommy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Andrew looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
My body went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSixty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAutopsy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had cardiac history.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room changed.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s death had been attributed to his heart.<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s illness had been misdiagnosed.<\/p>\n
Old patterns.<\/p>\n
I hated myself for asking the next question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Tommy on digoxin?\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he take heart medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
David was already searching the medical file.<\/p>\n
We found a prescription list.<\/p>\n
Digoxin.<\/p>\n
Andrew sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
But nobody believed coincidence easily anymore.<\/p>\n
We contacted investigators.<\/p>\n
Tommy\u2019s death records were requested.<\/p>\n
The pharmacy data still existed.<\/p>\n
Same generic manufacturer Arthur used years later.<\/p>\n
That proved nothing.<\/p>\n
But another document did.<\/p>\n
A refill had been collected three days before Tommy\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
By an authorized representative.<\/p>\n
Name:<\/p>\n
HAROLD GREENE.<\/p>\n
Andrew stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
Jonathan had picked up Tommy\u2019s medication.<\/p>\n
Not proof of murder.<\/p>\n
But enough to investigate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Tommy authorize him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe probably didn\u2019t,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n
The signature looked wrong.<\/p>\n
Like my forged vendor form.<\/p>\n
Same method.<\/p>\n
Documents altered just enough to move unnoticed.<\/p>\n
Andrew stared at Tommy\u2019s journal.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Jonathan was watching the reunion network.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both men who might finally have connected me to Andrew died of apparent heart problems after crossing Jonathan.<\/p>\n
The pattern was no longer historical.<\/p>\n
It was operational.<\/p>\n
Rachel whispered, \u201cCatherine too.\u201d<\/p>\n
We turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother died of heart failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c2009.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho handled her pharmacy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used a delivery service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
She named it.<\/p>\n
Greene Medical Courier.<\/p>\n
No longer operating.<\/p>\n
A company Jonathan had controlled.<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Three deaths.<\/p>\n
Tommy.<\/p>\n
Catherine.<\/p>\n
Arthur.<\/p>\n
Possibly all connected.<\/p>\n
Andrew closed the journal.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t just protect his father\u2019s research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe removed people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared.<\/p>\n
I understood his anger.<\/p>\n
But I would not let another generation build certainty from patterns alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a moment, he nodded.<\/p>\n
Then Rachel found one last object in Tommy\u2019s trunk.<\/p>\n
A mini tape.<\/p>\n
Label:<\/p>\n
CATHERINE \u2014 2008.<\/p>\n
Andrew inserted it into an old recorder.<\/p>\n
Catherine\u2019s voice filled the storage unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy, if you hear this, Samuel lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n
She had never heard it.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I was his daughter because he wanted access to Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She spoke faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had testing done. Private.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper rustled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel Keene was not my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all froze.<\/p>\n
The DNA genealogy result said he was.<\/p>\n
But Catherine herself claimed testing excluded him.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe records were altered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel whispered, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf something happens to me, find the real report.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was not Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was Edward Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
My uncle.<\/p>\n
Harold Greene\u2019s supposed father.<\/p>\n
Which made Catherine part of my own extended family.<\/p>\n
Not Keene\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The escape plan had not accidentally placed Andrew with Samuel\u2019s daughter after all.<\/p>\n
Someone had fabricated that later.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Catherine answered before the tape ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan wants everyone to believe Samuel\u2019s bloodline continued through me.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs heirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape clicked.<\/p>\n
Then her final sentence:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs descendants because Samuel had none.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Keene.<\/p>\n
The man claiming to be Samuel\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
If Catherine was right, Samuel Keene may not have had any children.<\/p>\n
Which meant Jonathan\u2019s entire identity\u2014and the legacy he had killed to defend\u2014might itself be a fabrication.<\/p>\n
Andrew arrived at the Vance house thirty-five minutes later. He came angry. Not at me. At the name. \u201cCatherine was Keene\u2019s daughter?\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d \u201cElaine thought Samuel had a … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20490","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\/20490","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=20490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20536,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20490\/revisions\/20536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}