Police traced the message quickly.<\/p>\n
Too quickly, Officer Morales said.<\/p>\n
The address Connor sent was an abandoned warehouse south of downtown.<\/p>\n
By the time officers entered, nobody was there.<\/p>\n
One chair.<\/p>\n
A length of plastic cord.<\/p>\n
Drops of blood.<\/p>\n
No Connor.<\/p>\n
No Raymond Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was staged,\u201d Kenneth said when Morales called us.<\/p>\n
\u201cPartially,\u201d Morales replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe blood is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTaken inside the warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Connor was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more than a reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth paced beside my kitchen table.<\/p>\n
I was staying at his sister\u2019s guest apartment under police recommendation.<\/p>\n
I disliked every part of that sentence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the phone?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCameras?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNearby traffic cameras are being reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVehicles?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales sounded tired.<\/p>\n
Everyone did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Connor want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat,\u201d he said, \u201cis what worries me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the call, Kenneth opened his laptop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo should you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI bill by the hour. Insomnia is practically professional development.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Instead, I looked toward the city beyond the apartment windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor wants me involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cControl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems too simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth considered it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded more plausible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf something happens to Vale, Connor wants me believing it happened because I pursued the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's exactly what he would do.\u201d<\/p>\n
At midnight, Morales called again.<\/p>\n
They had completed preliminary review of more files from the flash drive.<\/p>\n
One recording required my identification.<\/p>\n
I went to the station with Kenneth.<\/p>\n
The interview room smelled faintly of stale coffee.<\/p>\n
Morales placed a small speaker on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was recorded approximately four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think Vale\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he record Connor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn had predicted that.<\/p>\n
Morales pressed play.<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
A chair moving.<\/p>\n
Then Connor\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
You told me nobody else could get those records.<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
I told you I could find out where they were.<\/p>\n
That isn't the same thing.<\/p>\n
Connor again.<\/p>\n
I need them gone.<\/p>\n
Vale laughed softly.<\/p>\n
Medical records don't disappear because you're embarrassed.<\/p>\n
I'm not embarrassed.<\/p>\n
Then why are we doing this?<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice became colder.<\/p>\n
Because my wife cannot know.<\/p>\n
My hands tightened beneath the table.<\/p>\n
Vale asked:<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Connor answered:<\/p>\n
Because she'll leave.<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
And because if she knows I'm the reason we can't have kids, she'll use it in the divorce.<\/p>\n
The recording stopped.<\/p>\n
Morales watched me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not exactly true.<\/p>\n
But I had survived worse versions of the same truth inside my imagination.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinue.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s voice returned.<\/p>\n
You said there isn't a divorce.<\/p>\n
There will be if she finds out about Melinda.<\/p>\n
Silence filled the recording.<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
So four years ago Connor already expected the affair might end our marriage.<\/p>\n
Vale said:<\/p>\n
Then stop seeing Melinda.<\/p>\n
Connor laughed.<\/p>\n
You don't understand.<\/p>\n
Try me.<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Then Connor said something I did not expect.<\/p>\n
Melinda thinks I'm leaving Kirsten.<\/p>\n
Kenneth looked at me.<\/p>\n
I stared at the speaker.<\/p>\n
Vale responded:<\/p>\n
Are you?<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s answer came instantly.<\/p>\n
Not unless I have to.<\/p>\n
The words hurt differently than I expected.<\/p>\n
Not because I wanted him to have chosen Melinda.<\/p>\n
Because they confirmed both women had been living inside separate lies.<\/p>\n
Vale asked:<\/p>\n
Then what exactly are you doing?<\/p>\n
Connor replied:<\/p>\n
Keeping my options open.<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Morales paused the recording.<\/p>\n
\u201cWant a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
Vale said:<\/p>\n
And the pregnancy?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
If it's mine, things change.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
And if it isn't?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Then Melinda deals with it.<\/p>\n
A long silence followed.<\/p>\n
Then Vale asked:<\/p>\n
Does Kirsten know any of this?<\/p>\n
Connor laughed.<\/p>\n
Kirsten believes what people tell her.<\/p>\n
The sentence landed harder than anything else.<\/p>\n
Not because it was true.<\/p>\n
Because once, it had been.<\/p>\n
I had believed him.<\/p>\n
That was what marriage required until evidence made belief impossible.<\/p>\n
Vale said:<\/p>\n
That's a dangerous thing to rely on.<\/p>\n
Connor answered:<\/p>\n
It's worked so far.<\/p>\n
Morales stopped the recording.<\/p>\n
I stared at the table.<\/p>\n
Kenneth said nothing.<\/p>\n
Finally I asked, \u201cIs there more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next section concerns Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
Then Connor:<\/p>\n
She terminated the pregnancy this morning.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
You were there?<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
And?<\/p>\n
Connor exhaled.<\/p>\n
Now I need to know whether it could have been mine.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
You can't test a pregnancy that's gone.<\/p>\n
I know that.<\/p>\n
Then what do you want?<\/p>\n
A specialist.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor himself,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Morales nodded.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Vale asked:<\/p>\n
Why not use the clinic you and Kirsten already see?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Because they report everything into the same patient system.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
So?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
So Kirsten might see the referral.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
She's a doctor, not a hacker.<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
She notices things.<\/p>\n
That almost made me laugh.<\/p>\n
Apparently he had respected my observational skills enough to fear them, just not enough to stop lying.<\/p>\n
Vale said:<\/p>\n
Fine. I'll find someone private.<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
And nobody tells Walter.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
Why would Walter care?<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then Connor answered.<\/p>\n
Because if I can't have children, my father rewrites everything.<\/p>\n
Kenneth straightened.<\/p>\n
The trust.<\/p>\n
Connor had known even then.<\/p>\n
Years before Noah.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
That's what this is about?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
That's what everything is about.<\/p>\n
The sentence remained in the room after Morales stopped playback.<\/p>\n
I thought about the hospital hallway.<\/p>\n
I finally have a family.<\/p>\n
Some women aren't meant to have children.<\/p>\n
All of it had been theater built over terror.<\/p>\n
Connor had not been proving something to me.<\/p>\n
He had been proving it to himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else is on the drive?\u201d Kenneth asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral later recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything about the forged test?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales nodded.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one is eleven months old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice again.<\/p>\n
It needs to look real.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
That's a felony waiting for a prosecutor.<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Nobody's taking it to court.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
Then why do you need it?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Walter.<\/p>\n
Vale laughed.<\/p>\n
You want to fool your father.<\/p>\n
I want him to stop asking questions.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
Why is he asking?<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Because Noah doesn't look like me.<\/p>\n
I remembered Gabriel saying Noah looked like his father.<\/p>\n
Vale continued:<\/p>\n
Then do a real test.<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
Why not?<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
Then Connor:<\/p>\n
Because I don't want the answer.<\/p>\n
The recording stopped.<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The center of everything.<\/p>\n
Connor had not known Noah was his.<\/p>\n
He had deliberately chosen not to know.<\/p>\n
Then forged certainty.<\/p>\n
Kenneth spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed Walter to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the trust administrators?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes the forged report financial fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
I barely heard them.<\/p>\n
One phrase repeated in my head.<\/p>\n
I don't want the answer.<\/p>\n
For years Connor had forced me to live with answers he invented.<\/p>\n
When reality threatened him, he simply refused to look.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Melinda being told about this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough her attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales closed the file.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one more recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you should hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pressed play.<\/p>\n
Vale sounded angry this time.<\/p>\n
You said nobody gets hurt.<\/p>\n
Connor:<\/p>\n
Nobody is hurt.<\/p>\n
Gabriel lost his fianc\u00e9e.<\/p>\n
That's his problem.<\/p>\n
You threatened him.<\/p>\n
I warned him.<\/p>\n
You paid his company.<\/p>\n
I gave him a way out.<\/p>\n
He didn't take it.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
Then make him.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
I'm not kidnapping someone for you.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Connor:<\/p>\n
I didn't ask you to.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
You didn't have to.<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
Kenneth leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Gabriel filed.<\/p>\n
Before the assault.<\/p>\n
Connor had already been pressuring Vale to make Gabriel disappear from the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Vale attack Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Connor have used someone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Vale now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Connor turned on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think Vale became a liability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor knows Vale records people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained the photograph.<\/p>\n
Connor wanted the flash drive.<\/p>\n
But Vale had already sent it.<\/p>\n
To me.<\/p>\n
The realization came slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor thinks I have the original.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe courier package.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not know police took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he thinks Vale gave me the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Everyone froze.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Morales held out his hand.<\/p>\n
I gave him the phone.<\/p>\n
He activated recording equipment, then nodded.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice filled the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time in a year, hearing him frightened me.<\/p>\n
Not because he sounded angry.<\/p>\n
Because he sounded exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
A quiet laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cStraight to business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSkipped over everything human.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Same Connor.<\/p>\n
Even now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Raymond alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales wrote something and pushed it toward me.<\/p>\n
KEEP HIM TALKING.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't lie to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale sent it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt went to police.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Real silence.<\/p>\n
Then Connor whispered, \u201cYou shouldn't have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you expect?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected you to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter everything you've done?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know what I've done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard your recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat recordings?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand you knew about your fertility diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew while I was being treated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn't that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tried to erase the records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forged a DNA report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threatened Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied to police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came after me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, he didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor breathed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause evidence doesn't care what story you prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've been waiting a year to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroy me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
He shook his head slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reopened the divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you hid assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talked to Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came to my workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou turned my father against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did that yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing became louder.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cYou took everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost could not believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had an affair with my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur marriage was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou concealed your diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hid money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forged a paternity test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was protecting my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word came out quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were protecting yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Connor said something that changed the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cNoah is my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen take the real test.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped breathing for a second.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake it,\u201d I repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the room became still.<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cNoah isn't mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police traced the message quickly. Too quickly, Officer Morales said. The address Connor sent was an abandoned warehouse south of downtown. By the time officers entered, nobody was there. One … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30495","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\/30495","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=30495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30596,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30495\/revisions\/30596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}