Dr. Leonard Moss lived outside Santa Fe in a one-story adobe house behind a rusted metal gate.<\/p>\n
Federal agents had reached him before sunrise.<\/p>\n
By the time Alvarez arranged a secure video interview, Moss had already spoken to two investigators and an attorney.<\/p>\n
He was seventy-three.<\/p>\n
Thin.<\/p>\n
Carefully dressed.<\/p>\n
And visibly frightened.<\/p>\n
Not confused.<\/p>\n
Not evasive in the ordinary way.<\/p>\n
Frightened.<\/p>\n
I sat beside Alvarez in a federal conference room while Richard watched remotely. Daniel stayed off the call because Moss's potential role in the Sterling trust made his presence legally complicated.<\/p>\n
Moss appeared on a large monitor.<\/p>\n
His attorney sat beside him.<\/p>\n
Alvarez began.<\/p>\n
"Dr. Moss, you've stated the affidavit recovered in San Francisco isn't yours."<\/p>\n
"Correct."<\/p>\n
"The signature?"<\/p>\n
"Forgery."<\/p>\n
"The content?"<\/p>\n
"False."<\/p>\n
"All of it?"<\/p>\n
Moss hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
That hesitation mattered.<\/p>\n
I leaned toward the microphone.<\/p>\n
"Did you work at Valecrest Diagnostics?"<\/p>\n
His attorney looked irritated.<\/p>\n
Moss answered.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Did you process Emily Carter's blood sample?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Too fast.<\/p>\n
"Did you process Michael Bennett's toxicology?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Again immediate.<\/p>\n
"Did you know either case existed?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I looked at Alvarez.<\/p>\n
She had heard it too.<\/p>\n
Absolute denial.<\/p>\n
People rarely remember nothing about two cases that later became central to an eleven-year conspiracy involving their employer.<\/p>\n
"Dr. Moss, what department did you work in?"<\/p>\n
"Toxicology."<\/p>\n
"What shift?"<\/p>\n
"Variable."<\/p>\n
"Did you supervise technicians?"<\/p>\n
"Sometimes."<\/p>\n
"Did Peter Vale ever contact you professionally?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
His attorney shifted.<\/p>\n
"Ms. Bennett, this is becoming repetitive."<\/p>\n
I ignored him.<\/p>\n
"Did Arthur Vale?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Victor Lang?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Samuel Price?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Brenda Lawson?"<\/p>\n
Moss paused.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The word came quieter.<\/p>\n
I wrote Brenda on my pad.<\/p>\n
"Did you know my father?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you know my mother?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you know Daniel Sterling?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you know Emily Carter?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Then I asked the question that mattered.<\/p>\n
"Did you ever work for Sterling?"<\/p>\n
Moss blinked.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Never?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
His attorney looked at him.<\/p>\n
Tiny reaction.<\/p>\n
Moss continued.<\/p>\n
"I've never worked for Sterling."<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
"That's not what I asked."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"You asked whether I worked for Sterling."<\/p>\n
"I asked whether you ever worked for Sterling."<\/p>\n
"Same question."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I looked at Alvarez.<\/p>\n
"Ask him the trust question."<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
"Dr. Moss, are you currently designated as an independent evaluator under a Sterling family trust?"<\/p>\n
Moss's face changed.<\/p>\n
His attorney leaned toward him.<\/p>\n
Moss answered carefully.<\/p>\n
"I am named in certain private documents."<\/p>\n
"So yes."<\/p>\n
"Potentially."<\/p>\n
"Since when?"<\/p>\n
"I don't recall."<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
"You remember you never saw two toxicology cases eleven years ago, but you can't remember when you were given authority over one of the largest family trusts in the country?"<\/p>\n
His attorney objected.<\/p>\n
Moss looked angry.<\/p>\n
Anger was better than fear.<\/p>\n
Angry people made mistakes.<\/p>\n
"That isn't how the arrangement works."<\/p>\n
"Then explain it."<\/p>\n
"I don't control anything."<\/p>\n
"Who asked you to serve?"<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"James Sterling?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Daniel?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Daniel's grandmother?"<\/p>\n
Moss hesitated.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then who?"<\/p>\n
His attorney interrupted.<\/p>\n
"We need a break."<\/p>\n
Alvarez said, "You can have one after the doctor answers."<\/p>\n
The attorney started again.<\/p>\n
Moss cut him off.<\/p>\n
"Arthur Vale."<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
Arthur.<\/p>\n
Dead for years.<\/p>\n
Still reaching through documents.<\/p>\n
"When?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"Twenty-three years ago."<\/p>\n
Before Emily.<\/p>\n
Before Dad's death.<\/p>\n
Before Daniel was old enough to control Sterling.<\/p>\n
"Why would Arthur Vale appoint you to a Sterling trust?"<\/p>\n
"He didn't appoint me."<\/p>\n
"Then?"<\/p>\n
"He recommended me."<\/p>\n
"To whom?"<\/p>\n
Moss looked toward his attorney.<\/p>\n
The attorney shook his head.<\/p>\n
Moss ignored him.<\/p>\n
"Margaret Sterling."<\/p>\n
Daniel's grandmother.<\/p>\n
"Why would she trust Arthur?"<\/p>\n
"She didn't know what he was."<\/p>\n
That answer sounded true.<\/p>\n
"Did she know you worked at Valecrest?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Did she know Peter's family controlled it?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I wrote another note.<\/p>\n
Arthur had inserted people into structures decades before he needed them.<\/p>\n
Not always for immediate use.<\/p>\n
Optionality.<\/p>\n
That was the network's real power.<\/p>\n
"Have you ever exercised authority under the trust?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Has anyone asked you to now?"<\/p>\n
Moss looked down.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
"Peter?"<\/p>\n
His breathing changed.<\/p>\n
"Dr. Moss."<\/p>\n
His attorney said, "Don't answer."<\/p>\n
Moss whispered, "Peter's counsel contacted me."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Yesterday."<\/p>\n
"What did they want?"<\/p>\n
"An evaluation."<\/p>\n
"Of Daniel."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Have you examined Daniel?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Spoken with him?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Reviewed his medical records?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then how could you evaluate whether he's capable of exercising judgment?"<\/p>\n
"I couldn't."<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
"Yet Peter's lawyers are asking you to."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
Moss looked directly into the camera.<\/p>\n
"Because they already wrote the conclusion."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Alvarez leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"They sent you a prepared evaluation?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Finding Daniel impaired?"<\/p>\n
"Temporarily incapable due to psychological stress and criminal exposure."<\/p>\n
My anger rose.<\/p>\n
No examination.<\/p>\n
No interview.<\/p>\n
Just a predetermined medical conclusion designed to trigger a trust clause.<\/p>\n
"Did you sign it?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Will you?"<\/p>\n
Moss closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
His attorney looked furious.<\/p>\n
I asked, "What are they holding over you?"<\/p>\n
His eyes opened.<\/p>\n
"Nothing."<\/p>\n
Lie.<\/p>\n
"Then why are you afraid?"<\/p>\n
"I'm not."<\/p>\n
"Your hands have been shaking since Brenda's name."<\/p>\n
He looked at them.<\/p>\n
Mistake.<\/p>\n
"Did Brenda contact you eleven years ago?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did she ask you about Michael Bennett's toxicology?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you give her a preliminary report?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
His breathing accelerated.<\/p>\n
"Did you write the affidavit?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you write any version of it?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Then something from Evelyn's account came back.<\/p>\n
The first Valecrest technician found abnormal compounds.<\/p>\n
Brenda received the preliminary report.<\/p>\n
Maybe Moss wasn't the technician.<\/p>\n
Maybe he was the supervisor.<\/p>\n
"Who was working beneath you?"<\/p>\n
Moss stared.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"On the night Emily Carter's sample arrived."<\/p>\n
"I told you\u2014"<\/p>\n
"You didn't process it."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"That doesn't mean your department didn't."<\/p>\n
His attorney intervened.<\/p>\n
"We're done."<\/p>\n
I spoke faster.<\/p>\n
"Who was the technician?"<\/p>\n
Moss stood.<\/p>\n
"Interview over."<\/p>\n
"Dr. Moss, Peter is preparing to use you exactly the way Arthur used everyone else."<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
Alvarez warned me.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
"He'll make you sign something false, then keep the false document forever."<\/p>\n
Moss stared at the camera.<\/p>\n
"You'll never be free of him again."<\/p>\n
His attorney reached for the laptop.<\/p>\n
Moss said one word.<\/p>\n
"Elena."<\/p>\n
The attorney froze.<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"Elena who?"<\/p>\n
Moss sat again.<\/p>\n
"Elena Ruiz."<\/p>\n
"Technician?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Did she process Emily's sample?"<\/p>\n
Moss nodded.<\/p>\n
"Michael's?"<\/p>\n
Another nod.<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
Both.<\/p>\n
Same technician.<\/p>\n
"Where is she?"<\/p>\n
Moss looked broken now.<\/p>\n
"Dead."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Ten years ago."<\/p>\n
One year after Dad.<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"Suicide."<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
"Are you sure?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The word barely came out.<\/p>\n
"What happened?"<\/p>\n
"She called me after Michael Bennett died."<\/p>\n
"What did she say?"<\/p>\n
"She thought the samples had been altered after she processed them."<\/p>\n
"Emily and Michael?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Did she document that?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"Personal lab notebook."<\/p>\n
"Do you have it?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Who does?"<\/p>\n
Moss looked toward his attorney.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
"Brenda."<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
"Brenda Lawson."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"How did she get it?"<\/p>\n
"Elena gave it to her."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Three days before Elena died."<\/p>\n
Everything shifted.<\/p>\n
The affidavit in my old office might be false.<\/p>\n
But the underlying evidence could still be real.<\/p>\n
"Who wrote the affidavit?"<\/p>\n
Moss shook his head.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Did Brenda ask you to sign one?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Six months ago."<\/p>\n
That matched Brenda's timeline.<\/p>\n
"What did you say?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"So someone forged your signature."<\/p>\n
"Apparently."<\/p>\n
"Why would Brenda do that?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Or thought I did.<\/p>\n
Brenda needed evidence usable quickly.<\/p>\n
Moss refused.<\/p>\n
She created a substitute.<\/p>\n
Another protective lie.<\/p>\n
Another shortcut.<\/p>\n
And once again, a shortcut had nearly destroyed the truth it was supposed to preserve.<\/p>\n
"Why did you refuse?"<\/p>\n
Moss's face tightened.<\/p>\n
"Because Elena's notebook implicates me."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"I approved the amended reports."<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Not innocent.<\/p>\n
"What did Peter threaten you with?"<\/p>\n
"He didn't need to threaten me."<\/p>\n
"Because your own signature was enough."<\/p>\n
Moss nodded.<\/p>\n
"I changed Emily's report."<\/p>\n
"Did you know why?"<\/p>\n
"I knew Peter's office requested it."<\/p>\n
"And Michael's?"<\/p>\n
"I approved that too."<\/p>\n
"Knowing abnormal compounds were being removed?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Then why should we believe you now?"<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a long time.<\/p>\n
"You shouldn't."<\/p>\n
Good answer.<\/p>\n
"Believe Elena."<\/p>\n
"Where is her notebook?"<\/p>\n
"Brenda had it."<\/p>\n
I looked at Alvarez.<\/p>\n
"We need to ask her."<\/p>\n
Moss spoke again.<\/p>\n
"There's something else."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Elena kept duplicates."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"She mailed them."<\/p>\n
"To whom?"<\/p>\n
"Michael Bennett."<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Before he died."<\/p>\n
"Did he receive them?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Richard's voice came through the secure line.<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
I looked toward the speaker.<\/p>\n
"The workshop."<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Dad hid pages there.<\/p>\n
Maybe more.<\/p>\n
Moss said, "If Michael received Elena's packet, Peter never found it."<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
"Because Peter spent years asking me where she sent it."<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
We ended the interview.<\/p>\n
Alvarez immediately arranged preservation of Moss's trust communications and protection for him.<\/p>\n
I called Brenda.<\/p>\n
She answered from her hospital room.<\/p>\n
"You forged Moss's affidavit."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
No denial.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because he refused."<\/p>\n
"You nearly contaminated the entire Emily case."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Stop saying that."<\/p>\n
She went quiet.<\/p>\n
"Where is Elena Ruiz's notebook?"<\/p>\n
"Safe."<\/p>\n
"Brenda."<\/p>\n
"Federal evidence locker."<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
"You already surrendered it?"<\/p>\n
"Yesterday."<\/p>\n
Relief.<\/p>\n
Actual relief.<\/p>\n
"Why didn't you tell me?"<\/p>\n
"Because the affidavit was supposed to lead Peter toward your old office while the real notebook went federal."<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
"So Marcus was shot over a decoy."<\/p>\n
"I didn't know Peter would use Marcus."<\/p>\n
"But you knew someone might go after it."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Anger burned.<\/p>\n
"You're still doing it."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Choosing who gets risked."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"Chloe\u2014"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Mom's journal.<\/p>\n
We kept choosing for her because we called fear love.<\/p>\n
Different people.<\/p>\n
Same disease.<\/p>\n
"You don't get to decide Marcus is acceptable collateral."<\/p>\n
"I didn't."<\/p>\n
"You planted forged evidence in my office and created a trail Peter could follow."<\/p>\n
"I thought\u2014"<\/p>\n
"That's the problem."<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I breathed slowly.<\/p>\n
"What's in Elena's notebook?"<\/p>\n
"Original instrument readings."<\/p>\n
"For Emily?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Dad?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Anything linking Peter?"<\/p>\n
"Not directly."<\/p>\n
"Then what does it prove?"<\/p>\n
"Both official toxicology reports were altered."<\/p>\n
Important.<\/p>\n
But not enough alone.<\/p>\n
"Did Elena name who ordered the changes?"<\/p>\n
"She wrote initials."<\/p>\n
"What initials?"<\/p>\n
"P.V."<\/p>\n
Peter Vale.<\/p>\n
"Could mean something else."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Finally.<\/p>\n
No overclaim.<\/p>\n
"Anything stronger?"<\/p>\n
Brenda hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Elena recorded a phone call."<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
"With Peter?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
"Moss."<\/p>\n
"What does he say?"<\/p>\n
"That Peter Vale's office ordered Emily's result amended."<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
"Why didn't you lead with that?"<\/p>\n
"Because the recording of Michael's case is worse."<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
"What does Moss say?"<\/p>\n
Brenda answered quietly.<\/p>\n
"That the second Bennett sample never came from Michael."<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
"Second sample?"<\/p>\n
"After the preliminary toxicology showed abnormal compounds, someone submitted a replacement blood sample."<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
"Whose blood?"<\/p>\n
"We don't know."<\/p>\n
"So Dad's official toxicology wasn't altered only on paper."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"They replaced the sample."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
That explained how the final report looked clean.<\/p>\n
"Who transported it?"<\/p>\n
"Valecrest courier log says executive security."<\/p>\n
Samuel.<\/p>\n
Or Sloane.<\/p>\n
"Name?"<\/p>\n
"Samuel Price."<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Another chain.<\/p>\n
Another compromised witness.<\/p>\n
"Does Samuel admit it?"<\/p>\n
"I never asked."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because by the time I understood, he had disappeared."<\/p>\n
I looked toward Victor's residence, where Samuel remained under federal supervision.<\/p>\n
"We ask now."<\/p>\n
Samuel did not deny it.<\/p>\n
He sat beneath the same blanket when agents brought us onto a secure call.<\/p>\n
"I delivered the replacement sample."<\/p>\n
"Whose blood?"<\/p>\n
"I didn't know."<\/p>\n
"Who gave it to you?"<\/p>\n
"Peter."<\/p>\n
Direct.<\/p>\n
"Did he tell you what it was?"<\/p>\n
"He said clean control material."<\/p>\n
"Human blood?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Whose?"<\/p>\n
"I learned later."<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
Samuel looked toward Victor.<\/p>\n
Victor's face hardened.<\/p>\n
Samuel said:<\/p>\n
"Daniel Sterling."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"Peter used Daniel's blood to replace Dad's toxicology sample."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"How did he have Daniel's blood?"<\/p>\n
"From the hospital after Emily's crash."<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Peter had Daniel drugged.<\/p>\n
Daniel was treated.<\/p>\n
Blood drawn.<\/p>\n
Valecrest had access.<\/p>\n
Peter preserved it.<\/p>\n
Then later used it to clean Dad's toxicology.<\/p>\n
A dead girl's case.<\/p>\n
A murdered man's case.<\/p>\n
A framed heir.<\/p>\n
All physically connected.<\/p>\n
Richard whispered, "Jesus."<\/p>\n
Samuel continued.<\/p>\n
"Peter liked symmetry."<\/p>\n
I hated that sentence.<\/p>\n
Not just practical.<\/p>\n
Personal.<\/p>\n
Recognition again.<\/p>\n
He wanted hidden architecture.<\/p>\n
Patterns only he understood.<\/p>\n
"Can this be proven?"<\/p>\n
Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n
"Arthur kept inventory."<\/p>\n
"Of blood samples?"<\/p>\n
"Of everything."<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"Archive."<\/p>\n
The same archive Peter had tried to burn.<\/p>\n
Federal analysts searched.<\/p>\n
Three hours later, Alvarez called me.<\/p>\n
"They found the inventory."<\/p>\n
"Daniel's sample?"<\/p>\n
"Logged."<\/p>\n
"Transfer?"<\/p>\n
"Logged."<\/p>\n
"To Michael Bennett case?"<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
"And authorized by?"<\/p>\n
"Peter Vale."<\/p>\n
Direct evidence.<\/p>\n
Not a confession extracted through ego.<\/p>\n
Not witness memory.<\/p>\n
A contemporaneous record.<\/p>\n
"Send it to Daniel's trust counsel."<\/p>\n
"Already happening."<\/p>\n
For the first time in days, a door closed in Peter's face instead of opening.<\/p>\n
Moss could no longer plausibly declare Daniel incompetent on Peter's manufactured record without exposing his own role.<\/p>\n
The trust challenge weakened.<\/p>\n
But the victory lasted seventeen minutes.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel called.<\/p>\n
"Peter filed something new."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Not against me."<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
"You."<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
"What now?"<\/p>\n
"He claims you knowingly possessed confidential Sterling and Halcyon records before your termination."<\/p>\n
"False."<\/p>\n
"He has emails."<\/p>\n
My pulse slowed.<\/p>\n
"What emails?"<\/p>\n
"From your company account."<\/p>\n
"I didn't send anything."<\/p>\n
"They show you forwarding Titan documents to a private address."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"The night before you were fired."<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
I had been home.<\/p>\n
Finishing the presentation.<\/p>\n
Logged in remotely.<\/p>\n
Could someone have used my credentials?<\/p>\n
"Which address?"<\/p>\n
Daniel told me.<\/p>\n
I didn't recognize it.<\/p>\n
Then he said the name associated with the account.<\/p>\n
Marianne Bennett.<\/p>\n
My mother.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"That's impossible."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Mom had been dead for years."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Then Peter created an account in her name."<\/p>\n
"Maybe."<\/p>\n
Maybe.<\/p>\n
That word again.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
"There's more."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"The account existed before your mother died."<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
"How long?"<\/p>\n
"Fourteen years."<\/p>\n
Older than Titan.<\/p>\n
Older than Dad's death.<\/p>\n
Older than everything we thought had started this story.<\/p>\n
And according to the recovered records, someone had logged into my dead mother's account three nights ago.<\/p>\n
Dr. Leonard Moss lived outside Santa Fe in a one-story adobe house behind a rusted metal gate. Federal agents had reached him before sunrise. By the time Alvarez arranged a … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28457","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\/28457","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=28457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28551,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28457\/revisions\/28551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}