On the security feed, Thomas Mercer held the gun as steadily as if he had rehearsed the moment.<\/p>\n
Ethan stood beside his sedan with my mother\u2019s brass compass closed inside his fist.<\/p>\n
Rain glazed the driveway.<\/p>\n
The camera angle was high enough to show both men clearly and far enough away to make them look strangely small against the Blackwood estate.<\/p>\n
Daniel had already given the address to dispatch.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnits are coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMinutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minutes were an enormous distance when one man had a gun.<\/p>\n
Olivia stood beside me, one hand pressed against the conference table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father won\u2019t shoot him.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
She looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel kept his eyes on the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let\u2019s hope Ethan agrees.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the feed, Thomas extended his empty hand.<\/p>\n
Ethan shook his head.<\/p>\n
Thomas stepped closer.<\/p>\n
I could imagine the conversation even without sound.<\/p>\n
Give it to me.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
I understand enough.<\/p>\n
Men like Ethan and Thomas seemed incapable of believing another person could possess something they could not control.<\/p>\n
Margaret moved beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is Ethan just standing there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knows Thomas wants the compass more than he wants him dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a dangerous assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Ethan\u2019s assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
The distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
My husband had built his life around reading leverage.<\/p>\n
He knew Thomas.<\/p>\n
Maybe better than anyone in the room did.<\/p>\n
On screen, Ethan slowly lifted his free hand.<\/p>\n
Thomas raised the gun higher.<\/p>\n
Then Ethan pointed toward the house.<\/p>\n
Olivia whispered, \u201cHe\u2019s telling him the police are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward the road.<\/p>\n
That tiny movement gave Ethan an opening.<\/p>\n
He turned and ran.<\/p>\n
Margaret cried out.<\/p>\n
Thomas fired.<\/p>\n
The security camera image jerked.<\/p>\n
Not because the camera moved.<\/p>\n
Because I did.<\/p>\n
The gunshot had no sound on our feed, but Ethan stumbled beside the sedan.<\/p>\n
For one terrible second, I thought he had been hit.<\/p>\n
Then he kept moving.<\/p>\n
Thomas fired again.<\/p>\n
This time Ethan dropped behind the car.<\/p>\n
Daniel was already speaking to dispatch.<\/p>\n
\u201cShots fired. Confirm shots fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas approached the sedan.<\/p>\n
Then something unexpected appeared at the edge of the driveway.<\/p>\n
Peter Lang.<\/p>\n
I leaned toward the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked unsteadily through the open pedestrian gate.<\/p>\n
His hands were free.<\/p>\n
His shirt was torn.<\/p>\n
A dark bruise covered the side of his face.<\/p>\n
Thomas saw him.<\/p>\n
The gun swung away from Ethan.<\/p>\n
Peter raised both hands.<\/p>\n
Even without audio, his desperation was obvious.<\/p>\n
Thomas shouted something.<\/p>\n
Peter pointed toward himself.<\/p>\n
Then toward Thomas\u2019s SUV.<\/p>\n
Olivia whispered, \u201cHe followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr Thomas brought him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter shook his head hard.<\/p>\n
Then he reached slowly into his coat.<\/p>\n
Thomas aimed directly at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Peter pulled out a folded sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
Not a weapon.<\/p>\n
Thomas froze.<\/p>\n
Peter held the paper up.<\/p>\n
Then pointed at the compass in Ethan\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
Mara leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he have?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cMaybe the rest of file 317.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
Peter had told me box 317 was the first door.<\/p>\n
If he had the instructions and Ethan had the compass, neither Thomas nor Ethan possessed the complete route alone.<\/p>\n
Peter spoke again.<\/p>\n
Thomas appeared to answer.<\/p>\n
Then Peter did something strange.<\/p>\n
He tore the paper in half.<\/p>\n
Olivia gasped.<\/p>\n
Thomas stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
Peter tore it again.<\/p>\n
Four pieces.<\/p>\n
Thomas lowered the gun by an inch.<\/p>\n
Peter threw one piece into a puddle.<\/p>\n
Daniel almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s bargaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas gestured angrily.<\/p>\n
Peter pointed toward Ethan\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
Ethan rose slightly behind the rear wheel.<\/p>\n
For the first time, all three men were visible.<\/p>\n
Thomas with the gun.<\/p>\n
Ethan with the compass.<\/p>\n
Peter with the instructions.<\/p>\n
Three parts of a puzzle.<\/p>\n
No trust between them.<\/p>\n
Police sirens became faintly audible through Daniel\u2019s phone because dispatch had left the line open.<\/p>\n
Thomas must have heard them outside too.<\/p>\n
He turned toward the road.<\/p>\n
Peter moved.<\/p>\n
He lunged for the gun.<\/p>\n
The video became chaos.<\/p>\n
Thomas struck him across the face.<\/p>\n
Peter fell.<\/p>\n
Ethan came around the sedan.<\/p>\n
Thomas turned.<\/p>\n
Ethan hit his wrist.<\/p>\n
The gun flew beneath the car.<\/p>\n
All three men went down.<\/p>\n
Margaret gripped my shoulder.<\/p>\n
I barely felt it.<\/p>\n
Ethan and Thomas struggled.<\/p>\n
Peter crawled toward the gun.<\/p>\n
Thomas saw him and kicked backward.<\/p>\n
Peter rolled away.<\/p>\n
Then Ethan drove his forearm across Thomas\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n
For one heartbeat, my husband had control.<\/p>\n
He could have stopped.<\/p>\n
He did not.<\/p>\n
He hit Thomas once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Three times.<\/p>\n
Olivia shouted at the screen as though he could hear her.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop!\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped fighting.<\/p>\n
Ethan raised his fist again.<\/p>\n
Peter grabbed his arm.<\/p>\n
Ethan turned on him.<\/p>\n
The camera showed the expression on his face clearly enough.<\/p>\n
I had seen it the night he hit me.<\/p>\n
That instant when rage outran calculation.<\/p>\n
Peter pointed toward the road.<\/p>\n
Police cruisers entered the gate.<\/p>\n
Ethan released Thomas.<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
Put both hands up.<\/p>\n
Then, before officers reached them, I saw him do something small.<\/p>\n
He bent as if steadying himself.<\/p>\n
His hand disappeared briefly near the rear tire.<\/p>\n
When he straightened, the compass was no longer visible.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hid it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officers flooded the driveway.<\/p>\n
Thomas was rolled onto his stomach and cuffed.<\/p>\n
Ethan was separated.<\/p>\n
Peter sat on the wet pavement with his hands raised.<\/p>\n
The gun was recovered.<\/p>\n
The immediate danger ended.<\/p>\n
The larger one had not.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Olivia.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
Tears had started running down her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can feel relieved without defending him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret sat heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas may face firearms charges, assault-related charges, possible kidnapping charges depending on Peter\u2019s account, and whatever the financial investigation establishes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on what police determine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also assaulted Thomas after the weapon was out of play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked away.<\/p>\n
I understood the conflict in her face.<\/p>\n
Ethan had been threatened.<\/p>\n
He had also kept striking when he no longer needed to.<\/p>\n
Both things could be true.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
A police number.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
An officer confirmed no one had suffered a gunshot wound.<\/p>\n
The first round struck the sedan.<\/p>\n
The second went into the stone wall near the garage.<\/p>\n
Peter required medical evaluation.<\/p>\n
Thomas had a possible broken nose and facial injuries.<\/p>\n
Ethan had reopened the cut on his shoulder and injured one hand.<\/p>\n
Then the officer asked a question.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Blackwood, was Mr. Blackwood holding an object before the confrontation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat object?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA brass compass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you describe it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t located it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hid it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer asked, \u201cYou saw that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him bend near the rear of the car. After that, it wasn\u2019t in his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll search the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t let Ethan leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel gave me a warning look.<\/p>\n
The officer replied neutrally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re handling the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
I hated how little control I had.<\/p>\n
Then I reminded myself that control was the obsession destroying everyone around me.<\/p>\n
I did not need control.<\/p>\n
I needed evidence preserved.<\/p>\n
Mara returned to the whiteboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter had the paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Thomas knew Peter had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning Thomas didn\u2019t get everything from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter would never give him the whole route.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Henry chose Peter for exactly that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father trusted Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Ethan say Dad stopped trusting him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may have lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Even now, Ethan\u2019s version of the story kept contaminating the facts.<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cWe need Peter\u2019s account directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hospital allowed police interviews first.<\/p>\n
We waited.<\/p>\n
An hour passed.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, Daniel received confirmation that Peter was stable.<\/p>\n
He had refused pain medication until officers documented the contents of his coat.<\/p>\n
Inside they found three torn pieces of the note.<\/p>\n
One was missing.<\/p>\n
The piece he had thrown into the puddle.<\/p>\n
Police recovered it.<\/p>\n
All four were being preserved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does the note say?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t released it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Not Ethan.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
For half a second, I expected another threat.<\/p>\n
Instead the message read:<\/p>\n
I am Detective Lena Ortiz. I am with Mr. Lang. He has asked to speak with you in my presence.<\/p>\n
Daniel verified the number through the department.<\/p>\n
Then we called.<\/p>\n
Peter appeared by video from a hospital room.<\/p>\n
His left eye was swollen nearly shut.<\/p>\n
A bandage covered his eyebrow.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost cried at the sound of his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Ortiz sat beside him.<\/p>\n
She was in plain clothes, mid-forties perhaps, with the patient expression of someone accustomed to listening before deciding.<\/p>\n
Peter looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have told you years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTold me what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat your father expected this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room around me seemed to tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did he expect?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan would eventually search for the ledger openly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil now, Ethan always searched while preserving his marriage, his company, his reputation. Henry believed there would come a day when the ledger mattered more to him than all three.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Ethan running from Thomas with the compass.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the compass?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter glanced at Detective Ortiz.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA selector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cA selector for what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother\u2019s compass doesn\u2019t point north.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt points somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered my father\u2019s words.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the wrong direction is the point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on where you stand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoordinates?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe engraving on the back tells you where to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBellweather Road?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what is number 42?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBellweather was where Henry tested whether Ethan knew enough to follow the trail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA decoy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where does the compass point?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the place Henry believed Richard should have gone twenty-one years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt frustration rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to be cryptic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop talking like my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, he smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe compass must be placed on a brass survey marker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat marker?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the grounds of the old Vale property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot 42 Bellweather. The original Vale property outside the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat house burned down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWho owns the land?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlackwood Development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara immediately searched.<\/p>\n
Her expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPurchased nineteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA Mercer-controlled trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
I looked back at Peter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat will the compass show us there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second cache.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cSecond?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2019s archive wasn\u2019t the only archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father made one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looked at Olivia.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore she disappeared, Caroline created her own evidence cache.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tears rose in Olivia\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry discovered it years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left him instructions indirectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Henry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left them for whoever eventually opened Richard\u2019s records and understood the first property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara whispered, \u201cThe beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia stared at Peter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother used to say Caroline knew the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Caroline believed that if anyone understood where the first fraudulent acquisition began, they could find what she left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows it exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained the gun.<\/p>\n
The compass was not merely a path to Richard\u2019s ledger.<\/p>\n
It could lead to evidence Caroline created before she vanished.<\/p>\n
Evidence potentially outside Richard\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
Outside Thomas\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Outside Ethan\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Thomas do to you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Peter looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was waiting when I left Caroline\u2019s studio.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he took you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he take the key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the key was on the table in the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not the original key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cA copy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had one made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Thomas had kidnapped him over a duplicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the original?\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter looked straight at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mailed it yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the Blackwood estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo your father\u2019s old chambers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
Those chambers had been closed since his retirement.<\/p>\n
Peter continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe courthouse still receives legal mail for the archived office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel asked, \u201cWhy mail it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I knew I was being followed. Carrying both pieces was too dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the key may already be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the mail arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to secure it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
Detective Ortiz spoke for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll coordinate that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked Peter one more question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes the brass key open Caroline\u2019s cache?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly lost patience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing you need after you find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter leaned back against the hospital pillow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe compass points to the location. The key opens what is buried there.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that exact moment, my phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
The estate security system.<\/p>\n
GARAGE MOTION DETECTED.<\/p>\n
We opened the feed.<\/p>\n
Police remained at the property.<\/p>\n
But the camera facing the sedan showed something unexpected.<\/p>\n
An officer crouched beside the rear wheel.<\/p>\n
He reached beneath the chassis.<\/p>\n
Then stood holding my mother\u2019s compass.<\/p>\n
For one second, relief flooded through me.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara asked.<\/p>\n
Daniel ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat officer never reported finding the compass.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked back at the feed.<\/p>\n
The man carrying it walked away from the marked cruisers.<\/p>\n
Toward an unmarked vehicle parked beyond the gate.<\/p>\n
Detective Ortiz\u2019s voice came sharply through the video call.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreeze that image.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel did.<\/p>\n
She stared at the officer\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat man is not with our department.\u201d<\/p>\n
The false officer opened the unmarked vehicle.<\/p>\n
Got inside.<\/p>\n
And drove away with the one object that could lead us to Caroline\u2019s evidence.<\/p>\n
On the security feed, Thomas Mercer held the gun as steadily as if he had rehearsed the moment. Ethan stood beside his sedan with my mother\u2019s brass compass closed inside … <\/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-28250","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\/28250","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=28250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28296,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28250\/revisions\/28296"}],"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=28250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}