Arthur refused to meet Evelyn alone.<\/p>\n
Evelyn refused to speak to anyone else.<\/p>\n
For twenty minutes, neither side moved.<\/p>\n
She stood beneath floodlights outside the abandoned annex while federal agents covered her from three directions.<\/p>\n
The first token hung from a chain around her fingers.<\/p>\n
No weapon was visible.<\/p>\n
Arthur watched from inside a secure vehicle.<\/p>\n
Reyes stood beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may be trying to create leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe already has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToken one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked toward Evelyn through the tinted glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes studied him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make meeting her safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The compromise was a controlled interview in the annex\u2019s former municipal meeting room.<\/p>\n
Evelyn was searched.<\/p>\n
No weapons.<\/p>\n
No electronic devices.<\/p>\n
The token was removed, photographed, and secured before she entered.<\/p>\n
She did not resist.<\/p>\n
Arthur sat across a table.<\/p>\n
Reyes stood behind him.<\/p>\n
Two agents remained by the door.<\/p>\n
Lily watched remotely.<\/p>\n
Evelyn knew.<\/p>\n
Arthur could tell from the way she looked toward the room\u2019s camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re there, Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer came.<\/p>\n
Arthur said, \u201cTalk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn studied him.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
Not defeated.<\/p>\n
There was a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found Peter\u2019s archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur gave nothing away.<\/p>\n
Her mouth moved slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy surrender the token?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it\u2019s useless now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you found the real archive, Peter won.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always were exactly as Margaret described.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to use her name casually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hated me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m beginning to understand why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward the camera again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret also saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur said nothing.<\/p>\n
That he had not expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNineteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlow.<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, I was an attorney handling acquisitions. I told myself I wasn\u2019t responsible for how the properties became available.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAltered condemnation reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew some were manipulated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you kept working.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No excuse.<\/p>\n
Arthur almost preferred that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna Mallory discovered the pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou visited her the night before the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Malcolm Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo buy her silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt disgust.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you offer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough money to leave the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she accept?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, Evelyn\u2019s composure cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me I had mistaken being educated for being decent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur imagined Anna saying it.<\/p>\n
He liked her without ever having met her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after you left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMalcolm and I argued.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted Benton to handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHandle what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKill her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot then. Pressure her. Threaten prosecution. Tax charges. Anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Benton know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was already involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow deeply?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeeper than Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
That matched Ortega\u2019s suspicion.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Benton had created the early machine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened that night?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn stared at the tabletop.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton went to Anna\u2019s house after midnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy were you there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur did not believe altruism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid Malcolm had asked him to do something irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHad he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Benton go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo recover documents implicating him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he start the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur heard the wording.<\/p>\n
\u201cThought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore he disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter spoke to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral times.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Benton entered the house, found the documents, and left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who started the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cMalcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily made a sound over the secure audio before muting herself.<\/p>\n
Arthur remained still.<\/p>\n
\u201cVance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said you followed Benton.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did. Benton left first. I stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to decide whether to warn Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s eyes dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That one word carried nineteen years.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt no sympathy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched Vance enter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came out twenty minutes later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFire already started?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot visibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMinutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call emergency services?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree people died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was a coward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room remained silent.<\/p>\n
Evelyn did not dress it up.<\/p>\n
No claim she feared for Richard.<\/p>\n
No claim she misunderstood.<\/p>\n
Coward.<\/p>\n
Arthur believed that part.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere does Margaret come into this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later, Peter found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew you witnessed Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he expose you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had copies of documents proving I altered reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he blackmailed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter brought her to one meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt anger.<\/p>\n
His dying wife had sat across from Evelyn and never told him.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret understood immediately that I wasn\u2019t going to testify.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me one question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Malcolm would kill me if I talked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur could hear Margaret asking it.<\/p>\n
Direct.<\/p>\n
Practical.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Margaret say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said then we needed a way for the truth to survive both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt grief move through him again.<\/p>\n
That was Margaret.<\/p>\n
Not dramatic courage.<\/p>\n
Architecture.<\/p>\n
Contingency.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe convinced Peter not to rely on your testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe helped him build the layered evidence system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she saved your life how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe persuaded him not to confront Malcolm with what I had told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur understood.<\/p>\n
If Vance knew Evelyn had talked, she would have become a liability.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret protected you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you repaid her by targeting Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used Margaret\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI opposed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you allowed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let Richard marry her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole from her home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Richard was hurting her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn hesitated.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s voice became colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd did nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s your defense?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cI failed Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice suddenly came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say my name like you\u2019re grieving me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn froze.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
Lily had chosen to speak.<\/p>\n
Evelyn whispered, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice remained steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sorry you lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may be right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Lily muted herself again.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt something close to pride but did not let it distract him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy come here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked back at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Malcolm knows about the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton is in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t when Malcolm contacted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Vance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe archive destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still think this is about old corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur studied her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMalcolm has been using the same network for nineteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrent crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty fraud. Bribery. Campaign laundering. Judicial influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn hesitated.<\/p>\n
That hesitation frightened Arthur more than the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWitness removal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMurder?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMallory?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked away.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where his body is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s audio clicked on again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt a strange emptiness.<\/p>\n
He had known.<\/p>\n
Still, hearing it confirmed changed something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho killed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene arranged it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn whose order?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMalcolm\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton says otherwise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur thought of Benton bleeding in the tunnel.<\/p>\n
Maybe he would.<\/p>\n
Maybe fear had finally broken him too.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter was taken before he could distribute the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wasn\u2019t it found?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Keene thought Peter had moved it out of Marlow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected it remained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you couldn\u2019t access it without the tokens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did Peter recover them from you and Benton?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn smiled bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stole mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Benton\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wife took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked Benton to meet her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought she wanted money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur could almost see Margaret allowing Benton to believe that.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took his token?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe switched his briefcase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed once.<\/p>\n
Margaret, sick with cancer, had stolen a conspirator\u2019s access token through a briefcase switch.<\/p>\n
He wished he could ask her about it.<\/p>\n
Evelyn said, \u201cPeter built the new safeguards after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
His wife had been far deeper in the story than he had understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Vance now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s expression became urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has Calder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot Calder?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCalder disappeared this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Elliot knows where Peter\u2019s supporting evidence was mirrored.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Reyes.<\/p>\n
Another archive.<\/p>\n
Not the physical originals.<\/p>\n
Copies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho does?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCalder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re giving us your enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m giving you the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re giving us enough truth to destroy the people who might testify against you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the Arthur Margaret described.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop invoking her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said you would distrust the correct person for the wrong reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur did not respond.<\/p>\n
Reyes finally stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you shoot at Keene?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe shot first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidence suggests one of your men fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe reached for a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour people restrained him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou attempted to take the token.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo reach the purge controls before Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou intended to destroy the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI intended to destroy my own leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as the archive existed, Malcolm could force everyone connected to it to keep protecting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have gone to law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd admitted nineteen years of crimes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds obvious now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur had no patience for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily went still.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent years telling myself everything I did was to protect my family. Then I watched my son become exactly the kind of man I had spent my life protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked toward Lily\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n
Evelyn said, \u201cWhen he hurt her, I knew what I had built.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
No redemption manufactured from sudden conscience.<\/p>\n
Only recognition arriving far too late.<\/p>\n
Reyes received a message.<\/p>\n
Her eyes moved across the screen.<\/p>\n
Then she looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton is conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
Arthur noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfraid?\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not answer.<\/p>\n
Reyes continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s asking for a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is he offering?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn stared at Reyes.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cDon\u2019t believe him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harold Benton never gives anyone the whole truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes\u2019s phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n
She read the second message.<\/p>\n
This time her expression became much colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton says Evelyn is lying about the Marlow fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur turned.<\/p>\n
Evelyn did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he say happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes read.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton claims Vance entered Anna Mallory\u2019s house after the fire had already been set.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Her face remained controlled.<\/p>\n
Barely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho does Benton say started it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes looked directly at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice came softly through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur watched Richard\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
For the first time since entering the building, she looked genuinely frightened.<\/p>\n
Not of prison.<\/p>\n
Not of Vance.<\/p>\n
Of the question.<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho started the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur refused to meet Evelyn alone. Evelyn refused to speak to anyone else. For twenty minutes, neither side moved. She stood beneath floodlights outside the abandoned annex while federal agents … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29807","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\/29807","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=29807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29861,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29807\/revisions\/29861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}