Claire was arrested the moment she stepped from the vehicle.<\/p>\n
She did not resist.<\/p>\n
She handed Noah to the first officer who approached and said only one thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet him away from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah was taken for medical evaluation.<\/p>\n
He was frightened, hungry and exhausted.<\/p>\n
Otherwise unharmed.<\/p>\n
Connor cried when Morales told him.<\/p>\n
Not dramatically.<\/p>\n
He turned away from everyone, covered his face with one hand and stood completely still while tears slipped between his fingers.<\/p>\n
Nobody pretended not to see.<\/p>\n
Then he asked, \u201cDoes he have his blue blanket?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can't sleep without it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the blanket recovered from Unit 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe'll get him another.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. He wants that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
For once, Connor\u2019s insistence was not about money or status or proof.<\/p>\n
It was about a blanket.<\/p>\n
A tiny ordinary detail.<\/p>\n
That made his love for Noah harder to dismiss than any forged report.<\/p>\n
Morales promised to see whether the blanket could be released after processing.<\/p>\n
Then we returned to Claire.<\/p>\n
She sat inside an interview room wrapped in a police blanket.<\/p>\n
The blood at her mouth came from a split lip.<\/p>\n
Thomas had hit her after she tried to leave with both hostages.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get Noah out?\u201d Morales asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas went downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo check the west entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Melinda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to take Noah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not all three of you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas had chained Melinda\u2019s ankle to a support column.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you unlock it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Melinda told you to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe shoved Noah at me and said if I wasted time arguing, she would never forgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like Melinda.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat explosives?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas brought them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLower production floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetonator?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has something in his pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRemote?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPurpose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says if Connor doesn't come, he'll burn the whole Fleming history to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter watched through the glass.<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe records,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The foundry still contained archived company material.<\/p>\n
But paper was not what mattered.<\/p>\n
A human being remained inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Thomas intend to survive?\u201d Morales asked.<\/p>\n
Claire looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the worst answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you help him plan this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire began crying again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood outside the room, listening.<\/p>\n
Her face collapsed.<\/p>\n
Claire continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted Connor exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancially. Publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou paid Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell Thomas about Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Gabriel could challenge Connor\u2019s claim to Noah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you already knew Ethan was likely the father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Gabriel\u2019s claim was false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought a paternity case would force legitimate testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you contact him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas did.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnonymous message?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Connor had manipulated him and Noah might be his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Gabriel filed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you expect Connor to threaten him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you expect violence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Thomas did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas assault Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he admit it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Gabriel needed convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales wrote something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him we were done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said we had barely started.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not go to police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was again.<\/p>\n
The same trap Connor had described.<\/p>\n
One bad act making the next silence feel necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were afraid of consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you allowed worse consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned away from the glass.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether she recognized the family pattern.<\/p>\n
Morales continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Thomas shoot at Connor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know he had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell you afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he missed intentionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor scoffed from beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire could not hear him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the purpose?\u201d Morales asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo scare Connor into believing Raymond had turned against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Connor would panic and make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire covered her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas wanted the drives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Raymond recorded him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lowered her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said Raymond had proof about California.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in California?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDrugs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCrime?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat could be bad enough to justify kidnapping?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said if Connor got the drives, Connor would destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That meant Thomas believed Connor might eventually access Raymond\u2019s archive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Melinda say while you were inside?\u201d I asked through Morales after he agreed the question mattered.<\/p>\n
Claire frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe kept trying to talk Thomas down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
My attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Thomas didn't know the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat story?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared through the glass.<\/p>\n
Even now.<\/p>\n
Another missing piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Connor hadn't sent Raymond to investigate her first.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
That contradicted Raymond\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda said she had.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she contacted Raymond before Connor ever hired him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn't tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas react?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said his father had lied about the dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything shifted again.<\/p>\n
Raymond told us Connor first hired him in February.<\/p>\n
But if Melinda had contacted Raymond earlier, the origin of the surveillance changed.<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need Melinda alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Thomas needs information she has.\u201d<\/p>\n
That could be leverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething about Raymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales left the interview room and confronted Vale.<\/p>\n
The older investigator denied it first.<\/p>\n
Then Morales gave him one chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda Travis says she hired you before Connor did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Tiny.<\/p>\n
Enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d Morales asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond stared toward the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cJanuary.\u201d<\/p>\n
One month earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cPurpose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a hostage. Privacy is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted Connor investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt as though the floor moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she thought he was lying to Kirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout fertility?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melinda had suspected.<\/p>\n
Before Connor knew she suspected.<\/p>\n
Before he hired Raymond to watch her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she ask you to find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Connor had already been tested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the preliminary lab.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it show?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeverely impaired fertility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell Melinda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she tell Kirsten?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The betrayal landed quietly.<\/p>\n
Not because it was larger than the affair.<\/p>\n
Because it came first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she needed proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor discovered I had accessed the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he hired you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Connor\u2019s surveillance of Melinda was retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he suspected she knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me what she knew about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou played both sides from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Melinda know Connor hired you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked startled.<\/p>\n
That part he had not known.<\/p>\n
Morales asked, \u201cWhy did Melinda keep the fertility information from Kirsten?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Or thought I did.<\/p>\n
Because by then Connor had started paying attention to her.<\/p>\n
Maybe she was already emotionally involved.<\/p>\n
Maybe she had wanted certainty.<\/p>\n
Maybe she had been afraid.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, she had possessed a piece of truth that could have spared me years.<\/p>\n
And kept it.<\/p>\n
That hurt.<\/p>\n
But anger could wait.<\/p>\n
Melinda could not.<\/p>\n
Morales asked Raymond, \u201cWhat does Melinda know that Thomas needs?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire says Thomas became angry when Melinda said you lied about the dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas has always believed I ruined his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cMelinda knows where my original archive is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drives?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPaper files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe foundry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father gave me a room there decades ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA hidden archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Thomas not know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I never told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe followed me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the absurdity.<\/p>\n
The investigator had been investigated by his own client.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere inside the foundry?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond gave directions.<\/p>\n
Basement.<\/p>\n
Old maintenance corridor.<\/p>\n
Behind a false electrical panel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is in the archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginal reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFlemings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father authorize those investigations?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn his own family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pattern went back farther than any of us understood.<\/p>\n
Walter\u2019s father had monitored his children.<\/p>\n
Connor monitored Melinda.<\/p>\n
Rebecca monitored Connor.<\/p>\n
Everyone inherited surveillance alongside money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Thomas want destroyed?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Raymond looked at the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy investigation into his mother\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
We had barely heard about her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did she die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCar accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Fleming investigate it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked at Walter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she wasn't only my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe worked for your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccountant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe discovered money missing from the original trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never proved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you suspected someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he could answer, Morales\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas just contacted negotiators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the drives?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he found what he was looking for inside the foundry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales looked toward Connor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he wants Connor to come hear the truth before he kills Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire was arrested the moment she stepped from the vehicle. She did not resist. She handed Noah to the first officer who approached and said only one thing. \u201cGet him … <\/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-30538","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\/30538","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=30538"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30613,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30538\/revisions\/30613"}],"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=30538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}