{"id":29619,"date":"2026-10-03T22:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T22:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=29619"},"modified":"2026-10-03T22:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T22:37:16","slug":"part-24-the-missing-green-drive-led-back-to-someone-we-trusted-and-his-reason-for-taking-it-forced-me-to-reconsider-harolds-final-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=29619","title":{"rendered":"PART 24 \u2013 The Missing Green Drive Led Back to Someone We Trusted, and His Reason for Taking It Forced Me to Reconsider Harold\u2019s Final Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I did not sleep.<\/p>\n<p>At four in the morning, I sat at the kitchen table with Harold\u2019s adhesive dots spread in front of me.<\/p>\n<p>Red.<\/p>\n<p>Blue.<\/p>\n<p>Green.<\/p>\n<p>Original.<\/p>\n<p>Duplicate.<\/p>\n<p>Temporary.<\/p>\n<p>The colors looked childish.<\/p>\n<p>The consequences were not.<\/p>\n<p>Richard had gone home for three hours.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Shah promised updates.<\/p>\n<p>Elena\u2019s team remained outside.<\/p>\n<p>I made coffee I did not need.<\/p>\n<p>Then I opened every photograph we had taken of Harold\u2019s steel box.<\/p>\n<p>Red drive absent.<\/p>\n<p>Blue drive inside.<\/p>\n<p>No green.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe there had never been one.<\/p>\n<p>That possibility should have comforted me.<\/p>\n<p>It did not.<\/p>\n<p>Harold rarely bought anything individually if he could buy a three-pack cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>Pens.<\/p>\n<p>Batteries.<\/p>\n<p>Flash drives.<\/p>\n<p>Socks.<\/p>\n<p>I smiled despite myself.<\/p>\n<p>Then remembered something from the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>Three empty flash-drive cases.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen them.<\/p>\n<p>Red.<\/p>\n<p>Blue.<\/p>\n<p>Green dots might have once marked each.<\/p>\n<p>At six fifteen, Daniel arrived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He poured coffee.<\/p>\n<p>I showed him the cases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree drives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think someone has the third.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the unpleasant part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho had access to Dad\u2019s things before storage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBesides you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRenee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMovers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEstate people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We both went still.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Not again.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe handled documents after Dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean he stole a drive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say stole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe Harold gave it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Sam said he only had the sealed records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich means he lied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr Harold gave it to someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel rubbed his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we have one person who tells the whole truth?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel was discharged from the hospital that morning.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Shah arranged for us to speak.<\/p>\n<p>This time, I did not wait for lawyers to soften things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas there a green flash drive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>Tiny.<\/p>\n<p>Enough.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel saw it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have got to be kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anger rose through me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat answer is becoming dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI gave it away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave it to me first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout three years before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was on it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSelected copies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSelected how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings he wanted outside his control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Harold\u2019s protection through uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple locations.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy green?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTemporary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me to hold it until he chose someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you return it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout a year later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see him give it to anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how did someone get it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel paced away.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret, I know how this sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause from where I sit, you have known one additional fact after another only when we drag it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His eyes lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat word has done a lot of work lately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid of Silas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me he existed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I was ashamed of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour shame nearly got people hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You know now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He accepted that.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho would Harold trust with the green drive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone outside finance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo separate exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFamily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold told me he would never put you in the chain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded exactly like him.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked both relieved and hurt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame reason he kept me ignorant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriend?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer coworker?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I started naming people.<\/p>\n<p>Frank Monroe.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Ellis.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Avery\u2014obviously not.<\/p>\n<p>Then another name came.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEleanor Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I froze.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>The woman connected to the house.<\/p>\n<p>The swing.<\/p>\n<p>Harold Carter.<\/p>\n<p>No.<\/p>\n<p>Different Harold.<\/p>\n<p>The similarity had distracted me from something else.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Eleanor had known details about property and old neighborhood connections.<\/p>\n<p>But would my Harold have trusted her?<\/p>\n<p>I shook the thought away.<\/p>\n<p>Wrong trail.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked, \u201cWhat about Dad\u2019s attorney?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Harold\u2019s estate attorney had retired.<\/p>\n<p>Martin Cole.<\/p>\n<p>No relation to Richard.<\/p>\n<p>He had handled our wills for twenty years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heart accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Harold trust him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Martin know about Red Mesa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard arrived just as we called Martin Cole.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>His office number had been disconnected since retirement.<\/p>\n<p>We found a current number through state-bar records.<\/p>\n<p>A woman answered.<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Her father had died eleven months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Another archive gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he leave professional files?\u201d Richard asked.<\/p>\n<p>Some.<\/p>\n<p>Most destroyed according to retention policies.<\/p>\n<p>Personal items remained in his home office.<\/p>\n<p>We explained enough to make the daughter uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said something that changed everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My grip tightened on the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat package?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad left instructions about one client item.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich client?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat instructions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a woman named Margaret Briggs ever called asking about Harold, give her the envelope in his safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it still there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We drove to Martin\u2019s house under police escort.<\/p>\n<p>His daughter, Claire, met us.<\/p>\n<p>She was sixty herself.<\/p>\n<p>Kind eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Her father\u2019s old office looked untouched.<\/p>\n<p>Law books.<\/p>\n<p>Wooden desk.<\/p>\n<p>Photographs.<\/p>\n<p>She opened a small safe.<\/p>\n<p>Inside sat a yellow envelope.<\/p>\n<p>MARGARET BRIGGS.<\/p>\n<p>My hands shook.<\/p>\n<p>I opened it.<\/p>\n<p>The green drive slid into my palm.<\/p>\n<p>Harold had marked it with a tiny green dot.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But another object remained inside.<\/p>\n<p>A key.<\/p>\n<p>Small.<\/p>\n<p>Brass.<\/p>\n<p>Number stamped into it.<\/p>\n<p>417.<\/p>\n<p>Richard frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe-deposit box?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Probably.<\/p>\n<p>The letter explained.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret\u2014<\/p>\n<p>If you are reading this, then circumstances forced Martin to give you something I hoped you would never need.<\/p>\n<p>The green drive contains enough evidence to prove the existence of Red Mesa, but not enough to expose everyone connected to it.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Harold continued.<\/p>\n<p>That is intentional.<\/p>\n<p>No single person should hold everything.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Harold had compartmentalized the truth.<\/p>\n<p>The letter continued.<\/p>\n<p>The red drive contains recordings.<\/p>\n<p>The blue contains financial copies.<\/p>\n<p>The green contains the map.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe map?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n<p>We connected the green drive using a forensic laptop.<\/p>\n<p>Password prompt.<\/p>\n<p>This time I knew.<\/p>\n<p>H-M-Home-1978.<\/p>\n<p>Access granted.<\/p>\n<p>Only one folder appeared.<\/p>\n<p>MAP.<\/p>\n<p>Inside was a document showing names connected by lines.<\/p>\n<p>Victor Hale.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur Vale.<\/p>\n<p>Silas Price.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Avery.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Elias Ward.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline Ward.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens more.<\/p>\n<p>Companies.<\/p>\n<p>Banks.<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>Consultants.<\/p>\n<p>Officials.<\/p>\n<p>Some names marked VERIFIED.<\/p>\n<p>Others POSSIBLE.<\/p>\n<p>One marked SOURCE.<\/p>\n<p>Richard leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The SOURCE name was hidden behind initials.<\/p>\n<p>E.C.<\/p>\n<p>My heart skipped.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Carter?<\/p>\n<p>No.<\/p>\n<p>That seemed impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Shah asked, \u201cWho is E.C.?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A note beside E.C.:<\/p>\n<p>Provided first ledger. 2007. Protect identity at all cost.<\/p>\n<p>My husband had not discovered Red Mesa alone.<\/p>\n<p>Someone gave him the ledger.<\/p>\n<p>Someone inside.<\/p>\n<p>E.C.<\/p>\n<p>Richard said, \u201cCould be employee. Banker. Contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then I noticed the key number repeated on the map.<\/p>\n<p>417.<\/p>\n<p>Beside it:<\/p>\n<p>Original source materials. Release only if protection fails.<\/p>\n<p>Harold had placed the deepest evidence in a safe-deposit box.<\/p>\n<p>The drives were not the final archive.<\/p>\n<p>They were directions to it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich bank?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>No bank name appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel noticed a logo faintly embedded at the bottom of the document.<\/p>\n<p>A stylized W.<\/p>\n<p>Richard recognized it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWard Continental.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>Harold had hidden the source materials inside the very banking network he was documenting.<\/p>\n<p>Of course he had.<\/p>\n<p>The safest hiding place.<\/p>\n<p>Inside the machine.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Shah began arranging a warrant and access.<\/p>\n<p>I looked again at E.C.<\/p>\n<p>Something bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Carter.<\/p>\n<p>The name felt too convenient.<\/p>\n<p>I searched my memory.<\/p>\n<p>When had I first heard it?<\/p>\n<p>The house.<\/p>\n<p>The trunk.<\/p>\n<p>Harold Carter.<\/p>\n<p>A different Harold.<\/p>\n<p>Or perhaps that coincidence had been designed to make me dismiss the connection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to ask her something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>Voicemail.<\/p>\n<p>Richard looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knew too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout the old neighborhood. Harold. The house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour Harold?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what I want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Detective Shah searched Eleanor Carter.<\/p>\n<p>Her legal name appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Catherine Ward Carter.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Ward.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Richard searched deeper.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor\u2019s father:<\/p>\n<p>Elias Ward.<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>The banker\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Not Caroline.<\/p>\n<p>Another daughter.<\/p>\n<p>A sister nobody had mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cE.C.,\u201d Daniel whispered.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Carter.<\/p>\n<p>Source.<\/p>\n<p>She had given Harold the first ledger.<\/p>\n<p>She had helped him expose her own family.<\/p>\n<p>The phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found the green drive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was not a question.<\/p>\n<p>I looked around the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A long pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Harold\u2019s protection failed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat protection?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeeping you outside this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone keeps deciding that for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you E.C.?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Harold made me promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Another promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Caroline?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word landed heavily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you give Harold the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor\u2019s voice trembled for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause my father was using people like Thomas Avery, and Caroline was helping him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy Harold?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was the first person who looked at the numbers and refused to pretend he hadn\u2019t seen them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded like him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is in box 417?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Harold and I built the archive, we agreed it would only be opened if the network came after his family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough to destroy Red Mesa permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk about Caroline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Caroline know about the box?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSilas?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAaron?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who tried to sell Harold\u2019s evidence to Caroline before all this began?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor stopped breathing for a moment.<\/p>\n<p>I heard it.<\/p>\n<p>When she answered, fear had replaced everything else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t someone selling Harold\u2019s evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA warning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou contacted Caroline?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make her believe the archive was about to surface.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the green drive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou started this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI forced her to move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Victor was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did not understand.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce Victor died, Caroline planned to erase every remaining person who could connect her to Red Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My blood went cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSilas. Samuel. Thomas. Me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd eventually you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you provoked her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout warning us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Harold\u2019s protections would hold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor\u2019s answer came softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow Caroline knows someone has opened the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Ward Continental flagged box 417 ten minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor\u2019s voice tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut someone just did.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=29620\">Click here to continue reading: PART 25: Someone Opened Box 417 Before We Reached the Bank, and the Security Footage Showed a Face I Never Expected to See<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I did not sleep. At four in the morning, I sat at the kitchen table with Harold\u2019s adhesive dots spread in front of me. Red. Blue. Green. Original. Duplicate. Temporary. &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29619","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\/29619","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=29619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29654,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29619\/revisions\/29654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}