{"id":31447,"date":"2026-10-06T14:52:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31447"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:52:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:52:28","slug":"part-23-matthew-waited-in-the-apartment-my-father-never-returned-to-surrounded-by-thirteen-years-of-letters-addressed-to-me-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31447","title":{"rendered":"PART 23 \u2013 Matthew Waited in the Apartment My Father Never Returned To, Surrounded by Thirteen Years of Letters Addressed to Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The building looked smaller than Mom remembered.<\/p>\n<p>She said that twice.<\/p>\n<p>The first time when we parked across the street.<\/p>\n<p>The second when she saw the third-floor windows.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Their old apartment had changed owners several times, but Matthew had acquired the entire building through a holding company eight months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>That fact told us the invitation had been prepared long before tonight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe planned this,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n<p>Elena answered, \u201cMatthew plans everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The building appeared empty.<\/p>\n<p>No residents.<\/p>\n<p>Utilities active only on the third floor.<\/p>\n<p>State police wanted to clear it.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew sent a message before they could.<\/p>\n<p>NO UNINVITED GUESTS.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes ignored it.<\/p>\n<p>A second message came.<\/p>\n<p>OFFICER ON REAR STAIRS. FEMALE. BROWN COAT.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz swore.<\/p>\n<p>He could see them.<\/p>\n<p>Third message.<\/p>\n<p>IF SHE CONTINUES, I LEAVE.<\/p>\n<p>Elena looked at Hayes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe means it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t negotiate tactical control with suspects.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do if the suspect has been building surveillance systems longer than you\u2019ve been a detective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes hated that.<\/p>\n<p>But he called Ortiz back.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas would go inside.<\/p>\n<p>Mom refused to stay behind.<\/p>\n<p>So did I.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes argued for seven minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Then Matthew sent another message.<\/p>\n<p>RACHEL AND CHLOE MAY ENTER.<\/p>\n<p>Elena smiled without humor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s writing your guest list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes said, \u201cI\u2019m going too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Message:<\/p>\n<p>NO.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes stared at the phone.<\/p>\n<p>I almost felt sorry for him.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas, Mom, and I entered alone.<\/p>\n<p>The stairwell smelled like old paint.<\/p>\n<p>Mom touched the third-floor railing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to sit here when the apartment got too hot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>The door to Apartment 3C stood open.<\/p>\n<p>Inside, Matthew had reconstructed pieces of their old life.<\/p>\n<p>Not perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>Enough.<\/p>\n<p>A secondhand green sofa similar to the one they owned.<\/p>\n<p>A cheap kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>Blue coffee cups on the top shelf.<\/p>\n<p>Mom stopped in the doorway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked shaken.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s voice came from somewhere inside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought you might appreciate accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stepped from the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Mercer looked ordinary.<\/p>\n<p>That was the first thing that struck me.<\/p>\n<p>Brown hair turning gray.<\/p>\n<p>Glasses.<\/p>\n<p>Dark sweater.<\/p>\n<p>No visible weapon.<\/p>\n<p>No dramatic scar.<\/p>\n<p>He looked like a man who might repair computers at a library.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen him at Grandpa\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n<p>Now I remembered.<\/p>\n<p>Hot chocolate.<\/p>\n<p>A quiet hug for Mom.<\/p>\n<p>He had asked whether I needed anything.<\/p>\n<p>The Archivist.<\/p>\n<p>Family.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello, Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stayed beside Mom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou watched me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Samuel asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew nodded toward the old sofa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen stand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not care.<\/p>\n<p>That unnerved Dad more than a confrontation would have.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew walked to a cabinet.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were boxes.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens.<\/p>\n<p>Each labeled by year.<\/p>\n<p>200&#8230; the year I was born.<\/p>\n<p>Then every year afterward.<\/p>\n<p>My name appeared on all of them.<\/p>\n<p>I forgot to breathe.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas whispered, \u201cThose are mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou broke into the Montana storage site.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked as though he wanted to hit him.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew said, \u201cI copied everything and left the originals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I burned them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou burned what I replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew opened the first box.<\/p>\n<p>Letters.<\/p>\n<p>Photographs.<\/p>\n<p>A tiny hospital bracelet from the night I was born.<\/p>\n<p>Mom saw it.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did Thomas have that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas answered softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel sent it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father gave you Chloe\u2019s hospital bracelet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA duplicate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew watched us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel understood Thomas needed a reason to remain human.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sentence silenced the room.<\/p>\n<p>I approached the boxes despite Mom reaching for me.<\/p>\n<p>The first letter was dated three days after my birth.<\/p>\n<p>CHLOE.<\/p>\n<p>Dad had written my name before he ever saw me.<\/p>\n<p>I picked it up.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked almost afraid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to read that here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew said, \u201cShe should.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas snapped, \u201cYou do not decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s calm returned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is rather the point tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I opened the letter.<\/p>\n<p>The handwriting matched Box Forty-Seven.<\/p>\n<p>I read only the first lines.<\/p>\n<p>You arrived yesterday. Samuel says you screamed like you were personally offended by being born.<\/p>\n<p>Despite everything, I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Mom covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped reading.<\/p>\n<p>Not because I didn\u2019t want more.<\/p>\n<p>Because I wanted the rest somewhere Matthew couldn\u2019t watch me.<\/p>\n<p>I put the letter back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did Grandpa ask you to watch me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew sat at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did not know I was the Archivist then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did he find out?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe tried to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That shocked everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Mom whispered, \u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel was more complicated than you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe invited me to his apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Henderson and Grandpa played chess.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently Grandpa used the game for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe confronted me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout the network?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe pulled a pistol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father hated guns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe hated me more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he shoot?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him if I died, hundreds of protected identities would be released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa lowered the weapon.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew had controlled him exactly the way he controlled everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Through consequences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Grandpa do then?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe made a proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat proposal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBuild Mirror together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Elena\u2019s voice came through Thomas\u2019s concealed audio device.<\/p>\n<p>She was still listening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked toward Thomas\u2019s collar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello, Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew had known about the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel proposed building an archive capable of separating crimes from protections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena said through the speaker, \u201cSamuel built Mirror against you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s tone sharpened for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe built it because of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Dad seemed unsure.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew explained.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa knew simply releasing the network files would expose innocent people.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew knew maintaining the network indefinitely would preserve corruption.<\/p>\n<p>They reached an uneasy agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel would build Mirror as an independent archive.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew would quietly provide data structures, index keys, and records.<\/p>\n<p>When Mirror became capable of separating protected identities from criminal leverage, Matthew would dismantle Bishop.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes\u2019s voice came faintly through the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew answered him too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Samuel died before finishing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa was working with you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did he hide things from you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he never trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe would have appreciated that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas paced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere does Elena fit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe refused the compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause compromises with extortionists are still extortion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was her position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wanted to expose everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wanted to build a clean extraction herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sabotaged it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou chased me for six years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI chased the recording because you refused to share the separation keys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were still running Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause dismantling it prematurely would create a power vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere usually is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom asked, \u201cWhy us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Samuel chose you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChose me for what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo inherit the final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Chloe inherited it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChloe inherited access.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel inherited judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated that.<\/p>\n<p>More layers.<\/p>\n<p>More hidden decisions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew folded his hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel designed the final question for Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said you don\u2019t know it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Mom matters?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe answer depends on her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel believed Chloe\u2019s choice would be shaped by whether Rachel repeated his mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProtecting children with lies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room became still.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa understood what he had done.<\/p>\n<p>He had hidden everything from Mom.<\/p>\n<p>Dad had hidden everything from me.<\/p>\n<p>Mom had told me Dad was dead.<\/p>\n<p>Every generation had called secrecy protection.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew said, \u201cSamuel wanted the final decision made by someone who knew the cost of both truth and concealment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>Not because I was special.<\/p>\n<p>Because I was the person who had been hurt by both.<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cWhat exactly am I deciding?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew stood.<\/p>\n<p>Finally.<\/p>\n<p>He crossed to another room.<\/p>\n<p>When he returned, he carried a compact black server unit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMirror\u2019s final ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have the encrypted master copy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fragments?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel kept one beyond my reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew set the server on the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you open it, Mirror can separate protected identities from criminal evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes spoke through the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we arrest you and dismantle the network.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody trusted that answer.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s the catch?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe process is irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn what sense?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce opened, the criminal archive is automatically distributed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal prosecutors. Inspectors general. Selected journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the protected identities are permanently deleted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena said, \u201cAlso good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked toward the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless the separation algorithm is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow wrong?\u201d Hayes asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel estimated a one-point-eight percent classification uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds small.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately forty-six thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One-point-eight percent of forty-six thousand was not small.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people could be misclassified.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses exposed as criminals.<\/p>\n<p>Criminals protected as witnesses.<\/p>\n<p>Lives destroyed either way.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is your choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel made it yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had no right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For once Matthew agreed instantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t remove the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated him for saying it.<\/p>\n<p>Then I realized something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said Grandpa didn\u2019t finish Mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut somebody kept updating it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly the evidence side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe protection side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone looked at her through the transmitter even though she wasn\u2019t physically present.<\/p>\n<p>Elena said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeparately, Thomas and Elena completed what Samuel could not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou combined our work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s the current uncertainty?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZero-point-zero-three percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly fourteen records.<\/p>\n<p>Still lives.<\/p>\n<p>But far fewer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan it be improved?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s face softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knows which fourteen records were deliberately falsified during his tenure as Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that\u2019s why you took him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the next choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I clenched my jaw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop calling everything a choice when you control the options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the second time that night, I silenced him.<\/p>\n<p>Then a door opened behind us.<\/p>\n<p>Martin Vale walked into the apartment.<\/p>\n<p>No restraints.<\/p>\n<p>No guards.<\/p>\n<p>He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>He stared at Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Then at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him I\u2019d help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes shouted through the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin, get away from Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he\u2019s right about the fourteen records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t know what he\u2019ll do afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I know what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice cracked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI falsified twelve of those fourteen myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other two had been altered by James Hayes.<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s father.<\/p>\n<p>Vale sat at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can fix them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew connected the server.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas moved toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>No pressure.<\/p>\n<p>No countdown.<\/p>\n<p>No gun.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in days, the decision truly could wait.<\/p>\n<p>Then sirens sounded outside.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes\u2019s voice came through the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t call them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew went pale.<\/p>\n<p>That frightened me more than anything he had done.<\/p>\n<p>He looked toward the windows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena\u2019s voice snapped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatthew, who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He moved to the computer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone initiated network purge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale stood.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew typed rapidly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole\u2019s in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBishop protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked, \u201cWho inherited?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one was supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside, more vehicles arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Not state police.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago police.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew whispered, \u201cThe network selected an emergency Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayes asked, \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer appeared on the server.<\/p>\n<p>SUCCESSION ACTIVE.<\/p>\n<p>NAME: MICHAEL HAYES.<\/p>\n<p>Every person in the room looked toward the transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>Outside, Detective Michael Hayes went completely silent.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31448\">Click here to continue reading: PART 24: The Network Named Detective Hayes as Its New Bishop, Forcing Him to Learn What His Father Had Secretly Left Behind<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The building looked smaller than Mom remembered. She said that twice. The first time when we parked across the street. The second when she saw the third-floor windows. 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