David kept the gun raised.<\/p>\n
Richard crossed to the table and sat down.<\/p>\n
The calmness was unnerving.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at Liam.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see what fear turns people into?\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam\u2019s voice was flat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen enough from you to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something flickered across Richard\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Regret?<\/p>\n
Annoyance?<\/p>\n
It disappeared too quickly.<\/p>\n
I stood between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich part?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe part where my mother created something worth millions in my name while I was in college.\u201d<\/p>\n
He folded his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol didn\u2019t create it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho helped?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer stunned me.<\/p>\n
David lowered the gun slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had nothing to do with that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI drafted the original funding plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou couldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could and did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa had warned me not to assume everyone lied for the same reason.<\/p>\n
Now I wondered whether anyone in this family had ever told the truth for the same reason either.<\/p>\n
I looked at Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you help my mother put millions in my name if you were stealing from her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your mother and I were not always enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n
David laughed sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Carol and I worked together, we were close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
A strange unease moved through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you having an affair?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen say what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were junior employees at a credit union.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol was brilliant with numbers. Better than I ever was.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like my mother.<\/p>\n
She could calculate interest in her head.<\/p>\n
Budget a household to the dollar.<\/p>\n
Notice an incorrect restaurant bill before anyone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate lending.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially.\u201d<\/p>\n
David lowered the gun entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re rewriting history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked almost bored.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always hated the beginning because it made the ending inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward David.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me.<\/p>\n
Then looked away.<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol and I helped people who couldn\u2019t qualify through traditional lenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy stealing from accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal business owners. Families. People with cash earning very little in savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you pooled money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd loaned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLicensed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some respects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient phrasing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s mouth moved slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not use that as a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression faded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe arrangement worked for several years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil one borrower defaulted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA large one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow large?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to threaten everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI moved money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOther accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout permission.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not all at once.<\/p>\n
Not a criminal empire springing fully formed.<\/p>\n
A decision.<\/p>\n
One unauthorized transfer.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did my mother respond?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe objected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
David stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t alive inside that history, David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen her records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen the records she kept.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt Liam move behind me.<\/p>\n
The same question had been following us all night.<\/p>\n
Whose version of the documents was complete?<\/p>\n
Richard looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol helped me cover the first shortfall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she had invested too.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother put money into this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost everything she had then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was twenty-four.\u201d<\/p>\n
People become myths after death.<\/p>\n
Careful.<\/p>\n
Wise.<\/p>\n
Predictable.<\/p>\n
But my mother had once been twenty-four.<\/p>\n
I had never really imagined her that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe covered the loss. Then another loan failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you kept moving money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd eventually started forging signatures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Melissa was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMelissa knows fragments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you use my mother\u2019s identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she use yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe opened accounts under entities tied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hide money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the ledger.<\/p>\n
The six hundred thousand.<\/p>\n
The missing millions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying she stole first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n
Richard looked irritated with himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying by the end, there was no clean side.\u201d<\/p>\n
David laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcept you profited most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you benefited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room tightened.<\/p>\n
I stepped between them again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you and my mother create it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hold property outside the original lending network.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you were not connected to the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not legally connected to the companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I was cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
That phrase chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust was small when we created it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow small?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout eighty thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat became millions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStolen money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas my mother trying to protect money for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she laundering money through me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty hit harder than another denial.<\/p>\n
Behind me, Liam whispered, \u201cGrandma.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much did she put into it illegally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou helped create it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped controlling it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Carol turned against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean when she stopped letting you steal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s eyes hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are hearing one side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen forged deeds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCommitted decades later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen fake accounts in my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour network.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His answers were getting shorter.<\/p>\n
I pushed harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you order David to use my identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
David stiffened.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou created those accounts yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
David said nothing.<\/p>\n
Richard watched us.<\/p>\n
I hated the faint satisfaction on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer me.\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard says he didn\u2019t order it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt.<\/p>\n
Not because it absolved Richard.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
But because it meant one of the worst violations in our marriage had been David\u2019s own decision.<\/p>\n
No coercion.<\/p>\n
No direct command.<\/p>\n
His choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou decided my identity was expendable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly what you decided.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided Richard wouldn\u2019t touch you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew he had already threatened my mother with pictures of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you create the first fake account?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I knew about the photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you stop after you learned?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no defense left.<\/p>\n
I stepped back.<\/p>\n
Liam watched his father as if something inside him were breaking quietly.<\/p>\n
Richard spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid has always wanted to be the hero of a story he helped create.\u201d<\/p>\n
David raised the gun again.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou protected them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou endangered them first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought Sarah into the network before I ever considered using her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou created the trust account in her married name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hide money from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made her visible.\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s hand shook.<\/p>\n
I saw it.<\/p>\n
Richard did too.<\/p>\n
Liam stepped between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s eyes moved to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
David lowered the gun.<\/p>\n
Richard leaned back.<\/p>\n
There was no triumph in his expression now.<\/p>\n
Only weariness.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo offer you a way out.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom something you helped create.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of way?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know David has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want the missing pages too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause those pages contain names of people who will kill to keep them hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople you paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOthers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who paid me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed the equation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess. Loans. Contracts. Properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIllegal favors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not say until the ledger is secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecure with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have spent less than one day inside this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother spent decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd look where that got her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence landed like a slap.<\/p>\n
David stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cCareful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not threatening her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounded like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly do you think happened to my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe died of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what you meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe spent the last years of her life afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward David.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEx-husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was she afraid David would do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard paused.<\/p>\n
David spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s voice remained calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe discovered David had taken money out of the Bennett trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
David said nothing.<\/p>\n
Richard answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost one million dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam stared at his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s silence became unbearable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word barely carried.<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver several years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something in me go still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout three hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam backed away from him.<\/p>\n
David saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word cut through the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole from Mom too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took money from a trust in her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know it existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not make it yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked at Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo build a case against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
David ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome money paid investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLawyers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMelissa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my mother know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe demanded I put it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then Richard was tracking every account connected to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always did love a technical justification.\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked ready to explode.<\/p>\n
I raised my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both men stopped.<\/p>\n
I turned to Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are the missing pages?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I knew, I wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you don\u2019t have them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Martin Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Carol trusted him longer than she should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though he represented you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he betray her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe he betrayed everyone eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was the first thing all night that sounded entirely sincere.<\/p>\n
A vehicle approached outside.<\/p>\n
Headlights swept across the kitchen wall.<\/p>\n
David moved immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another vehicle turned onto the gravel lane behind the first.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Three engines.<\/p>\n
Liam moved toward the window.<\/p>\n
David grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay away from the glass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard stood.<\/p>\n
For the first time, real alarm entered his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
David stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen someone followed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The headlights went dark.<\/p>\n
The farmhouse fell silent.<\/p>\n
A phone began ringing.<\/p>\n
Not mine.<\/p>\n
Not David\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Richard reached into his pocket.<\/p>\n
He looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Then at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke on the other end.<\/p>\n
Richard listened.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then his face went pale.<\/p>\n
He lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
David asked, \u201cWho was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard looked at Liam.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
David kept the gun raised. Richard crossed to the table and sat down. The calmness was unnerving. \u201cPut it away.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d Richard looked at Liam. \u201cYou see what fear turns … <\/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-28154","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\/28154","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=28154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28200,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28154\/revisions\/28200"}],"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=28154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}