{"id":23547,"date":"2026-09-28T12:27:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=23547"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:27:35","slug":"part-31-a-final-audit-of-dads-old-business-cleared-one-suspicion-but-revealed-the-last-person-eric-had-quietly-tried-to-protect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=23547","title":{"rendered":"PART 31 \u2013 A Final Audit of Dad\u2019s Old Business Cleared One Suspicion, but Revealed the Last Person Eric Had Quietly Tried to Protect"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Three years after the dinner, Detective Morales called unexpectedly.<\/p>\n<p>By then, seeing his name no longer triggered the same rush of adrenaline.<\/p>\n<p>Mostly.<\/p>\n<p>I answered from my office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould I be worried?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello to you too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou trained me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat seems unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDangerous phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to ask about a name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJonathan Price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould I know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelated to Dad\u2019s company?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Even after years, Thomas Whitman Construction could still reach into the present.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a subcontractor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich project?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJackson Street?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That relieved me more than expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re completing a final forensic reconciliation of accounts associated with Meridian and Parkway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs close as these things get.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA payment went to Jonathan Price that we originally flagged as suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThirty-two thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whose money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what became interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe payment came from one of Eric\u2019s hidden reserve accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he paid this person?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy suspicious?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe account was not an authorized company account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Price owed money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re determining.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Dad know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I gave Morales Dad\u2019s current number even though he already had it.<\/p>\n<p>Habit.<\/p>\n<p>He then said, \u201cThere is another reason I called you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJonathan Price is Darnell Price\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat straighter.<\/p>\n<p>Darnell.<\/p>\n<p>The electrician who saw Eric near the rail.<\/p>\n<p>The witness who helped reopen the Jackson Street timeline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was Jonathan doing for Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEquipment subcontracting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he involved at Jackson Street?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why does it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Darnell says Jonathan had serious medical bills at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric sent him money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That did not fit easily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo months before Dad\u2019s company closed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it stolen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Even Eric\u2019s generosity might have been funded by someone else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Jonathan say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thought it was a legitimate early payment from Thomas Whitman Construction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he owed thirty-two?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout nine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Eric overpaid him twenty-three thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found messages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do they say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric and Darnell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDarnell knew him before Jackson Street?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought they barely interacted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was our earlier understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do the messages say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morales paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDarnell had asked Eric for help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis brother\u2019s treatment costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric gave it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith stolen money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is this coming up now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we needed to establish whether Darnell\u2019s Jackson Street testimony was influenced by prior financial ties to Eric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That made sense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found no evidence he changed his account for Eric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he disclose the payment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmbarrassment. Fear of looking compromised. He says he believed it was company money authorized by your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dad authorize it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Jonathan actually sick?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind of illness?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morales gave a general answer.<\/p>\n<p>Serious.<\/p>\n<p>Long-term treatment.<\/p>\n<p>The exact diagnosis did not matter to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Eric get from Darnell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill your favorite word.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt keeps me employed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cDid Eric ever use the payment against him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot in any records we found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Darnell do anything for him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Eric may have just helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith money that wasn\u2019t his.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The recurring moral knot.<\/p>\n<p>A compassionate act financed through theft.<\/p>\n<p>Help built on harm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause your father may hear about it during the final business audit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you don\u2019t want us to assume Darnell lied about Jackson Street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe rechecked his testimony against footage and Rick Palmer\u2019s statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCore details remain supported.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>The Samuel question did not reopen.<\/p>\n<p>At least not materially.<\/p>\n<p>I called Dad that evening.<\/p>\n<p>He already knew about Jonathan.<\/p>\n<p>Morales had spoken with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ever authorize the payment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould you have?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Eric had asked?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThirty-two thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably not that much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJonathan was good people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked embarrassed after saying it.<\/p>\n<p>As if kindness itself now required explanation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re allowed to have wanted to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith company money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot secretly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens with the audit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael says probably nothing new legally for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill strange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinding out Eric occasionally did something generous while stealing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes it change how you think about him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad took a long time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then corrected himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to think either he was helping people or using them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could be doing both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Dad continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave Jonathan money. Maybe because he cared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd maybe he also liked being the person who could solve things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSound familiar?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou thought it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>The resemblance bothered me less than it once would have.<\/p>\n<p>Being useful was not a crime.<\/p>\n<p>The problem was what we believed usefulness entitled us to.<\/p>\n<p>Access.<\/p>\n<p>Control.<\/p>\n<p>Gratitude.<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Those were separate choices.<\/p>\n<p>Dad asked, \u201cDid Morales tell you who Eric was trying to protect?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen maybe I\u2019m ahead of you for once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey found a note attached to the Jonathan payment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat note?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInternal memo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWritten by Eric?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward the kitchen where Mom was cooking.<\/p>\n<p>Then lowered his voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t involve D. If auditors ask, I approved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cD is Darnell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric was trying to keep him out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was new.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe because Darnell asked for help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr because Eric didn\u2019t want him owing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMorales thinks Eric may have deliberately kept Darnell\u2019s name off the payment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>It suggested Eric understood a favor could compromise someone.<\/p>\n<p>A strange line for a man who crossed so many others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Darnell say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe cried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Dad continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently he thought Jonathan got help from the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he never knew Eric arranged it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Eric did something good anonymously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith stolen funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich means someone else paid for his generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The money could not be separated from its source.<\/p>\n<p>But motive could still be understood.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Eric cared about Jonathan.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he liked being powerful.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe both.<\/p>\n<p>Then Dad said, \u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I groaned.<\/p>\n<p>He laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmall more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe audit cleared one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fifty-thousand-dollar supplier payment everyone thought Eric diverted at the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered.<\/p>\n<p>One of the transactions that appeared suspicious after the company collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. Vendor invoice was real. Delivery happened. Accounting error made it look duplicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Eric didn\u2019t steal that one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re happy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause truth getting smaller is allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>Then smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For years we had treated every new accusation as another stone on Eric\u2019s pile.<\/p>\n<p>Now one came off.<\/p>\n<p>It did not change the mountain.<\/p>\n<p>It still mattered.<\/p>\n<p>I wrote Eric that week.<\/p>\n<p>Not about the audit generally.<\/p>\n<p>Only one fact.<\/p>\n<p>The supplier payment was legitimate. Investigators confirmed it.<\/p>\n<p>His response arrived two weeks later.<\/p>\n<p>I know.<\/p>\n<p>I laughed aloud.<\/p>\n<p>Then kept reading.<\/p>\n<p>I tried telling Dad that years ago. Hard to complain that people don\u2019t believe you after spending years making yourself unbelievable.<\/p>\n<p>That was one of the saddest accurate things he had ever written.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Price?<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>He knew we had found it.<\/p>\n<p>I replied:<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>His next letter was longer.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan had leukemia.<\/p>\n<p>Darnell asked if Dad\u2019s company could advance work.<\/p>\n<p>Dad was drowning and would have said no even though he wanted to say yes.<\/p>\n<p>So I moved money.<\/p>\n<p>I read the sentence twice.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>I told myself I would replace it from another deal.<\/p>\n<p>Same story.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t want Darnell involved because asking for help wasn\u2019t his crime.<\/p>\n<p>That line stayed with me.<\/p>\n<p>Asking for help wasn\u2019t his crime.<\/p>\n<p>Eric had understood something about Darnell that our family had struggled to understand about itself.<\/p>\n<p>Need did not equal wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>What mattered was what you did with someone else\u2019s need.<\/p>\n<p>I wrote:<\/p>\n<p>Why didn\u2019t you ask Dad?<\/p>\n<p>Eric:<\/p>\n<p>Because I knew he\u2019d say no.<\/p>\n<p>Me:<\/p>\n<p>Then it was not your decision.<\/p>\n<p>His reply:<\/p>\n<p>I know that now.<\/p>\n<p>I smiled grimly.<\/p>\n<p>The answer had become almost predictable.<\/p>\n<p>I know that now.<\/p>\n<p>Better late than never.<\/p>\n<p>Insufficient.<\/p>\n<p>Still meaningful.<\/p>\n<p>That spring, Dad\u2019s final business audit closed.<\/p>\n<p>No hidden new catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>No secret victim.<\/p>\n<p>No extra forged loan.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation found what it found.<\/p>\n<p>Some transactions Eric stole.<\/p>\n<p>Some Dad mishandled.<\/p>\n<p>Some Melissa redirected.<\/p>\n<p>Some ordinary accounting mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Some legitimate payments that looked suspicious only because everything around them had become contaminated by distrust.<\/p>\n<p>That last category mattered more than I expected.<\/p>\n<p>Fraud poisoned innocent facts too.<\/p>\n<p>Once someone lies enough, truth begins looking guilty simply because it shares the room.<\/p>\n<p>I thought about that for days.<\/p>\n<p>Then about Eric.<\/p>\n<p>If he ever became consistently honest, he would still live inside the shadow of old lies.<\/p>\n<p>People would question accurate statements.<\/p>\n<p>Doubt good motives.<\/p>\n<p>Inspect kindness.<\/p>\n<p>That was one of the consequences he had built himself.<\/p>\n<p>Not prison.<\/p>\n<p>Not restitution.<\/p>\n<p>Loss of presumptive trust.<\/p>\n<p>There was no court date when that ended.<\/p>\n<p>No percentage paid that restored it.<\/p>\n<p>Only time.<\/p>\n<p>Repetition.<\/p>\n<p>Boring choices.<\/p>\n<p>One evening, Dad called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAudit\u2019s officially done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike someone finally closed a door I thought would stay open forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he added, \u201cI wish Samuel were here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaria says the scholarship has fourteen applicants this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants me to help review them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know what I\u2019m proudest of?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe trusts me to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Not money.<\/p>\n<p>Not business success.<\/p>\n<p>Trust.<\/p>\n<p>Small.<\/p>\n<p>Specific.<\/p>\n<p>Earned back in one narrow place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Dad breathed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After we hung up, I opened my email.<\/p>\n<p>A message from Daniel waited.<\/p>\n<p>Subject:<\/p>\n<p>House?<\/p>\n<p>My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n<p>We had been talking about buying something together eventually.<\/p>\n<p>Not my parents\u2019 house.<\/p>\n<p>Not theirs.<\/p>\n<p>Ours.<\/p>\n<p>I opened the message.<\/p>\n<p>Three listings.<\/p>\n<p>No pressure.<\/p>\n<p>No spreadsheets.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the first one.<\/p>\n<p>Small yard.<\/p>\n<p>Three bedrooms.<\/p>\n<p>A kitchen with an absurdly large pantry.<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Then called Mom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are you laughing?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found a house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow big is the pantry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed harder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerfect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBuy it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She corrected herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsider it responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was painful, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcruciating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Some habits never disappeared completely.<\/p>\n<p>But now we noticed them.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes that was enough.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=23548\">Click here to continue reading: PART 32: Buying a Home of My Own Forced Me to Face the Last Fear My Parents\u2019 Mortgage Had Left Behind<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three years after the dinner, Detective Morales called unexpectedly. By then, seeing his name no longer triggered the same rush of adrenaline. Mostly. I answered from my office. \u201cShould I &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23547","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\/23547","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=23547"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23582,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23547\/revisions\/23582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}