For several seconds, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
The server continued displaying the message.<\/p>\n
SUCCESSION ACTIVE.<\/p>\n
MICHAEL JAMES HAYES.<\/p>\n
AUTHORIZED BISHOP.<\/p>\n
Mom stared toward Thomas\u2019s collar microphone as though Hayes could somehow see her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked genuinely shaken.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas turned on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou control succession.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI maintain records. I do not initiate emergency succession.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho does?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoftware?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice came through the transmitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou built automated succession?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane\u2019s husband.<\/p>\n
Matthew\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
The previous Archivist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the network had to survive if both Bishop and Archivist were compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes finally spoke from outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew typed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sirens multiplied below.<\/p>\n
Through the window, I saw Chicago police vehicles blocking both ends of the street.<\/p>\n
State officers were moving into defensive positions.<\/p>\n
Hayes said, \u201cThey\u2019re not responding to my commands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew found the succession file.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father nominated you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Hayes\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father died when I was seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames Hayes created a conditional successor record before his disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas asked, \u201cWhat condition?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew read.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf James Hayes is removed, and no approved Bishop remains, succession transfers to biological heir upon law-enforcement qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Hayes had been chosen before he became a detective.<\/p>\n
Before he knew the network existed.<\/p>\n
His father had planted him into the system as an unborn future possibility.<\/p>\n
Hayes said, \u201cWhy would he do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes laughed bitterly over the transmitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently that disease is hereditary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames knew the network would watch his family after he turned against them. If you were marked as future Bishop, certain protections would activate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat protections?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew searched.<\/p>\n
\u201cNon-target status.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes went silent.<\/p>\n
Thomas understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis father made the network protect Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy making him successor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now Cole is compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the system automatically promoted Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom whispered, \u201cSo those officers outside think Hayes is Bishop?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost don\u2019t know Bishop exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are they here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmergency operational orders are issued through normal channels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew read.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecure Archivist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
The police outside had been sent to capture Matthew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho issued that?\u201d Elena asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Hayes cancel it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked toward the transmitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he accepts succession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said, \u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf accepting it gets those officers to stand down\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not becoming Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already are according to their system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean I participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew said, \u201cYou can issue one order and then relinquish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes gave a bitter laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to log into a criminal command system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat alone could destroy every case I ever touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t, armed officers may enter this building believing Matthew is a threat to classified police infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are their rules of engagement?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew checked.<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCapture if practical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Hayes swore.<\/p>\n
Outside, a loudspeaker activated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOccupants of Apartment 3C, remain inside and keep away from windows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know the exact apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom asked, \u201cCan we prove to those officers they\u2019re being manipulated?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cState police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz came through Hayes\u2019s line.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago command says they\u2019re operating under a cyberterrorism warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had been classified as a threat to city systems.<\/p>\n
Which, technically, he was.<\/p>\n
Elena said, \u201cMatthew, log Michael in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if he accepts?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew answered me, not Hayes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe receives operational authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver all Bishop assets?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocations?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he could see everyone still in the network.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re thinking like Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes heard me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked closer to the transmitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you log in, can you order everyone to stand down?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd download the network list?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes said, \u201cThat is participation in a criminal system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena cut in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo infiltrate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make that sound clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes was silent.<\/p>\n
Vale spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father tried to dismantle Bishop from inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to use him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew the man who pretended to be him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Thomas asked.<\/p>\n
Vale looked at Matthew.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
Hayes\u2019s voice became dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames Hayes survived longer than you were told.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the man Vale met twelve years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t an impostor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut my father died twenty-three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis death was staged.\u201d<\/p>\n
I saw Thomas react.<\/p>\n
The pattern again.<\/p>\n
False death.<\/p>\n
Protection.<\/p>\n
Control.<\/p>\n
Hayes said nothing.<\/p>\n
Matthew continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames entered the network fully after his staged death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep you and your mother off the target list.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he became Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe turned against Raymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond ordered him removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes whispered, \u201cKilled?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew did not answer directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat word means nothing in this family anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom flinched even though Hayes wasn\u2019t speaking about us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did he go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale said, \u201cHe was alive twelve years ago when I saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long after that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes breathed heavily through the microphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he nominate me before or after turning against the network?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew searched the succession record.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed the meaning.<\/p>\n
James had not named his son successor to continue Bishop.<\/p>\n
He had done it as part of whatever plan he attempted.<\/p>\n
Hayes understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe expected this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe expected emergency succession to reach me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he left something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou people hide instructions everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cCheck the succession file.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew did.<\/p>\n
Buried beneath system permissions was an attachment inaccessible to anyone except the activated successor.<\/p>\n
HAYES_ONLY.<\/p>\n
Encrypted.<\/p>\n
Matthew could not open it.<\/p>\n
Only Michael could.<\/p>\n
Hayes went quiet again.<\/p>\n
Outside, officers announced a five-minute compliance deadline.<\/p>\n
Mom gripped my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said, \u201cYou don\u2019t have five minutes to resolve your moral crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes snapped, \u201cMy moral crisis is the only reason you trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped.<\/p>\n
True.<\/p>\n
Hayes had spent days refusing easy shortcuts precisely because he cared about what authority did to people.<\/p>\n
Now the network was offering him absolute shortcuts.<\/p>\n
That was why accepting terrified him.<\/p>\n
I walked toward the window but stayed behind the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetective Hayes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me the first day not to guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said if I didn\u2019t know, say I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what accepting does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you know what refusing does right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Officers outside prepared shields.<\/p>\n
Hayes exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSet it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Matthew connected a secure terminal.<\/p>\n
A login screen appeared.<\/p>\n
Biometric verification required.<\/p>\n
Hayes had to come inside.<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
State police kept the stairwell covered while he entered quickly.<\/p>\n
This was the first time I had seen him since the succession announcement.<\/p>\n
He looked furious.<\/p>\n
Not scared.<\/p>\n
Maybe both.<\/p>\n
Matthew pushed the terminal toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this installs anything\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s isolated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trusting you once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes pressed his finger to the scanner.<\/p>\n
The screen changed.<\/p>\n
MICHAEL JAMES HAYES.<\/p>\n
SUCCESSION CONFIRMED.<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
A command dashboard appeared.<\/p>\n
Hayes stared at the categories.<\/p>\n
OPERATIONS.<\/p>\n
FINANCE.<\/p>\n
LEVERAGE.<\/p>\n
PERSONNEL.<\/p>\n
PROTECTED.<\/p>\n
ARCHIVIST.<\/p>\n
He looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been inside police systems?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew answered, \u201cAround them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes selected OPERATIONS.<\/p>\n
One active instruction.<\/p>\n
SECURE ARCHIVIST.<\/p>\n
He canceled it.<\/p>\n
A confirmation prompt appeared.<\/p>\n
REASON?<\/p>\n
Hayes typed:<\/p>\n
BISHOP ORDER.<\/p>\n
Then confirmed.<\/p>\n
Outside, less than thirty seconds later, the loudspeaker went silent.<\/p>\n
Police shields lowered.<\/p>\n
Vehicles began receiving updated instructions.<\/p>\n
The network obeyed.<\/p>\n
Hayes stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
He had become Bishop for one command.<\/p>\n
Then he opened HAYES_ONLY.<\/p>\n
The file requested another password.<\/p>\n
Hint:<\/p>\n
THE FIRST PROMISE.<\/p>\n
Hayes looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew said nothing.<\/p>\n
Mom asked, \u201cSomething your father said?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes stared at the hint.<\/p>\n
His expression slowly changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was little\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father used to leave for night shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would ask if he was coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n
He typed ALWAYS.<\/p>\n
The file opened.<\/p>\n
One video.<\/p>\n
No text.<\/p>\n
James Hayes appeared on-screen.<\/p>\n
Older than the father Michael remembered.<\/p>\n
Alive years after his supposed death.<\/p>\n
Michael sat down.<\/p>\n
His father looked directly into the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are watching this, then I failed to stop succession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes\u2019s face broke slightly.<\/p>\n
James continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael, I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same word Thomas had given me.<\/p>\n
The same useless, necessary word.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made you my successor because the Bishop system cannot be destroyed from outside. Raymond built it to regenerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
His father\u2019s design.<\/p>\n
James continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut succession has one flaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe active Bishop can dissolve the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He had not known.<\/p>\n
James explained.<\/p>\n
The command required three conditions.<\/p>\n
Active Bishop authentication.<\/p>\n
Archivist authentication.<\/p>\n
And Mirror\u2019s final consent key.<\/p>\n
Every face turned toward me.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
James continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf all three approve dissolution, Bishop authority ends permanently. Accounts freeze. Operational commands disable. Succession records publish into sealed federal custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew whispered, \u201cRaymond never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
James\u2019s image continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would not. He feared the Archivist might someday develop a conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked almost offended.<\/p>\n
Then sad.<\/p>\n
Hayes asked the screen, \u201cWhat about the protected identities?\u201d<\/p>\n
James answered in the recording as though he knew the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cMirror must separate them first.\u201d<\/p>\n
So everything converged.<\/p>\n
Hayes.<\/p>\n
Matthew.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Not one person controlling the outcome.<\/p>\n
Three people from three different sides.<\/p>\n
Police.<\/p>\n
Archivist.<\/p>\n
Family.<\/p>\n
James finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael, if you inherited this, do not keep it to protect anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes lowered his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnd it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video stopped.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then Matthew said, \u201cWe can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice came through Thomas\u2019s transmitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d Hayes asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fourteen uncertain records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can correct twelve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other two?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Vale looked at Hayes.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames altered them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes stared at his father\u2019s frozen image.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew searched the hidden file.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be another attachment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Thomas said, \u201cThen we find the records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale named them.<\/p>\n
Two protected identities created twelve years ago.<\/p>\n
One adult male.<\/p>\n
One adult female.<\/p>\n
Both relocated under false deaths.<\/p>\n
Hayes asked for original names.<\/p>\n
Vale hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames Hayes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
The first uncertain record was his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the second?\u201d Mom asked.<\/p>\n
Vale looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena Ward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice disappeared from the transmitter.<\/p>\n
Thomas touched the device.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes checked the connection.<\/p>\n
Dead.<\/p>\n
Matthew went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas was already moving toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayes called Ortiz.<\/p>\n
No response from Elena\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
Then Ortiz came on.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left thirty seconds ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFollow her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew looked at the uncertain record list.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas asked, \u201cKnows what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Elena\u2019s identity is still classified as protected, Mirror cannot complete separation without her verification.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she is not merely one of the fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is the final unresolved record.\u201d<\/p>\n
A new message appeared on the terminal.<\/p>\n
From Elena.<\/p>\n
DO NOT DISSOLVE BISHOP.<\/p>\n
Hayes stared.<\/p>\n
Then a second line appeared.<\/p>\n
IF YOU DO, THOMAS DIES.<\/p>\n
Dad went completely still.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, nobody spoke. The server continued displaying the message. SUCCESSION ACTIVE. MICHAEL JAMES HAYES. AUTHORIZED BISHOP. Mom stared toward Thomas\u2019s collar microphone as though Hayes could somehow see … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31377","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\/31377","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=31377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31412,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31377\/revisions\/31412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}