The six names belonged to adults now.<\/p>\n
They had been children when Walter and Elias\u2019s early network moved their parents across state lines under fake employment arrangements.<\/p>\n
Some had been separated.<\/p>\n
Some renamed.<\/p>\n
Some placed through private agencies.<\/p>\n
The records from Sophie\u2019s shed contained enough information to reopen cases nobody had connected for decades.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s list had seventeen names.<\/p>\n
The buried list added six more.<\/p>\n
Twenty-three lives.<\/p>\n
And probably more beyond them.<\/p>\n
I sat at Sophie\u2019s kitchen table while Harris read the preliminary identifications.<\/p>\n
Four living.<\/p>\n
One dead.<\/p>\n
One still missing.<\/p>\n
The missing person was named Lena Ortiz.<\/p>\n
Age forty-one.<\/p>\n
Last confirmed record nineteen years earlier.<\/p>\n
Mara stared at the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard never found any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie looked at the bracelet on my wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never had the access sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without knowing it.<\/p>\n
Another accidental archive carried by a child.<\/p>\n
The symbolism was too neat.<\/p>\n
Life had not felt neat while living it.<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
Listened.<\/p>\n
Then his posture changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew that reaction now.<\/p>\n
New truth.<\/p>\n
New danger.<\/p>\n
He ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal agents accessed the subaccount.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecent activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow recent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast month.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat account is thirty years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho accessed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re tracing credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney moved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords downloaded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie whispered, \u201cSomeone was checking the names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElias?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was under surveillance for part of that period.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDead now, but alive last month.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire didn\u2019t know the sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may not have needed the original if someone else had account access.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Richard\u2019s household.<\/p>\n
Bennett\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Old company systems.<\/p>\n
Every institution had leaked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew Sophie\u2019s address?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMara didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElias.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone who took Emily\u2019s photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
Sophie looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said that picture was from three days before Richard\u2019s funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thought hurt.<\/p>\n
Richard dying in his room while someone continued watching Emily.<\/p>\n
Had he seen the last threat coming?<\/p>\n
Maybe.<\/p>\n
Maybe not.<\/p>\n
Harris received another message.<\/p>\n
\u201cCredentials identified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhitmore Foundation administrator.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cBennett?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccount registered to a staff member named Nora Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing.<\/p>\n
Mara looked confused.<\/p>\n
Sophie too.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cWho is Nora Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris searched.<\/p>\n
\u201cFoundation employee. Twenty-three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2019s foundation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill employed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMain office connected to Richard\u2019s estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she work from the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I remembered.<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
Quiet.<\/p>\n
Always present at Christmas fundraisers.<\/p>\n
Managed donation receipts.<\/p>\n
Brought Richard files.<\/p>\n
After the funeral, she had delivered flowers.<\/p>\n
I had barely registered her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe worked for Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose access?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHouse keys?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett would know.<\/p>\n
I called.<\/p>\n
He answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Nora Vale have access to the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cBennett.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFoundation office. Archive room. Service entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHidden room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkshop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecurity system?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLimited code.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan she disable cameras?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe manages vendor access.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Claire at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n
She understood instantly.<\/p>\n
We were already moving.<\/p>\n
I called Claire.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Bennett said, \u201cI\u2019m fifteen minutes away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarris is calling local police there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not go in alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not become Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called the house landline.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Emily\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
Ringing.<\/p>\n
Then disconnected.<\/p>\n
My body went cold.<\/p>\n
Sophie grabbed my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She corrected herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Better.<\/p>\n
Harris coordinated with police near Richard\u2019s house while we headed to the airport.<\/p>\n
There was no waiting for a return flight.<\/p>\n
A federal aircraft was made available because the case had expanded into trafficking, kidnapping, and organized crime.<\/p>\n
Everything moved too fast.<\/p>\n
During the drive to the airfield, Harris received camera access from Richard\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Most cameras were offline.<\/p>\n
One remained active.<\/p>\n
Rear garden.<\/p>\n
At 2:11 p.m., Nora Vale entered through the service gate.<\/p>\n
At 2:18, Claire stepped outside.<\/p>\n
At 2:19, another figure appeared.<\/p>\n
Nora.<\/p>\n
They spoke.<\/p>\n
No audio.<\/p>\n
Then Claire followed Nora toward the greenhouse.<\/p>\n
At 2:26, both disappeared from frame.<\/p>\n
No exit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris searched interior camera backups.<\/p>\n
Kitchen camera.<\/p>\n
Offline.<\/p>\n
Stairwell.<\/p>\n
Offline.<\/p>\n
Front hall.<\/p>\n
Last recording 2:14.<\/p>\n
Emily walked upstairs carrying the chess box Richard made.<\/p>\n
Alone.<\/p>\n
No later footage.<\/p>\n
My breathing became shallow.<\/p>\n
Mara squeezed my arm.<\/p>\n
I hated being touched.<\/p>\n
Then needed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice are four minutes away,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
Four minutes across an entire country felt unbearable.<\/p>\n
Bennett called.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see Nora\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWindows?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then another voice came through Bennett\u2019s call.<\/p>\n
A police officer.<\/p>\n
They had arrived.<\/p>\n
Harris spoke directly to the local commander.<\/p>\n
Teams entered.<\/p>\n
Seconds stretched.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst floor clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreenhouse clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkshop clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood inside the moving vehicle as though that could help.<\/p>\n
Mara pulled me down.<\/p>\n
A voice crackled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdult female located.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire Dawson.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCondition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive. Unconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSearching.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cChild located.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cCondition?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cConscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNegative visible injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara cried.<\/p>\n
I did too.<\/p>\n
Then Harris\u2019s face changed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was she?\u201d<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHidden room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s secret archive.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe locked herself in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the black key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily had known where I kept it?<\/p>\n
Apparently.<\/p>\n
Then an officer added:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says the woman tried to make her open the chess box.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChild identifies Nora.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crooked knight.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s final gift.<\/p>\n
Why would Nora want it?<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the account sequence.<\/p>\n
Codes hidden in objects.<\/p>\n
Richard had taught Emily with chess.<\/p>\n
Could he have hidden another key in the set?<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them not to touch the chess pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris relayed it.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cNora is not in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo camera.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSearching grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire regained consciousness before we landed.<\/p>\n
She told police Nora had asked her to come to the greenhouse because she had found Richard\u2019s old Dawson correspondence.<\/p>\n
Claire followed.<\/p>\n
Nora struck her.<\/p>\n
Then went inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Emily,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNora asked Claire where Richard kept the child\u2019s chess set.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would she know it mattered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time we reached Richard\u2019s house, police had found no sign of Nora.<\/p>\n
A section of greenhouse flooring had been opened.<\/p>\n
Beneath it was an old service tunnel.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s estate had once used it for heating pipes.<\/p>\n
Nora knew.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
She had worked there twenty-three years.<\/p>\n
The tunnel emerged beyond the garden wall.<\/p>\n
Her car remained.<\/p>\n
Someone else had picked her up.<\/p>\n
Another active accomplice.<\/p>\n
I ran upstairs.<\/p>\n
Emily sat wrapped in a blanket in the hallway.<\/p>\n
I dropped to my knees.<\/p>\n
She threw her arms around me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t open it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chess box.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora said Grandpa left her something in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa said nobody gets my chess set unless I say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe got mad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the hidden room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get the key?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily looked guilty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took it from your coat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to put it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held her tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll discuss stealing later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara hugged her next.<\/p>\n
Then Sophie, newly arrived with us, stood uncertainly.<\/p>\n
Emily looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie glanced at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m your aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an aunt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Mara.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had another kid?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily considered this.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family is a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one disagreed.<\/p>\n
Harris entered carrying the chess set in an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe scanned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne piece contains metal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe white queen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa said the queen was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
The piece looked normal.<\/p>\n
Investigators unscrewed the base.<\/p>\n
Inside was a tiny key.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Another key.<\/p>\n
But this one bore no label.<\/p>\n
Only a number.<\/p>\n
7714.<\/p>\n
The foundation account Charles had flagged.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccount 7714 was closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett, now beside Harris, shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bank account was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else has that number?\u201d<\/p>\n
He searched Richard\u2019s records.<\/p>\n
Storage.<\/p>\n
Vault.<\/p>\n
Trust box.<\/p>\n
Then found it.<\/p>\n
Private archival locker 7714.<\/p>\n
Location: Whitmore Foundation headquarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora works there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew Richard hid something in Emily\u2019s chess piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may have helped administer the locker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris immediately sent agents.<\/p>\n
The locker was opened with a duplicate key while the chess key remained in evidence.<\/p>\n
Inside were sealed records.<\/p>\n
Older than the Dawson ledger.<\/p>\n
Victim files.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
And correspondence between Nora Vale and Elias.<\/p>\n
Twenty years.<\/p>\n
Nora was not a recent accomplice.<\/p>\n
She had been inside Richard\u2019s institution almost the entire time.<\/p>\n
The letters revealed her role.<\/p>\n
She monitored Richard\u2019s searches.<\/p>\n
Copied victim names.<\/p>\n
Warned Elias when Richard got close.<\/p>\n
Fed him Mara\u2019s medical activity.<\/p>\n
Tracked Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Tracked Sophie.<\/p>\n
Tracked me.<\/p>\n
Tracked Emily.<\/p>\n
My hands shook as I read.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett found the answer.<\/p>\n
Nora\u2019s brother had been one of Walter\u2019s drivers.<\/p>\n
Killed during an arrest attempt decades ago.<\/p>\n
She blamed Richard and Daniel for exposing the operation.<\/p>\n
Elias recruited her afterward.<\/p>\n
Not with money at first.<\/p>\n
With grievance.<\/p>\n
Then money came later.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard ever suspect her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris pulled one note from the locker.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n
N.V. access anomalies.<\/p>\n
Do not confront until backup complete.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow recently?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before his death.<\/p>\n
Richard had discovered Nora.<\/p>\n
Then why was she still working?<\/p>\n
Because he wanted to watch her.<\/p>\n
Same strategy as Charles.<\/p>\n
Same dangerous habit.<\/p>\n
Richard never removed threats when he could study them.<\/p>\n
And now he was dead.<\/p>\n
Emily had paid the price.<\/p>\n
I looked at Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left her inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew she was leaking information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo trace Elias?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger burned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe risked us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No defense.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Harris found another note.<\/p>\n
Nora does not know locker 7714 contains decoy index only.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecoy?\u201d<\/p>\n
The locker records were not originals.<\/p>\n
They pointed somewhere else.<\/p>\n
Another storage reference.<\/p>\n
No number.<\/p>\n
Only:<\/p>\n
L.O.<\/p>\n
Harris frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena Ortiz?\u201d<\/p>\n
The one victim still missing.<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
Richard had tied the final archive to the one person he never found.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Then another page appeared.<\/p>\n
Not Richard\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n
Nora\u2019s.<\/p>\n
I found Lena.<\/p>\n
Elias must not know.<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora found Lena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why hide it from Elias?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one knew.<\/p>\n
A traitor to Richard.<\/p>\n
But maybe not entirely loyal to Elias.<\/p>\n
Both.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora just called federal investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants to surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImmunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn exchange for Lena Ortiz.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNora says Lena has been living under another identity for twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Nora protected her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Another betrayer who protected someone while betraying everyone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora says Lena is the only living person who can identify the woman who originally recruited Elias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoman?\u201d<\/p>\n
We had always treated Elias as the architect after Walter.<\/p>\n
Apparently he had learned from someone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNora won\u2019t say until a deal is offered.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Emily.<\/p>\n
She was playing with the crooked black knight Richard made.<\/p>\n
One piece still uncomplicated.<\/p>\n
At least for now.<\/p>\n
Then Harris added, \u201cNora says Richard knew the recruiter\u2019s identity before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd never told us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he leave it somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked at the decoy index.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Part of me wanted to laugh.<\/p>\n
Part of me wanted to smash every locked box Richard had ever owned.<\/p>\n
Instead I looked at Emily.<\/p>\n
Then Sophie.<\/p>\n
Mara.<\/p>\n
Bennett.<\/p>\n
Claire.<\/p>\n
People finally in the same room instead of watching one another from across roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we find it together.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one objected.<\/p>\n
For once, the next truth would not belong to one person first.<\/p>\n
The six names belonged to adults now. They had been children when Walter and Elias\u2019s early network moved their parents across state lines under fake employment arrangements. Some had been … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26253","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\/26253","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=26253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26288,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26253\/revisions\/26288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}