{"id":30289,"date":"2026-10-04T21:17:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T21:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30289"},"modified":"2026-10-04T21:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T21:17:01","slug":"part-30-paola-gave-up-the-name-emma-before-i-asked-and-marisol-told-daniel-the-truth-about-the-night-gabriel-took-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30289","title":{"rendered":"PART 30 \u2013 Paola Gave Up the Name Emma Before I Asked, and Marisol Told Daniel the Truth About the Night Gabriel Took Him"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two days after Mercer Pavilion, we returned home.<\/p>\n<p>The investigations continued without requiring our presence every hour.<\/p>\n<p>That was strange.<\/p>\n<p>For weeks, truth had felt like something we had to physically chase.<\/p>\n<p>Drive toward.<\/p>\n<p>Dig out.<\/p>\n<p>Unlock.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly professionals were doing the chasing.<\/p>\n<p>Subpoenas.<\/p>\n<p>Forensic accounting.<\/p>\n<p>Interviews.<\/p>\n<p>Search warrants.<\/p>\n<p>Database comparisons.<\/p>\n<p>Work we could not accelerate by pacing.<\/p>\n<p>So we tried something unfamiliar.<\/p>\n<p>We lived.<\/p>\n<p>Poorly at first.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel and Paola stayed at a hotel rather than returning to their house immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Not because they were separated.<\/p>\n<p>Because Paola could not bear looking at the baby shower decorations still boxed in the dining room.<\/p>\n<p>The wooden name letters had been removed.<\/p>\n<p>EMMA.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel brought them to me in a paper bag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what to do with these.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy give them to me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shrugged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFeels like they belong closer to Mom than to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked inside.<\/p>\n<p>Painted wood.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing sacred.<\/p>\n<p>And yet my throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re supposed to be the one who knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom specifically told me to stop doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He took the bag back.<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, Paola came to see me alone.<\/p>\n<p>She stood in my kitchen exactly where Daniel had once followed me after announcing Emma at lunch.<\/p>\n<p>Another house.<\/p>\n<p>Same emotional geometry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI owe you an apology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did not rescue her from the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew what the name meant to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told myself you had only mentioned it once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI chose Emma because I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd because I knew it would upset Teresa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if I\u2019m honest\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She rubbed one palm against the edge of the counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew it would upset you too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the first full admission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we competed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were Daniel\u2019s sister. Emma loved you. The family knew you before me. Every holiday, every tradition, every story\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always felt like I was joining a play halfway through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you took Mom\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think part of me wanted something nobody could say belonged more to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cruelty made sense now.<\/p>\n<p>Not justified.<\/p>\n<p>But understandable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou wanted me to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paola\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I believed her.<\/p>\n<p>That did not erase it.<\/p>\n<p>But belief mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not using Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to give it up for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That stopped me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m giving it up for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her hand moved to her belly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy daughter has spent months being used as a test, a symbol, a provocation, a family tribute, and she isn\u2019t even born.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled sadly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe gets her own name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t decided.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause for once nobody needs to decide under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That evening, Marisol came to Daniel\u2019s hotel room.<\/p>\n<p>He had asked her.<\/p>\n<p>There was one story he still wanted directly.<\/p>\n<p>The night Gabriel took him.<\/p>\n<p>Not Roberto\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>Not Emma\u2019s journal.<\/p>\n<p>Not recorded testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Her.<\/p>\n<p>Paola offered to leave.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked her to stay.<\/p>\n<p>So she did.<\/p>\n<p>I was not there.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel told me afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol sat by the window.<\/p>\n<p>For a long time she watched traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you hand me to him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he take me from your arms?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She had fed him.<\/p>\n<p>Wrapped him in a yellow blanket.<\/p>\n<p>Placed him in a wicker bassinet beside her bed.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa and Roberto were arguing in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel arrived after midnight.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol believed he had come to help them leave.<\/p>\n<p>He had promised money.<\/p>\n<p>A car.<\/p>\n<p>A place to stay.<\/p>\n<p>Instead he came with Arturo.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s hands tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArturo was there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo stayed outside.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel entered.<\/p>\n<p>He told Marisol the plan had changed.<\/p>\n<p>She and Mateo could not leave together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Arturo said the police would be waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas that true?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel claimed the safest option was to move the baby first.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol refused.<\/p>\n<p>They argued.<\/p>\n<p>Roberto entered.<\/p>\n<p>He told Gabriel to take Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol tried to reach the bassinet.<\/p>\n<p>Roberto stopped her.<\/p>\n<p>Not violently at first.<\/p>\n<p>Then harder.<\/p>\n<p>She fought.<\/p>\n<p>She bit him.<\/p>\n<p>Scratched his face.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel stood frozen.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked sick hearing that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe watched?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he help Roberto?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Rosa entered.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol expected her mother to defend her.<\/p>\n<p>Instead Rosa took the baby.<\/p>\n<p>Her own grandson.<\/p>\n<p>She handed him to Gabriel.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel lowered his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe did it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRosa believed keeping you in that house meant everyone would eventually learn what Roberto had done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol\u2019s voice shook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe chose protecting the family over me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at the carpet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI screamed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The neighbors heard.<\/p>\n<p>One later told police there had been fighting.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa dismissed it as family drama.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol tried to follow Gabriel outside.<\/p>\n<p>Roberto locked the door.<\/p>\n<p>That was when she said she would rather die.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase Teresa remembered.<\/p>\n<p>Not because she intended suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Because losing Mateo felt like death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Gabriel say before he left?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019ll bring him back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he mean it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he did when he said it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was somehow worse.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol spent the next day trying to learn where Gabriel had gone.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa refused.<\/p>\n<p>Roberto refused.<\/p>\n<p>Then Arturo came.<\/p>\n<p>He told her Mateo had been placed permanently.<\/p>\n<p>If she went to police, he would expose her as unstable, claim she had abandoned the baby, and make sure she never saw him.<\/p>\n<p>She threatened him.<\/p>\n<p>That led to the motel meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Then the river.<\/p>\n<p>Then decades.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you stop believing Gabriel would bring me back?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree days later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo fast?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he came to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter taking me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the motel before Roberto and Arturo arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was a piece Rosa Mendez never mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol said Gabriel begged her to cooperate.<\/p>\n<p>He told her Emma had taken to the baby immediately.<\/p>\n<p>He described her holding Mateo all night.<\/p>\n<p>He said Emma had miscarried before.<\/p>\n<p>He did not know she was pregnant again at that exact moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he tell you Mom thought I was abandoned?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he had to tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter he got us out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hated him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hated myself for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause apparently loving people who hurt you is hereditary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That almost made her laugh.<\/p>\n<p>He asked whether she ever blamed Emma.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI envied her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI envied every morning she woke up and saw you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery fever. Every birthday. Every bad grade. Every stupid argument. I wanted all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She leaned toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t apologize for being loved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence stayed with him.<\/p>\n<p>Then she told him something no record contained.<\/p>\n<p>After watching him at fifteen during the baseball game, she followed Emma\u2019s car.<\/p>\n<p>Not to the house.<\/p>\n<p>Just long enough to see Daniel laughing in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n<p>Emma was laughing too.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol pulled over afterward and cried.<\/p>\n<p>Not because Emma had stolen her life.<\/p>\n<p>Because Daniel looked happy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was the day I stopped planning to take you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were planning to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou looked home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He could not speak.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol reached for him.<\/p>\n<p>This time he moved first.<\/p>\n<p>He hugged her.<\/p>\n<p>Not as a reunion.<\/p>\n<p>Not as some instant restoration of motherhood.<\/p>\n<p>As two people finally allowing themselves to grieve the same missing years.<\/p>\n<p>Paola cried nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel did not let go quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Later, Marisol asked what he wanted to call her.<\/p>\n<p>He thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarisol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face fell slightly.<\/p>\n<p>He saw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot because you aren\u2019t my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Mom is Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you\u2019re my mother too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t know the word yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol smiled through tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarisol is a word.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The following morning, investigators called.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian Cole had begun cooperating.<\/p>\n<p>Not out of remorse.<\/p>\n<p>Because Arturo had turned on him.<\/p>\n<p>Cole claimed Arturo ordered him to recover both lists after faking his death.<\/p>\n<p>Cole also admitted the photographs of us.<\/p>\n<p>The hospital abduction of Teresa.<\/p>\n<p>The attack on Victor.<\/p>\n<p>The attempt to locate Marisol.<\/p>\n<p>But one thing he denied.<\/p>\n<p>The anonymous message left at Elvira\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>Emma knew when to stop. You should learn from her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t him?\u201d I asked Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArturo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe denies it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenies it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRosa Mendez?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenies it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCeleste?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenies it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase returned.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>I hated it less than I used to.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it was honest.<\/p>\n<p>Still, one detail bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph attached to that threat had been taken outside Teresa\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>Who else had been there?<\/p>\n<p>Neighbors.<\/p>\n<p>Police later.<\/p>\n<p>Us.<\/p>\n<p>One person not yet considered.<\/p>\n<p>I called Teresa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell anyone we were coming that day?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone at all?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeresa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI called someone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJavier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her newly confirmed half-brother.<\/p>\n<p>But she had not known he was her brother then.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did you know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paola said faintly in the background.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa answered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe contacted me months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he said he knew who my father was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Another secret preceding the explosion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo meet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree weeks before the baby shower.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly when the grave signal changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Javier tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa\u2019s voice shook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Mateo Serrano was my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he have proof?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he mention Emma?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat she deserved to know her daughter had been found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Mom was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Very wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why say she deserved to know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said, \u2018Sometimes dead people are the only ones who listen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeresa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Javier now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I called Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>Javier Serrano had provided DNA through a private laboratory.<\/p>\n<p>Celeste arranged the test remotely.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody had met him in person.<\/p>\n<p>A sample proved biological connection.<\/p>\n<p>It did not prove the person communicating as Javier was actually the man whose DNA had been submitted.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators began checking.<\/p>\n<p>Within hours, the answer came.<\/p>\n<p>The real Javier Serrano lived in New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>He had never spoken to Teresa.<\/p>\n<p>Never spoken to Celeste.<\/p>\n<p>Never submitted DNA.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had used his identity.<\/p>\n<p>The DNA sample was real.<\/p>\n<p>It matched Mateo Serrano\u2019s family.<\/p>\n<p>But the person behind the messages was an impostor with access to Javier\u2019s biological material.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of every person who wanted Teresa to believe Gabriel was not her father.<\/p>\n<p>Every person guiding us toward certain truths.<\/p>\n<p>The grave signal.<\/p>\n<p>The threatening photograph.<\/p>\n<p>The strange instructions.<\/p>\n<p>Then another call came.<\/p>\n<p>From the real Javier.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators had reached him.<\/p>\n<p>He knew one person who had recently requested a DNA sample from him under the pretense of helping with family genealogy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA woman?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Javier had been given one.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Elias Herrera.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa heard the name and went white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is he?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Her answer came slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel Herrera\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paola stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy uncle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHalf-brother. Adoptive half-brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t seen him in twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd nobody thought to mention him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa looked ashamed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were estranged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe accused Rosa and Samuel of stealing children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey called him unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same method.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Elias do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr went looking,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Paola whispered, \u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30290\">Click here to continue reading: PART 31: Elias Herrera Had Spent Twenty-Five Years Hunting the Same Network, but His Obsession Turned Emma\u2019s Investigation Into a Weapon<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two days after Mercer Pavilion, we returned home. The investigations continued without requiring our presence every hour. That was strange. For weeks, truth had felt like something we had to &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30289","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\/30289","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=30289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30324,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30289\/revisions\/30324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}