For several seconds, nobody in the interview room moved.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s words seemed too simple for what they meant.<\/p>\n
Gabriel isn't Noah's father either.<\/p>\n
I pressed the phone harder to my ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou heard me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I heard a conclusion. I\u2019m asking how you reached it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale got a sample from Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already said that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd compared it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the same laboratory that did your real test?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the result excluded Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officer Morales had returned to the doorway. He stopped when he heard Connor\u2019s answer.<\/p>\n
Kenneth looked at me, then at Morales.<\/p>\n
I kept my voice controlled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCertain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t a scientific term.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten, I\u2019m not reading the report to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen remember what it said.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor was silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Gabriel excluded as biological father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales wrote quickly.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cDid Melinda know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Walter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone besides you and Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer created an entirely different problem.<\/p>\n
Two men had spent months fighting over a child neither one had fathered.<\/p>\n
One had built his inheritance around the child.<\/p>\n
The other had filed a court action believing he might have a son.<\/p>\n
And somewhere between those lives stood Melinda, who apparently had not told anyone the full truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Noah\u2019s father?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou secretly tested two men.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had an investigator following Melinda for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forged another test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you never identified the actual father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was something about the way he said it.<\/p>\n
Not defensive.<\/p>\n
Defeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale went through everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything meaning what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer old phone records. Credit cards. Messages. Work travel. People she knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had him investigate every man in her life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
There was obsessive jealousy.<\/p>\n
Then there was this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout her knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many men?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree serious possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabriel made one.<\/p>\n
Connor made two.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was the third?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never got a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales stepped closer.<\/p>\n
I asked again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said there were three possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a third man. We never identified him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you think he existed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of a hotel record.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat hotel record?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda stayed at a hotel downtown during the conception window.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what she said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe room was booked by someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hired Vale to investigate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
That one word made everything rotate back toward the missing investigator.<\/p>\n
Vale knew who paid him to follow Melinda.<\/p>\n
Vale may have known the third possible father.<\/p>\n
Vale had kept Connor\u2019s secret test.<\/p>\n
Vale had vanished after recording enough evidence to destroy several people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that why you\u2019re afraid of Vale?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid of what he\u2019ll sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever blackmail Melinda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That admission was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the fake paternity report?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor went silent.<\/p>\n
I heard another train horn.<\/p>\n
Closer this time.<\/p>\n
Morales motioned toward the detective in the hallway.<\/p>\n
They were narrowing the location.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else did Vale know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about the accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money you hid from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped you hide it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you hired him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever threaten to tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you didn\u2019t have enough money to make the information useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cruelty was so casual that it almost became absurd.<\/p>\n
Even blackmail had been priced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the trust gave Vale leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why send the flash drive to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knew I would think you had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t explain why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does if he wanted me to come after you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
That possibility had already occurred to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Vale is framing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Gabriel\u2019s assault?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the financial crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to find Vale first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You need to stop pretending that you\u2019re still the person who gets to control the sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the police arrest me first, Vale disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s tone changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants us to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes you so sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Raymond never disappears without being paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always leaves a trail someone can buy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know where that trail is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you have nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale uses storage lockers.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent places.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecifics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne near the airport. One west side. Maybe another north.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor rattled off two facilities.<\/p>\n
Morales wrote them down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI paid for one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat files?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you remove them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale said they were insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Kenneth.<\/p>\n
He mouthed, That tracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor, listen to me. Tell police exactly where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re running out of ways to make this worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s easy for you to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing became uneven.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cThere\u2019s something Melinda hasn\u2019t told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could describe half this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her about Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in Chicago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe summer she got pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it the hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who arranged the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor paused.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cWalter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name landed strangely.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Kenneth.<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father arranged Melinda\u2019s hotel room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough one of his companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Walter know Melinda then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you didn't believe him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My thoughts moved quickly.<\/p>\n
Walter had known about Melinda's earlier pregnancy through Vale.<\/p>\n
He claimed he had not known about the affair until later.<\/p>\n
Yet Connor now said a Fleming company booked a hotel room for Melinda during Noah\u2019s conception window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFleming Hospitality Services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth wrote it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could be routine corporate travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda didn't work for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo who booked it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never found the employee authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the record disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase made me cold.<\/p>\n
Records disappeared.<\/p>\n
Reports were forged.<\/p>\n
Money moved through shells.<\/p>\n
Every time reality threatened someone in the Fleming orbit, documentation somehow became negotiable.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Walter know about the booking when you asked?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale showed me an internal approval code.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat code?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father's.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter personally approved the room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you confront him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat codes get used by assistants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you still had no proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why mention it now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if Vale was paid to follow Melinda recently, Walter is one of the few people who could afford to keep him working without me knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
It did not mean Walter had.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would Walter gain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen this is suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That honesty made it harder to dismiss.<\/p>\n
Morales motioned that they had enough location data to act.<\/p>\n
I needed to keep Connor talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in Chicago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you. Ask Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe disappeared for two nights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile you were together?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSort of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you still married to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ignored that.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she had a work conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer employer says she wasn't registered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you learn that then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Vale found out after Noah was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the hotel reservation placed her there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have surveillance footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReceipts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne restaurant charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA room-service order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo breakfasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not proof.<\/p>\n
But enough to sustain obsession.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever ask Melinda directly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she went alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why two breakfasts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she ordered too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled despite myself.<\/p>\n
A bad lie did not identify a father.<\/p>\n
It only proved fear.<\/p>\n
Morales passed me another note.<\/p>\n
TRACE COMPLETE.<\/p>\n
LOCATION LIKELY UNION STATION AREA.<\/p>\n
I kept my face neutral.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor, why did you really call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to hear your voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer caught me off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don\u2019t know what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou turn yourself in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, Connor sounded small.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens to Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on the court, Melinda, biological paternity and your legal status.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means nobody can promise you an outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe calls me Da.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if Gabriel isn't the father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the court keeps looking at the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if nobody knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen legal parentage is still something lawyers and judges handle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want strangers deciding whether I'm his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made strangers necessary when you forged evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went quiet.<\/p>\n
The truth hurt because it was clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the test had said Noah was mine, do you think I would have told you about my diagnosis?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you would have decided the diagnosis no longer mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another train horn echoed through the phone.<\/p>\n
Then, faintly, an announcement.<\/p>\n
Morales\u2019s head snapped up.<\/p>\n
Union Station.<\/p>\n
He was already moving toward the door.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cAre you inside a station?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
Then the call disconnected.<\/p>\n
Morales ran.<\/p>\n
Kenneth and I remained inside the room.<\/p>\n
For twelve minutes, nothing happened.<\/p>\n
Then nineteen.<\/p>\n
Then twenty-six.<\/p>\n
I stared at my phone until the screen dimmed.<\/p>\n
At thirty-two minutes, Morales called.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrash receptacle outside Union Station.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knew you were tracing him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCamera footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReviewing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny sign he boarded a train?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor bought himself time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the call, Kenneth drove me back to the apartment.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke much.<\/p>\n
At 2:14 in the morning, my phone rang again.<\/p>\n
Melinda.<\/p>\n
I answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice was barely audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy attorney just called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel\u2019s lawyer submitted a request to suspend the paternity action.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Gabriel received something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA copy of the real test.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one excluding him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it look authentic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis lawyer says they\u2019re verifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swung my feet to the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Listen to me. If Connor and Gabriel are both excluded, you need to tell your attorney every person who could possibly be Noah\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn't anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Absolute silence.<\/p>\n
Then I knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cHe promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho promised?\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he was married.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
More silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because if I tell you, Walter will destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That narrowed nothing and everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Melinda began sobbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten, I swear I didn't know who he was when we met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used a different name.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd his real name?\u201d<\/p>\n
She could barely force the words out.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan Fleming.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Walter had only one younger brother.<\/p>\n
Ethan.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n
Noah\u2019s possible biological father was not outside the Fleming family at all.<\/p>\n
He was inside it.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, nobody in the interview room moved. Connor\u2019s words seemed too simple for what they meant. Gabriel isn't Noah's father either. I pressed the phone harder to my … <\/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-30502","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\/30502","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=30502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30600,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30502\/revisions\/30600"}],"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=30502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}