{"id":24337,"date":"2026-09-28T20:25:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24337"},"modified":"2026-09-28T20:25:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:25:31","slug":"part-18-the-december-nineteenth-recording-revealed-what-david-made-me-agree-to-while-i-was-barely-able-to-stay-awake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24337","title":{"rendered":"PART 18 \u2013 The December Nineteenth Recording Revealed What David Made Me Agree to While I Was Barely Able to Stay Awake"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The recording surfaced the following morning.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Patel did not send it immediately.<\/p>\n<p>She came to the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>That alone told me it mattered.<\/p>\n<p>She arrived with another investigator, a digital forensic analyst named Raymond Cole.<\/p>\n<p>He carried no dramatic equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Only a laptop and a small locked evidence case.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica joined us before they played anything.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah offered to leave.<\/p>\n<p>I asked her to stay.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan and Chloe did too.<\/p>\n<p>Patel warned us that some recovered digital files remained under review and that the recording\u2019s origin, edits, and context had not yet been fully authenticated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why play it now?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you appear in it, and your recollection may help identify context.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My palms were damp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFour minutes, twelve seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That seemed impossibly long.<\/p>\n<p>The fake Northbridge call had lasted less than a minute.<\/p>\n<p>Four minutes meant conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Real conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Cole opened the audio.<\/p>\n<p>The first sound was movement.<\/p>\n<p>Fabric.<\/p>\n<p>A glass touching wood.<\/p>\n<p>Then David\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My own voice answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMm?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I barely recognized it.<\/p>\n<p>Slow.<\/p>\n<p>Thick.<\/p>\n<p>Sleepy.<\/p>\n<p>Chloe looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I kept my eyes on the laptop.<\/p>\n<p>David said, \u201cI need to ask you something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My voice:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Just now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>Then me:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy head hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know. This will take one minute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>Paper rustled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you trust me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>The woman in the recording mumbled, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David said, \u201cDo you trust me to handle the Oak Creek problem?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat creek?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan swore quietly.<\/p>\n<p>David repeated, \u201cThe investment problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do know. We talked about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>Not angry.<\/p>\n<p>Patient.<\/p>\n<p>The same tone he used when explaining something to a child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire, listen. The house may need to support temporary financing. Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My recorded voice said, \u201cNo house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then more softly:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad said no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room became perfectly still.<\/p>\n<p>I had invoked my father.<\/p>\n<p>Even impaired, some part of me remembered.<\/p>\n<p>David replied, \u201cYour father is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat closed.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trust is yours now. You can decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just said you trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen if I need to use the property temporarily, you agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Long pause.<\/p>\n<p>I heard myself breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSay yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My memory flashed.<\/p>\n<p>Just answer yes.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The exact moment.<\/p>\n<p>My recorded voice whispered, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chloe began crying.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her but did not stop the recording.<\/p>\n<p>David said, \u201cYes to what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then my voice:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>David waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire, you agree that I can take care of the paperwork we discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou agree to the property transfer if necessary?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A faint sound.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe I was already drifting asleep.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s voice relaxed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paper moved again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I need you to sign one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every muscle in my body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>My recorded voice said, \u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has to be tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo pen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Something in my voice changed.<\/p>\n<p>Even slowed by whatever I had taken, irritation remained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then David said, \u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That one word carried anger.<\/p>\n<p>The recording continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember transferring money to Safe Harbor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sent money there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sent what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFifty-two thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My recorded voice laughed weakly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t remember?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The cruelty of it was breathtaking.<\/p>\n<p>He had been manufacturing evidence of memory problems while I was impaired.<\/p>\n<p>Asking about something that never happened.<\/p>\n<p>Recording my confusion.<\/p>\n<p>The file continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat day is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I answered incorrectly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>December nineteenth had been Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat month?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDecember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you do today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Long silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShelter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you take your medication?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That word hit me hard.<\/p>\n<p>Because he had taught me the answer moments earlier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat medication?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No response.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour migraine medication?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam put a hand over her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>David continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you understand it can affect your memory?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I mumbled something.<\/p>\n<p>He repeated the question.<\/p>\n<p>Finally:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he said, \u201cOkay. Sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recording ended.<\/p>\n<p>No one spoke.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the laptop screen.<\/p>\n<p>Four minutes.<\/p>\n<p>That was all.<\/p>\n<p>Four minutes in which David had attempted to collect consent, evidence of confusion, acknowledgment of nonexistent medication, and a fabricated history of financial transfers.<\/p>\n<p>Not enough to control my trust.<\/p>\n<p>But enough to play selectively.<\/p>\n<p>Enough to support the story he was already building.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica spoke first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas that your voice?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember the conversation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFragments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember agreeing to property transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you remember refusing to sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now I did.<\/p>\n<p>Not fully.<\/p>\n<p>The feeling returned more than the scene.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy eyelids.<\/p>\n<p>A pen pressing into my fingers.<\/p>\n<p>Me pushing it away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember not wanting to sign something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember thinking Dad would be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed once, then started crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently even drugged I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam moved toward me.<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was not.<\/p>\n<p>But I needed to remain in the room.<\/p>\n<p>Cole explained that the file had been found on David\u2019s laptop under a folder called C_MED.<\/p>\n<p>Metadata showed it was created December nineteenth at 5:47 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>The device used was David\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n<p>No obvious edits had been detected in preliminary analysis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat time did Miriam bring me home?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately five thirty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>So David had begun recording within minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny video?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot found so far,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOther recordings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-seven files in the same folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-seven.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome appear to contain your voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica raised a hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not need to hear all of them now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost argued.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>She was right.<\/p>\n<p>There would be time.<\/p>\n<p>Too much time.<\/p>\n<p>Patel asked whether the medication David gave me could explain my condition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know what he gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recovered bottle bearing my name had been photographed and secured.<\/p>\n<p>Its pharmacy-style label identified a medication I did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>The pills inside would require analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The label itself appeared inconsistent with Westbrook\u2019s formatting.<\/p>\n<p>Another manufactured artifact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was the drug name?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Patel told me.<\/p>\n<p>Lorazepam.<\/p>\n<p>I knew enough to understand it was a sedating anti-anxiety medication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas David prescribed that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel did not answer directly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigators are obtaining appropriate records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not speculate beyond that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Warren\u2019s name remained another open question.<\/p>\n<p>Patel had contacted him.<\/p>\n<p>He confirmed he knew Marcus professionally.<\/p>\n<p>He denied treating or evaluating me.<\/p>\n<p>He also denied agreeing to sign any incapacity certification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid David contact him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse increased.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDecember twentieth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The day after the recording.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he ask?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel checked her notes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe described a spouse with possible medication-induced confusion and asked what type of physician could assess financial decision-making capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dr. Warren know he meant me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told David he would not discuss a specific person without appropriate consent or examination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo no doctor agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot that we have found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Plan B had been incomplete.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe David intended to find someone else.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he expected the appearance of concern to be enough.<\/p>\n<p>Patel then told us the Safe Harbor pledge submission had strengthened the digital timeline.<\/p>\n<p>The metadata associated with the document had been created on David\u2019s laptop.<\/p>\n<p>My digital signature image and Miriam\u2019s appeared to have been inserted from image files stored on the same machine.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam\u2019s file name was literally:<\/p>\n<p>MiriamSig.png<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow would he get my signature?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered charity acknowledgments.<\/p>\n<p>Board minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Donation letters.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam signed dozens of documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could have photographed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr downloaded a public PDF,\u201d Jessica said.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam shook her head slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccess like ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase had become shorthand among us now.<\/p>\n<p>Elaine\u2019s archive had provided the language.<\/p>\n<p>Patel continued.<\/p>\n<p>The notary stamp bearing Elaine Carver\u2019s name had been found in a plastic storage box with several other stamps.<\/p>\n<p>Some valid.<\/p>\n<p>Some expired.<\/p>\n<p>Some belonging to people investigators had not yet identified.<\/p>\n<p>Beside them were blank acknowledgment forms.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long had he been doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>No one could yet.<\/p>\n<p>Then Cole turned his laptop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is something else recovered from Mr. Bennett\u2019s system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spreadsheet appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Rows of names.<\/p>\n<p>Dates.<\/p>\n<p>Documents.<\/p>\n<p>Status notes.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized some instantly.<\/p>\n<p>CLAIRE \u2013 voice model complete.<\/p>\n<p>ETHAN \u2013 DL + signature acquired.<\/p>\n<p>CHLOE \u2013 address \/ utility confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>SARAH \u2013 historical file available.<\/p>\n<p>MIRIAM \u2013 signature source available online.<\/p>\n<p>DANIEL M \u2013 trust procedures known.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>Each person reduced to useful data.<\/p>\n<p>There were columns labeled ACCESS, AUTH, RISK, LEVERAGE.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is AUTH?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely authorization,\u201d Cole said, \u201cbut that is interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chloe pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does mine say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under AUTH:<\/p>\n<p>informal verbal \/ business okay.<\/p>\n<p>Her face went white.<\/p>\n<p>Her casual comment in spring.<\/p>\n<p>Dad could use her information for a family business thing as long as it cost nothing.<\/p>\n<p>David had recorded that as authorization.<\/p>\n<p>Not for one narrow purpose.<\/p>\n<p>As a reusable category.<\/p>\n<p>My row was worse.<\/p>\n<p>AUTH:<\/p>\n<p>marital implied \/ prior investment support \/ voice yes \/ signature difficult.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSignature difficult?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe because Dad\u2019s trust required originals.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe because I did not sign papers casually.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in my life, stubbornness felt like an asset.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah\u2019s row read:<\/p>\n<p>historic settlement \/ possible exposure \/ keep separated from Claire.<\/p>\n<p>She laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Christmas request.<\/p>\n<p>Keep Sarah and Claire apart.<\/p>\n<p>Because comparison was dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam\u2019s row contained:<\/p>\n<p>charity credibility \/ may support Claire \/ neutralize if needed.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeutralize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica said, \u201cDo not overread a single word.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m comfortable overreading that one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite myself, I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>The sound felt wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Then helpful.<\/p>\n<p>There were more names.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Price.<\/p>\n<p>Several investors.<\/p>\n<p>And one we did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Shaw.<\/p>\n<p>Her leverage number was $340,000.<\/p>\n<p>Status:<\/p>\n<p>resolved 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one knew.<\/p>\n<p>Another row:<\/p>\n<p>Laura Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n<p>Status:<\/p>\n<p>estate access closed.<\/p>\n<p>Amount:<\/p>\n<p>$96,000.<\/p>\n<p>My skin went cold.<\/p>\n<p>His dead mother\u2019s account.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>Katherine Lowe.<\/p>\n<p>$185,000.<\/p>\n<p>Status:<\/p>\n<p>settlement confidential.<\/p>\n<p>Chloe whispered, \u201cAre these all people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It appeared so.<\/p>\n<p>Not necessarily victims.<\/p>\n<p>Not necessarily illegal transactions.<\/p>\n<p>But each name represented access, money, or leverage in David\u2019s system.<\/p>\n<p>Plan A and Plan B were only the newest layers.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica asked Patel whether Rebecca Shaw and Katherine Lowe could be identified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigators are working through the list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarah said, \u201cWere they married to him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question hung there.<\/p>\n<p>David had told me he had only been married once before.<\/p>\n<p>To Sarah.<\/p>\n<p>Had that been another lie?<\/p>\n<p>Patel searched quickly.<\/p>\n<p>No obvious marriage records appeared.<\/p>\n<p>But that meant little without broader research.<\/p>\n<p>Then Jessica noticed a column I had missed.<\/p>\n<p>SOURCE.<\/p>\n<p>Beside Rebecca Shaw:<\/p>\n<p>employer retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Beside Katherine Lowe:<\/p>\n<p>business partner.<\/p>\n<p>Not wives.<\/p>\n<p>Different relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Same logic.<\/p>\n<p>Access points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does \u2018resolved\u2019 mean?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Cole shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At noon, Patel\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>She stepped away.<\/p>\n<p>When she returned, she looked directly at Sarah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigators located records associated with the two hundred twelve thousand dollars David mentioned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarah stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOld Oak Creek transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face drained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid I take it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel chose her words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe available records do not show funds going to an account in your name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarah closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did they go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA trust account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Mercer looked up sharply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose trust?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel read the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n<p>The woman from the spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to the money after that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigators are still tracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarah sank back into her chair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo David lied when he said I took it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe current records do not support that allegation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Patel added, \u201cThere is one connection you should know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca Shaw\u2019s trust account was administered by Daniel Price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The old Oak Creek attorney.<\/p>\n<p>The man who had warned Elaine.<\/p>\n<p>The man who had supposedly tried to prevent future spouses from being pulled into David\u2019s system.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly his role was less clean.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel Price know the money moved there?\u201d Jessica asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Rebecca alive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan investigators contact her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another person.<\/p>\n<p>Another history.<\/p>\n<p>Another relationship David had turned into numbers.<\/p>\n<p>The web widened.<\/p>\n<p>But for the first time, it was widening away from me.<\/p>\n<p>This was no longer only the story of what David tried to do at Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>It was becoming the history of how long he had done variations of it.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, after Patel left, my clean phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica answered this one.<\/p>\n<p>A woman spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Her voice was careful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Claire Bennett there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every person in the room became still.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was told David Bennett is under investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica asked who had given her the number.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDetective Patel gave me counsel\u2019s contact and said I could choose whether to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That reassured us.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica put her on speaker with permission.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Claire needs to know something before David tells her a different version.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cDavid tried this with me eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=24338\">Click here to continue reading: PART 19: Rebecca Shaw Had Escaped David\u2019s Financial Trap Years Earlier, but She Had Kept the Agreement That Explained His Entire System<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recording surfaced the following morning. Detective Patel did not send it immediately. She came to the hotel. That alone told me it mattered. She arrived with another investigator, a &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24337","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\/24337","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=24337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24394,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24337\/revisions\/24394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}