We did not open Richard\u2019s letter in Daniel\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
The evidence team would not permit it.<\/p>\n
The envelope belonged to an active investigation now, and every fold, fingerprint, stain, and fiber mattered.<\/p>\n
By noon, however, they had photographed and scanned the contents.<\/p>\n
Daniel received copies through official channels.<\/p>\n
He printed them without speaking.<\/p>\n
Four pages.<\/p>\n
Handwritten.<\/p>\n
Dated twenty-one years earlier.<\/p>\n
Margaret sat at the conference table.<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
Mara remained near the window.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood at the head of the table holding the pages.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I read this,\u201d he said, \u201ceveryone needs to understand that Richard\u2019s statements are not automatically facts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have been wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at the first page.<\/p>\n
The handwriting was dense and narrow.<\/p>\n
He began.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret, if you are reading this under the circumstances I fear, then Caroline Vale has either disappeared or been harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
I felt the room tighten.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not allow Ethan to convince you that she left voluntarily without first demanding evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
A tear slipped down Margaret\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n
She did not wipe it away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree nights ago, I discovered that Ethan gained access to the private ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel paused.<\/p>\n
Mara whispered, \u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ledger again.<\/p>\n
He kept reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger contains names, amounts, and arrangements that were never intended to become part of Blackwood Development\u2019s corporate records.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Mara.<\/p>\n
Her jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Richard had admitted the records were separate.<\/p>\n
Possibly illegal.<\/p>\n
Possibly worse.<\/p>\n
Daniel read.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not proud of everything recorded there. Some transactions were designed to conceal payments. Some were designed to keep property acquisitions away from competitors. Some involve individuals whose cooperation was purchased.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deputy at the burned office had been right.<\/p>\n
This was bigger than one company.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline discovered irregularities years ago. I persuaded her to remain silent while I corrected them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cHe never corrected anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how can you say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard always called delay correction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bitterness surprised me.<\/p>\n
She stared at the pages.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more immediate danger is Ethan\u2019s belief that the ledger is a blueprint.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does not understand that many of the entries reflect mistakes I spent years attempting to contain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara muttered, \u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded slightly.<\/p>\n
Richard might have been confessing.<\/p>\n
He might also have been rewriting his own role.<\/p>\n
The dead could manipulate evidence too.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan sees only mechanisms,\u201d Daniel read. \u201cShell entities. purchased loyalty. inflated acquisitions. private leverage. He believes these things explain our success.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Silver Crest.<\/p>\n
North Briar.<\/p>\n
Crown Meridian.<\/p>\n
Larkspur.<\/p>\n
Richard had feared Ethan would copy him.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one years later, Ethan had.<\/p>\n
Daniel turned the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline confronted Ethan yesterday. She told him she would inform outside counsel if he continued duplicating transactions from the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuplicating?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Ethan had already started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him this morning that he is finished at the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
The month-long exile.<\/p>\n
Now we knew why.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened to expose the ledger unless I gave him control over several entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackmail.<\/p>\n
A son blackmailing his father with evidence of the father\u2019s own misconduct.<\/p>\n
I looked at Margaret.<\/p>\n
She seemed hollowed out.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline fears he may attempt to recover copies she made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara said, \u201cCopies.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
If Caroline had duplicated the ledger, the archive might not be the only surviving source.<\/p>\n
Daniel read.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe intends to leave town for several days. I advised her to speak with an attorney first.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all waited for the next sentence.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s voice changed slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believes Ethan has been following her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret began crying silently.<\/p>\n
The letter continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she disappears, do not accept easy explanations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stopped.<\/p>\n
Then looked at Margaret.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cKeep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has learned too quickly how to make his anger appear reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence felt as though it had been written for me.<\/p>\n
I looked at my bruised wrist.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one years earlier, Richard had already recognized the same pattern.<\/p>\n
Daniel turned to page three.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must also tell you something I should have told you years ago. Ethan is not the only person who has accessed these arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s eyes opened.<\/p>\n
Mara stepped closer.<\/p>\n
Daniel read the next line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Mercer has known about the ledger since 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s surname.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer father,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cTom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara asked, \u201cFenton & Shore?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Margaret said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe handled outside audits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conspiracy changed shape.<\/p>\n
Until then, I had seen two generations of Blackwood men.<\/p>\n
Richard.<\/p>\n
Then Ethan.<\/p>\n
Now another family entered the story.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas helped structure several transactions and later threatened exposure when I attempted to unwind them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Richard wasn\u2019t acting alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel read on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis daughter Olivia has been close to Ethan for several years. I initially dismissed this as youthful attachment. I no longer believe it is harmless.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
Olivia and Ethan had been connected before Caroline vanished.<\/p>\n
Maybe long before my marriage.<\/p>\n
Maybe the affair was not a recent betrayal at all.<\/p>\n
It might have been a partnership that never ended.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have warned Ethan to stay away from the Mercer family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Richard threw Ethan out, he told me not to let him stay with Tom Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one blamed her aloud.<\/p>\n
She was doing enough of that herself.<\/p>\n
Daniel reached the final paragraph of the third page.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything happens to Caroline, the first people who must be questioned are Ethan and Thomas Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not Olivia.<\/p>\n
Her father.<\/p>\n
Mara wrote the name down.<\/p>\n
Daniel turned to the last page.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard says he moved the original ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the archive?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Daniel scanned the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says the archive contains copies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the original?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel kept reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have placed the original ledger somewhere Ethan cannot reach without exposing himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel read silently for several seconds.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
He lowered the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis part is about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was not part of the family twenty-one years ago.<\/p>\n
I had never met Ethan.<\/p>\n
I was a child.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked again at the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot you specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
He read.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the archive is compromised, the original ledger will pass through the estate of Judge Henry Caldwell.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room vanished around me for a second.<\/p>\n
My father.<\/p>\n
Judge Henry Caldwell.<\/p>\n
Margaret stared at me.<\/p>\n
Mara whispered, \u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard knew him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course they knew each other.<\/p>\n
Socially.<\/p>\n
Professionally.<\/p>\n
My father had attended my wedding.<\/p>\n
He had shaken Richard Blackwood\u2019s hand years before Richard died.<\/p>\n
But I had never known they were close.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard says your father was the only person he trusted to hold the ledger without using it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel lowered the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Read it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry does not know every detail. I have told him only that the materials may become evidence if certain events occur.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
That explained too much.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s distrust of Ethan before our wedding.<\/p>\n
His private questions about Blackwood Development.<\/p>\n
The argument they had at our engagement dinner.<\/p>\n
Ethan told me afterward that my father disliked anyone he could not control.<\/p>\n
Maybe my father had not disliked him.<\/p>\n
Maybe he had been afraid of him.<\/p>\n
Daniel read the final lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Ethan ever marries into Henry\u2019s family, assume he has discovered where the ledger went.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Absolute silence.<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He handed me the page.<\/p>\n
I read the sentence myself.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
The words did not change.<\/p>\n
If Ethan ever marries into Henry\u2019s family, assume he has discovered where the ledger went.<\/p>\n
My marriage suddenly felt physically different.<\/p>\n
Eight years.<\/p>\n
Every anniversary.<\/p>\n
Every shared home.<\/p>\n
Every promise.<\/p>\n
Every carefully planned coincidence that had brought Ethan into my life.<\/p>\n
I remembered our first meeting.<\/p>\n
A charity event.<\/p>\n
He had approached me because we were seated beside each other after a last-minute seating change.<\/p>\n
At least that was what I had been told.<\/p>\n
I remembered my father\u2019s reaction when I said Ethan had asked me to dinner.<\/p>\n
His face had gone strangely hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed at the time.<\/p>\n
I thought he was being protective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
My father had paused.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cMore than you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had accused him of judging Ethan because of the Blackwood name.<\/p>\n
We fought.<\/p>\n
I refused to speak to my father for almost a week.<\/p>\n
Ethan comforted me.<\/p>\n
Ethan told me parents sometimes struggled when their daughters became independent.<\/p>\n
I had believed him.<\/p>\n
I lowered the paper.<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cClaire, I swear I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not look at her.<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere would my father have kept it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI handled his estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen think.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried.<\/p>\n
My father had been methodical.<\/p>\n
Almost painfully so.<\/p>\n
Safe-deposit boxes.<\/p>\n
Legal files.<\/p>\n
A home office.<\/p>\n
A storage unit containing judicial papers he intended to donate.<\/p>\n
Everything inventoried.<\/p>\n
Everything labeled.<\/p>\n
Except\u2014<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Mara saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his study.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it wasn\u2019t there after the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father kept a locked walnut case in the bottom cabinet behind his desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever open it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept the key on his watch chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel asked, \u201cWhat happened to the chain?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought.<\/p>\n
The hospital returned my father\u2019s belongings in a clear plastic bag.<\/p>\n
Wallet.<\/p>\n
Watch.<\/p>\n
Wedding band.<\/p>\n
Keys.<\/p>\n
I remembered holding them.<\/p>\n
I remembered crying.<\/p>\n
I remembered Ethan taking the bag from me.<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter my father died, Ethan handled everything because I couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words tasted bitter now.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe picked up the hospital property. He stayed at Dad\u2019s house while I met with the funeral director.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara asked, \u201cDid Ethan have access to the study?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said nothing.<\/p>\n
He did not need to.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s warning was already on the table.<\/p>\n
If Ethan ever marries into Henry\u2019s family, assume he has discovered where the ledger went.<\/p>\n
I sat down again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my marriage was never about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cYou don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
She had no answer.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Ethan.<\/p>\n
This time I answered.<\/p>\n
Daniel started to object.<\/p>\n
I raised one hand.<\/p>\n
I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sounded tired.<\/p>\n
Controlled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I ignored the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you marry me because of my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
It lasted two seconds.<\/p>\n
Maybe three.<\/p>\n
Long enough.<\/p>\n
Ethan recovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he had Richard\u2019s ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Longer.<\/p>\n
Margaret closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Daniel wrote something on a pad.<\/p>\n
Mara started recording the time.<\/p>\n
Ethan said, \u201cWho told you about that?\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
Not denial.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to understand what that ledger is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s becoming everyone\u2019s favorite sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can destroy people who had nothing to do with any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you marry me to get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you approach me because of it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
I felt the answer before he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means what started for one reason became something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret whispered, \u201cOh, Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n
He heard her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother is there?\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
His voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, listen to me. Daniel does not understand what your father was protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the bruise on my wrist.<\/p>\n
That phrase again.<\/p>\n
Nothing was ever fair when the truth cornered him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the original ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
He went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you take my father\u2019s walnut case?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body went cold.<\/p>\n
I had never told him the case was walnut.<\/p>\n
No one in the room had.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
Margaret covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Ethan realized what he had done.<\/p>\n
Too late.<\/p>\n
I spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say what the case looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were in my father\u2019s study after he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
When Ethan finally answered, his voice was different.<\/p>\n
No charm.<\/p>\n
No defensiveness.<\/p>\n
Only urgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, your father moved it before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are people trying to burn buildings and forge my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho thinks that?\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed once.<\/p>\n
Then said the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
Mara grabbed her laptop.<\/p>\n
I tightened my grip on the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Olivia with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
A bitter honesty entered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t expect you to believe anything I say anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
For once, he was right.<\/p>\n
Then he added, \u201cBut believe this: Olivia isn\u2019t running from the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she running from?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer father.\u201d<\/p>\n
A knock sounded at the office door.<\/p>\n
Three hard strikes.<\/p>\n
Everyone froze.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked toward the hallway.<\/p>\n
No one was expected.<\/p>\n
The knock came again.<\/p>\n
Then a woman\u2019s voice called through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara went pale.<\/p>\n
I recognized the voice.<\/p>\n
From the terrace recording.<\/p>\n
From twelve years of office greetings and polite questions.<\/p>\n
Olivia Mercer.<\/p>\n
Daniel moved toward the door.<\/p>\n
The deputy assigned downstairs shouted from the corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHands where I can see them!\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia answered, her voice breaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not armed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Olivia stepped into view with both hands raised.<\/p>\n
Mud streaked her coat.<\/p>\n
Her hair was wet.<\/p>\n
There was dried blood near her collar.<\/p>\n
The black-stone ring remained on her right hand.<\/p>\n
She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
Not Ethan\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
Not Daniel.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you hate me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father left something for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
Daniel asked, \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if Ethan finds out where it is before Claire does, everything Richard and Judge Caldwell tried to protect will have been for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
We did not open Richard\u2019s letter in Daniel\u2019s office. The evidence team would not permit it. The envelope belonged to an active investigation now, and every fold, fingerprint, stain, and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28245","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\/28245","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=28245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28291,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28245\/revisions\/28291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}