{"id":28153,"date":"2026-10-02T19:43:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T19:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28153"},"modified":"2026-10-02T19:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T19:43:39","slug":"part-9-my-name-in-the-ledger-meant-my-mother-had-planned-for-me-to-receive-something-richard-could-never-allow-me-to-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28153","title":{"rendered":"PART 9 \u2013 My Name in the Ledger Meant My Mother Had Planned for Me to Receive Something Richard Could Never Allow Me to Find"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cBeneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word hung between us inside the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at David, waiting for the rest.<\/p>\n<p>There had to be more.<\/p>\n<p>A beneficiary of what?<\/p>\n<p>Money?<\/p>\n<p>Property?<\/p>\n<p>An insurance policy?<\/p>\n<p>One of the companies tied to Richard\u2019s network?<\/p>\n<p>David gave me nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Liam broke the silence first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly did Grandma leave Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David glanced toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just said her name is in the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said her maiden name is in the index.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd beside it says beneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen beneficiary of something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam\u2019s patience snapped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you stop answering like a deposition?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked at our son.<\/p>\n<p>For a moment, guilt moved plainly across his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying not to tell you things I can\u2019t prove.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat didn\u2019t stop you from using Mom\u2019s identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The blow landed.<\/p>\n<p>David looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa lowered the tire iron.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwen won\u2019t stay down forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We all looked outside.<\/p>\n<p>Owen Pike was on one knee now, one hand pressed to his ribs.<\/p>\n<p>He stared at David with a kind of exhausted hatred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got maybe five minutes,\u201d Melissa said.<\/p>\n<p>David nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not splitting up with Liam again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen say what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou and Liam go with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is exactly what I thought you meant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David ignored her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe leaves separately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa folded her arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd why would I do that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Richard knows you\u2019re with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he\u2019ll follow you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to use her as bait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa answered before he could.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked irritated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know how to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer caught my attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked toward Owen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Owen pushed himself upright against the storage-unit wall.<\/p>\n<p>He did not come closer.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he reached into his jacket.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa raised the tire iron.<\/p>\n<p>David stepped between us and Owen.<\/p>\n<p>Owen pulled out a phone.<\/p>\n<p>Not a weapon.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at David.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think this changes anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Owen held up the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard already knows she found Melissa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His gaze moved to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now he knows she found you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin tightened.<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s jaw hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Owen smiled.<\/p>\n<p>It was not friendly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve been telling me that since you were twenty-seven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe tonight you\u2019ll finally listen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Owen glanced at Liam.<\/p>\n<p>That was enough for David.<\/p>\n<p>He crossed the space between them quickly, grabbed Owen by the collar, and shoved him into the corrugated metal wall.<\/p>\n<p>The impact echoed down the row.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not look at my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Owen laughed despite the pressure at his throat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David tightened his grip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWalk away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound like Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David released him so suddenly Owen stumbled.<\/p>\n<p>For one second nobody moved.<\/p>\n<p>Then Owen straightened his jacket.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk him what happened to the other beneficiaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my stomach drop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat other beneficiaries?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David turned toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Owen was already walking backward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk David.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he disappeared between the storage buildings.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at David.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat other beneficiaries?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not make me ask twice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa watched him too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo there were others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David rubbed a hand across his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwen was trying to destabilize you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not answer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, there were others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome were people connected to Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictims?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmployees?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFamily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard\u2019s family were beneficiaries of the money he stole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrusts. Insurance policies. Properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Carol list them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she tracked where the money ultimately went.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I crossed my arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying to recover the missing pages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked toward Melissa.<\/p>\n<p>She noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t look at me like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I glanced between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you two not saying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>David spoke first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think Carol gave the missing pages to someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow can you be sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Evelyn would have told you tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChloe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound certain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t know the ledger existed until recently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That disturbed me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Richard tell Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo scare her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInto what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSigning things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of the bruises around her wrist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he make her sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me what you do know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTransfers. Corporate resignations. Asset assignments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome to Blue Heron.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich she supposedly owns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd some?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt something cold move through my body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean to me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour name appears on several new entities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow new?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithin the last six months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout my knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Richard isn\u2019t just moving old fraud into my identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s actively building something now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked at the open cedar chest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he knows the old structure is collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he needs a replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam stared at his father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou let this happen too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom\u2019s name is on companies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Richard has records, signatures, tax identifiers, old documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like access you gave him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David flinched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam\u2019s anger sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want me to say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want you to stop acting like admitting it makes it okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked at him for a long moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer was low and tired.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt makes nothing okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, Liam had no immediate reply.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at David.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a safe place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou mean one of your safe places Richard already knows about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow sure are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot persuasive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s somewhere Carol used.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That got my attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn old rental property inland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwned by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly by anyone in the Mitchell network.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho owns it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost struck him.<\/p>\n<p>The impulse was so immediate I actually took one step toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou created another trust in my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was in college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother created a trust in my name when I was in college?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word returned.<\/p>\n<p>David looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that trust may be what the ledger index refers to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s it called?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Bennett Family Preservation Trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew about this?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the name means something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at David.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI only found it four months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarol left a reference inside one of the files I recovered from Hale\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou broke into Martin Hale\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did you get files from it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis former assistant sold a storage locker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is somehow worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was useful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does the trust own?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David took out his phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree properties. Two investment accounts. One dormant corporation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the current total.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much did it once hold?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam whispered, \u201cSeveral?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could barely process it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother created a trust worth millions and never told me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe may not have controlled all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa stepped between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to leave before Owen comes back with company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David nodded.<\/p>\n<p>He took the cedar chest.<\/p>\n<p>Liam grabbed the other side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can carry it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen let go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David did.<\/p>\n<p>That tiny surrender seemed harder for him than anything else.<\/p>\n<p>We moved quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa left first in her borrowed car.<\/p>\n<p>David waited until she disappeared, then led us to an old pickup parked near the rear gate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s yours?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam climbed into the back.<\/p>\n<p>I sat in front beside David.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement felt disturbingly familiar.<\/p>\n<p>Family in a car.<\/p>\n<p>Only now we carried forged identities, stolen files, and a cedar chest that had concealed evidence from a fraud network older than our marriage.<\/p>\n<p>David drove without speaking for ten minutes.<\/p>\n<p>I watched him.<\/p>\n<p>Finally he said, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot in the truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you ever going to answer it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we reach the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause if we\u2019re stopped\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That silenced me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat would police find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough to create problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you put anything illegal in this truck?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cedar chest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s Liam\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt contains evidence tied to active financial crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ledger isn\u2019t inside anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked through the windshield.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you trust the police at all?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause the truck is bugged?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He glanced at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat possibility occurred to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We turned onto a two-lane road.<\/p>\n<p>Pines closed around us.<\/p>\n<p>No houses.<\/p>\n<p>No businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Only darkness and our headlights cutting through it.<\/p>\n<p>After another few miles, David turned onto an unmarked gravel lane.<\/p>\n<p>At the end stood a small farmhouse.<\/p>\n<p>One light burned inside.<\/p>\n<p>Liam leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He killed the headlights.<\/p>\n<p>We sat in darkness.<\/p>\n<p>A shadow moved behind the kitchen window.<\/p>\n<p>I whispered, \u201cYou said this place was safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat phrase has not performed well tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David reached beneath his seat.<\/p>\n<p>He pulled out a small handgun.<\/p>\n<p>Liam recoiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt stays with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have a permit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s almost reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David opened the door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSarah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have spent twenty years telling me to stay somewhere while you handle things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I opened my door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I know you\u2019re usually hiding something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liam got out too.<\/p>\n<p>David looked at both of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may be genetic,\u201d Liam said.<\/p>\n<p>We approached the house together.<\/p>\n<p>David did not point the gun.<\/p>\n<p>He kept it low beside his thigh.<\/p>\n<p>The front door was unlocked.<\/p>\n<p>He pushed it open.<\/p>\n<p>The kitchen light was on.<\/p>\n<p>A cup of tea sat steaming on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Fresh.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had been there seconds earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Then a voice came from the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut the gun down, David.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I knew that voice.<\/p>\n<p>So did he.<\/p>\n<p>Richard stepped into the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>He looked tired now.<\/p>\n<p>Not weak.<\/p>\n<p>Tired.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>He wore no jacket, only a pale shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.<\/p>\n<p>His gaze moved from David to me, then Liam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had hoped we could avoid this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David raised the gun.<\/p>\n<p>Richard looked at it without fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou won\u2019t shoot me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t test that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said that at thirty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s arm stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Richard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWaiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause this house was never Carol\u2019s secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>Richard saw it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou really thought she kept something from me for twenty-three years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour mother was clever, Sarah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he glanced at the cedar chest in Liam\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut she was never as clever as she believed.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28154\">Click here to continue reading: PART 10: Richard Finally Told Me Why My Mother Created the Secret Trust, but His Version of the Past Left David Looking Guiltier Than Ever<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cBeneficiary.\u201d The word hung between us inside the storage unit. I looked at David, waiting for the rest. There had to be more. A beneficiary of what? Money? Property? An &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28153","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\/28153","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=28153"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28199,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28153\/revisions\/28199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}