The location Thomas sent was not hidden.<\/p>\n
It was the cemetery where Margaret Fleming was buried.<\/p>\n
Broad daylight.<\/p>\n
Open grounds.<\/p>\n
A strange choice for violence.<\/p>\n
Morales assumed that was intentional.<\/p>\n
Thomas wanted conversation.<\/p>\n
Or wanted us to think he did.<\/p>\n
Connor was still injured.<\/p>\n
Still under investigation.<\/p>\n
Still technically a flight risk.<\/p>\n
And still determined to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me through the hospital monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales agreed.<\/p>\n
Connor went under controlled conditions.<\/p>\n
Unmarked vehicles.<\/p>\n
Plainclothes officers.<\/p>\n
No visible weapons unless needed.<\/p>\n
I was not supposed to go.<\/p>\n
Thomas changed that.<\/p>\n
A message arrived twenty minutes before the planned contact.<\/p>\n
Kirsten too.<\/p>\n
Connor immediately objected.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've spent years deciding for everyone else and apparently learned nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt always is when you want control.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not going because Thomas ordered me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I want to hear what he thinks I represent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
Morales approved only after establishing distance, cover and an extraction plan.<\/p>\n
Walter remained behind.<\/p>\n
So did Raymond.<\/p>\n
Rebecca wanted to come.<\/p>\n
Police refused.<\/p>\n
At 6:08 p.m., Connor and I walked through the cemetery.<\/p>\n
He moved slowly because of his ribs.<\/p>\n
Autumn wind moved through dry grass.<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s grave sat beneath a maple tree turning orange.<\/p>\n
Thomas stood beside it.<\/p>\n
No gun visible.<\/p>\n
Hands empty.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
For the first time, he looked less like Raymond.<\/p>\n
More like the Fleming photographs.<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s jaw.<\/p>\n
Walter\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
Connor saw it too.<\/p>\n
They stopped ten feet apart.<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor said nothing.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked back at Connor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all you have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty surprised all of us.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked down at Margaret\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou read it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave me away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo fear makes people do things they spend the rest of their lives regretting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No defense.<\/p>\n
Thomas seemed disappointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied to Kirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsed Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStole money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFaked Noah\u2019s paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroyed Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hurt her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't get to decide that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Connor refused the dramatic version without minimizing his own wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Thomas shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called you son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also spent twenty years believing I caused an accident I didn't cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least he was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked at him.<\/p>\n
That landed.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had Raymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond isn't my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not biologically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same thing we all did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPretend blood erases years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward Margaret\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Michael was my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I never knew either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo don't tell me Raymond counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm telling you he also counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound wise now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sound late.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was better.<\/p>\n
Thomas turned to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you forgive him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor flinched.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas seemed surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why defend him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came here with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing present.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Connor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he did to me remains what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe altered report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you hate him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He became irritated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does everyone refuse to feel correctly?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause people are not verdicts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked away.<\/p>\n
Connor asked, \u201cWhy did you take Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have taken me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were guarded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you took a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't going to hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took him from his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put him in a room with adults terrified for their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made him a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked down.<\/p>\n
Connor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI turned Noah into proof that I was a Fleming.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou turned him into proof that I wasn't worth being one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither of us saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence hung between them.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked away first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor said quietly, \u201cNeither did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my chest tighten.<\/p>\n
That was not quite true.<\/p>\n
Not physically.<\/p>\n
But Connor\u2019s lies had placed Noah inside unstable identities and legal conflict.<\/p>\n
He understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean I told myself that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo telling yourself a child is safe doesn't make your choices safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wind moved through the tree above Margaret\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
Thomas sat on the stone bench nearby.<\/p>\n
For the first time, he looked tired enough to stop performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if everything came out, I would feel different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you expect?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Walter would collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Rebecca would see what they did to Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Claire would understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Raymond would admit he lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted you to know what it was like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent my entire life outside a door I thought I was inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
Connor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter loved me and judged me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe raised me and doubted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me money and made it feel conditional.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought my mother chose him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought my father was someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Noah had to be biologically mine or I wasn't enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lied because I believed blood was the only evidence anyone respected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward Margaret\u2019s name carved into stone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I found out Walter isn't my biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found out Raymond isn't yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
Connor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both learned the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat the men who raised us still matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't tell me Raymond matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came apart when he learned Marianne wasn't your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept records on everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe blackmailed people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't erase anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The answer Connor had needed about himself.<\/p>\n
Parenthood did not erase wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Wrongdoing did not erase every act of parenthood.<\/p>\n
Two truths could exist.<\/p>\n
Thomas wiped his face roughly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got Michael\u2019s name without earning it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked almost amused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know his name belonged to me until three days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou inherited him anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI inherited secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at the grave.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a while neither spoke.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas asked, \u201cWhat happens to Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s expression softened immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lose him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes that hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked almost satisfied.<\/p>\n
Then Connor added, \u201cBut Noah isn't mine to keep because losing him hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
For Connor too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves you,\u201d I said quietly.<\/p>\n
Connor looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Ethan is his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBiologically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Connor has been raising him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo which one wins?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one.\u201d<\/p>\n
That confused him.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren are not prizes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence belonged at the center of everything.<\/p>\n
Noah was not eighteen million dollars.<\/p>\n
Not proof of Connor\u2019s masculinity.<\/p>\n
Not Ethan\u2019s redemption.<\/p>\n
Not Melinda\u2019s protection.<\/p>\n
Not Gabriel\u2019s imagined future.<\/p>\n
Not Thomas\u2019s leverage.<\/p>\n
A child.<\/p>\n
That was all.<\/p>\n
And enough.<\/p>\n
Thomas reached inside his coat.<\/p>\n
Officers shifted invisibly around us.<\/p>\n
Connor stepped slightly in front of me.<\/p>\n
Thomas noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill protecting her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor said, \u201cHabit.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved beside him instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas pulled out a small object.<\/p>\n
Not a weapon.<\/p>\n
A flash drive.<\/p>\n
He held it out.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond\u2019s last copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor did not take it.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything he kept on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shooting?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAway from him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could still have killed someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late recognition again.<\/p>\n
The family specialty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecordings. Payments. Red Marsh instructions. Claire\u2019s messages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re surrendering evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward Margaret\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she wanted someone to choose decency over fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her letter.<\/p>\n
The phrase stayed with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo choose it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then at Connor.<\/p>\n
Then slowly raised both hands.<\/p>\n
Police emerged from across the cemetery.<\/p>\n
Thomas did not run.<\/p>\n
He did not resist.<\/p>\n
As officers handcuffed him, he looked at Connor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to visit me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor seemed stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
They led him away.<\/p>\n
Connor stood beside Margaret\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
Wind tugged at the edge of his hospital sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
He looked older than he had a week earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
Then looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConsequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor everyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accepted it.<\/p>\n
We began walking back toward the waiting officers.<\/p>\n
Halfway across the cemetery, Connor stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if Noah was mine, it proved I hadn't been the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted you to feel what I felt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
That answer surprised him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShame can be useful if you stop making other people carry it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
Then we kept walking.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Kenneth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the preliminary forensic accounting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor\u2019s concealed marital assets are larger than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 1.9 million attributable to the marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor heard.<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Kenneth continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Walter\u2019s counsel has agreed not to contest reopening.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Connor.<\/p>\n
He nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust administrators filed an emergency petition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do they want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo suspend all succession distributions until parentage and fraud issues are resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth heard him.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked toward Margaret\u2019s grave one last time.<\/p>\n
Then said something I never expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
He shrugged carefully around his ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I keep the money by lying, then none of this changed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
That did not make him redeemed.<\/p>\n
It made him, for the first time, willing to stop defending the lie.<\/p>\n
And that was enough for one evening.<\/p>\n
The location Thomas sent was not hidden. It was the cemetery where Margaret Fleming was buried. Broad daylight. Open grounds. A strange choice for violence. Morales assumed that was intentional. … <\/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-30566","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\/30566","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=30566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30622,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30566\/revisions\/30622"}],"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=30566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}