{"id":22731,"date":"2026-09-27T17:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22731"},"modified":"2026-09-27T17:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:18:15","slug":"part-12-vivian-finally-admitted-why-she-went-after-the-folder-and-her-version-of-calebs-plan-put-my-name-at-the-center-of-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22731","title":{"rendered":"PART 12 \u2013 Vivian Finally Admitted Why She Went After the Folder, and Her Version of Caleb\u2019s Plan Put My Name at the Center of Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Vivian agreed to speak with police only after hiring a lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>That lawyer contacted Priya the following morning.<\/p>\n<p>His name was Samuel Ortiz, and unlike Martin Keene, he represented Vivian alone.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, mother and son had separate counsel.<\/p>\n<p>I did not know whether to feel relieved or more afraid.<\/p>\n<p>People who once presented a united front often became informative when their interests stopped matching.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz proposed a controlled meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian would not confess to burglary.<\/p>\n<p>She would explain why she had been near Estelle\u2019s house and why she believed documents in the blue folder mattered.<\/p>\n<p>In exchange, nobody would pretend the conversation itself resolved criminal questions.<\/p>\n<p>Priya agreed.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting took place at Ortiz\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian entered wearing a charcoal suit instead of cream.<\/p>\n<p>No pearls.<\/p>\n<p>No travel brochure.<\/p>\n<p>No performance of wounded sophistication.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since I had known her, she looked old.<\/p>\n<p>Not weak.<\/p>\n<p>Old.<\/p>\n<p>The distinction surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>She sat across from me and folded her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz began by stating that Vivian denied entering the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe took Adrian\u2019s vehicle,\u201d Priya said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe drove it near the property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe abandoned it there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd someone broke into the house during that period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz lifted one hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy client is not admitting she was that person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Vivian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why were you there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her mouth tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Caleb called me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter you froze the transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court froze them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou started it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Old habits.<\/p>\n<p>Assign blame outward.<\/p>\n<p>She caught herself.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, I watched Vivian consciously stop defending him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was panicking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said there were old papers inside that should never have existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat papers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t say exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he mention the Alder House agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat guarantees?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She drew a slow breath.<\/p>\n<p>Years earlier, when Caleb\u2019s original company was failing, he believed Estelle\u2019s $185,000 would solve everything.<\/p>\n<p>It did not.<\/p>\n<p>The money stabilized operations.<\/p>\n<p>But the company remained fragile.<\/p>\n<p>Caleb wanted to borrow more.<\/p>\n<p>Lenders wanted stronger security.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle refused.<\/p>\n<p>I had never known that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe refused what?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room disappeared around those two words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy guarantee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb asked whether you would personally guarantee additional debt. Estelle said no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he ask me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she told him not to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>My grandmother had been protecting me while I congratulated myself for being an easygoing wife.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened after she died?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s when things changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Caleb approached lenders again.<\/p>\n<p>Some were traditional banks.<\/p>\n<p>Others were private lenders.<\/p>\n<p>He represented that his ownership structure had been simplified and that the company had access to substantial family-backed resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never said he owned your inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat the company was supported by family capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmbiguous on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>At first, according to Vivian, Caleb signed his own name.<\/p>\n<p>Later, when lenders asked for stronger backing, documents began appearing with mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see him forge them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know I hadn\u2019t signed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot initially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my fingernails press into my palm.<\/p>\n<p>A year.<\/p>\n<p>For an entire year, Vivian had known my name appeared on debt documents I had not authorized.<\/p>\n<p>During that year, she accepted money from me.<\/p>\n<p>Sat at my table.<\/p>\n<p>Called me selfish.<\/p>\n<p>Asked me to finance her life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face hardened defensively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told Caleb to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he would refinance everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said if you learned what happened before he stabilized the company, you would panic and destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you agreed I shouldn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>No excuse left.<\/p>\n<p>No misunderstanding.<\/p>\n<p>A choice.<\/p>\n<p>I thought that confession would satisfy something in me.<\/p>\n<p>It did not.<\/p>\n<p>It only made the years heavier.<\/p>\n<p>Priya returned to the folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did Caleb believe the blue folder could put him in prison?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian rubbed her thumb over one knuckle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Estelle kept originals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOriginals of what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwnership papers. Letters. Notes from meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heart began beating harder.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered the contents of the blue folder.<\/p>\n<p>Trust documents.<\/p>\n<p>Property records.<\/p>\n<p>The investment agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>What had I missed?<\/p>\n<p>I had read the letter only once after her death.<\/p>\n<p>Not carefully.<\/p>\n<p>Grief had made every paragraph difficult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat notes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour grandmother documented everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course she did.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle labeled freezer containers by date.<\/p>\n<p>She saved receipts for twenty years.<\/p>\n<p>She kept handwritten records of conversations people assumed she had forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>Priya immediately called Lena and asked for a page-by-page inventory of the original folder.<\/p>\n<p>Within fifteen minutes, Lena responded.<\/p>\n<p>There were three handwritten pages filed behind the original Alder House investment agreement.<\/p>\n<p>I had never noticed their significance.<\/p>\n<p>Priya had.<\/p>\n<p>She simply had not yet connected them to the guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>Lena scanned them securely.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle\u2019s handwriting filled the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Meeting with C.R. regarding additional financing.<\/p>\n<p>C.R. requested permission to represent M.B. as personal guarantor.<\/p>\n<p>Declined.<\/p>\n<p>Advised C.R. that Mara will not assume personal liability for business borrowing.<\/p>\n<p>Any document representing otherwise is unauthorized.<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>The second note recorded another conversation months later.<\/p>\n<p>C.R. asked whether trust assets could be pledged indirectly.<\/p>\n<p>Declined.<\/p>\n<p>No Bennett trust asset to support Rowe debt without Mara\u2019s direct informed written consent and independent counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Independent counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle had anticipated pressure.<\/p>\n<p>She had tried to make sure my consent, if ever given, would be unmistakable.<\/p>\n<p>The third page was written only eight months before she died.<\/p>\n<p>C.R. again raised guarantee issue. Told him no. His persistence concerns me. Advised Mara generally to maintain separation, but she remains trusting of him. I will place duplicate originals with Harlan.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the last word.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya searched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian answered before anyone else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEstelle\u2019s former attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Priya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe retired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs he alive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian said, \u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since the meeting began, hope appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Not emotional hope.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Duplicate originals.<\/p>\n<p>Potential records outside Caleb\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz looked unhappy that Vivian had revealed the name.<\/p>\n<p>That told me it mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Priya asked why Caleb wanted my blue folder if duplicates existed.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know about Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEstelle told me once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer surprised everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian stared at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter she realized Caleb kept asking about your trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could picture it.<\/p>\n<p>Estelle looking straight through Vivian\u2019s polished manners.<\/p>\n<p>Warning her.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe testing her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian\u2019s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said if Caleb ever tried to turn your generosity into liability, he would discover she had planned for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My eyes burned.<\/p>\n<p>That sounded exactly like Estelle.<\/p>\n<p>Direct.<\/p>\n<p>Unsparing.<\/p>\n<p>Calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you still helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, her answer came without anger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he was my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat explains loving him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t explain helping him use me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then Priya asked about the Rowan Legacy Trust.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian\u2019s composure returned partially.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is for my grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFunded with what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney Caleb provided.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom company entities?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know at first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou remained trustee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo protect Rowan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Caleb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer I did not expect.<\/p>\n<p>She explained that after Rowan was born, Caleb became increasingly unstable about money.<\/p>\n<p>Not mentally unstable.<\/p>\n<p>Financially erratic.<\/p>\n<p>He shifted funds constantly.<\/p>\n<p>He borrowed against receivables.<\/p>\n<p>He made promises based on contracts not yet signed.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian worried that if Rowan\u2019s support depended directly on Caleb, the child would eventually be left with nothing.<\/p>\n<p>So she demanded the trust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsing company money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believed some of it was Caleb\u2019s distributions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome. Not all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She admitted it.<\/p>\n<p>Quietly.<\/p>\n<p>Priya asked whether she understood she might have participated in improper transfers.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz intervened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy client will not characterize legal conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fine.<\/p>\n<p>The facts were enough.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the question I had almost forgotten beneath everything else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho broke into Estelle\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb told me to retrieve the folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said the back door key might still be at your house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut someone broke the glass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never found the key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you broke in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked at Ortiz.<\/p>\n<p>He did not stop her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got out of the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI walked behind the property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lost my nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI expect you to believe evidence if it supports me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For once, we agreed.<\/p>\n<p>She said she returned to the Range Rover, but before she reached it, she saw another person moving toward the back of the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMan or woman?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably a man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaller than me. Hood up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you call Caleb?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat someone else was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went still.<\/p>\n<p>Priya\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wasn\u2019t surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he know who it was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked directly at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said it was handled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cold moved through my chest.<\/p>\n<p>Handled.<\/p>\n<p>Meaning Caleb may have sent Vivian first and someone else second.<\/p>\n<p>Or arranged multiple attempts.<\/p>\n<p>Priya asked whether Vivian knew Marcus Venn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe works for Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Caleb ever use him directly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cErrands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya did not believe her.<\/p>\n<p>Neither did I.<\/p>\n<p>But Vivian had already given us enough to pursue.<\/p>\n<p>Before the meeting ended, I asked one final question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are you telling us this now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>For a moment, she looked like the woman from my kitchen again.<\/p>\n<p>Proud.<\/p>\n<p>Controlled.<\/p>\n<p>Certain of her place in Caleb\u2019s world.<\/p>\n<p>Then that expression collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause yesterday he asked me to say the guarantees were your idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted you to lie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said if investigators came, I needed to say you knew about the debt and wanted everything hidden from lenders because you were protecting your trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The completed plan.<\/p>\n<p>Not merely forged documents.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses.<\/p>\n<p>A narrative.<\/p>\n<p>Mara knew.<\/p>\n<p>Mara approved.<\/p>\n<p>Mara wanted secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>Mara benefited.<\/p>\n<p>If Caleb\u2019s company failed under suspicious debt and unexplained transfers, he would not stand alone.<\/p>\n<p>He had spent years placing my initials inside the machinery.<\/p>\n<p>Now he was trying to place words in other people\u2019s mouths.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Adrian would take most of the blame. Celeste would look incompetent. And if necessary\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf necessary what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said the lenders would believe the person with the money had been in control all along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>The inherited house.<\/p>\n<p>The trust.<\/p>\n<p>The investments.<\/p>\n<p>The majority economic interest.<\/p>\n<p>My wealth did not merely make me useful to Caleb.<\/p>\n<p>It made me believable as the hidden person behind everything.<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>My chair moved backward.<\/p>\n<p>For years, Caleb had resented that I earned more.<\/p>\n<p>Resented Estelle\u2019s protections.<\/p>\n<p>Resented that my money saved his company while remaining legally mine.<\/p>\n<p>And somewhere along the way, he had found another use for that resentment.<\/p>\n<p>If his business survived, he controlled it.<\/p>\n<p>If it failed badly enough, he could point toward me.<\/p>\n<p>The wealthy wife.<\/p>\n<p>The majority owner on paper.<\/p>\n<p>The woman whose forged initials appeared on approvals.<\/p>\n<p>The person with the most to protect.<\/p>\n<p>Priya closed her folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to find Harlan Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian looked frightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb may already be looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow would he know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe called me this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he mention Harlan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why do you think he may be looking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vivian reached into her handbag and removed her phone.<\/p>\n<p>She opened a message from Caleb.<\/p>\n<p>Sent less than an hour earlier.<\/p>\n<p>It contained only one sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Mom, Estelle kept copies somewhere, and I need to know where before Mara finds them.<\/p>\n<p>Priya immediately called Lena.<\/p>\n<p>I stood by the window while she gave instructions.<\/p>\n<p>Find Harlan Voss.<\/p>\n<p>Confirm whether he was alive.<\/p>\n<p>Locate any records he still held.<\/p>\n<p>Do not contact him through any person connected to Caleb.<\/p>\n<p>Five minutes passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then ten.<\/p>\n<p>Finally Lena called back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRetirement community outside the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we speak with him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause someone signed into the visitor registry asking for him this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lena answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarcus Venn.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22733\">Click here to continue reading: PART 13: Marcus Reached Estelle\u2019s Retired Attorney Before We Did, but Harlan Had Spent Years Preparing for Exactly That Kind of Visit<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vivian agreed to speak with police only after hiring a lawyer. That lawyer contacted Priya the following morning. His name was Samuel Ortiz, and unlike Martin Keene, he represented Vivian &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22731","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\/22731","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=22731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22781,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22731\/revisions\/22781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}