The gunshot still seemed to echo after Jessica\u2019s call disconnected.<\/p>\n
I stared at the dead screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was already opening the car door.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone just fired a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter is in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo is mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came out before I understood them.<\/p>\n
My daughter.<\/p>\n
Not literally. Not anymore. Not in any way that made sense.<\/p>\n
Jessica had been my wife for eight years. Now I knew she was my mother\u2019s daughter and therefore my half-sister. Language had become useless around us.<\/p>\n
Maya grabbed my arm before I could move toward the warehouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice are going in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farther down the industrial road, unmarked vehicles came alive almost simultaneously. Doors opened. Officers in tactical gear moved toward the property.<\/p>\n
Another gunshot sounded.<\/p>\n
This one came from inside the warehouse rather than through a phone.<\/p>\n
Elena flinched.<\/p>\n
I reached for her without thinking.<\/p>\n
She gripped my hand.<\/p>\n
Thirty years apart, and now we stood together in darkness listening to gunfire around the daughter she had held for six hours.<\/p>\n
Officers breached a side entrance.<\/p>\n
Someone shouted.<\/p>\n
Another voice ordered everyone to get down.<\/p>\n
Then came several seconds of confusion\u2014boots, commands, breaking glass, the metallic crash of something large falling.<\/p>\n
No more gunshots.<\/p>\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
Her expression gave nothing away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have four people secured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t confirmed identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour?\u201d<\/p>\n
I counted.<\/p>\n
Jessica.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Linda.<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
Cole.<\/p>\n
Six people should have been inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo are missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena understood too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I started toward the warehouse.<\/p>\n
Maya stopped me again.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are if you don\u2019t want an armed officer mistaking you for part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
I hated her for being right.<\/p>\n
Five minutes felt like an hour.<\/p>\n
Then an ambulance entered through the gate.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
A second ambulance followed.<\/p>\n
Finally an officer approached us.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan Hayes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wife is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees almost gave out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMinor injuries from the earlier vehicle collision. No gunshot wounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the shot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne male victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The retired judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still sorting that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElena Morales is with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer looked toward my mother.<\/p>\n
Recognition appeared immediately.<\/p>\n
Someone had briefed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll need statements from everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Jessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s being brought out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The warehouse door opened.<\/p>\n
Jessica emerged between two officers.<\/p>\n
A bandage crossed her forehead.<\/p>\n
Her hands were free.<\/p>\n
She saw me.<\/p>\n
For half a second neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Then she ran.<\/p>\n
I met her halfway.<\/p>\n
She collided with me hard enough to make me step backward.<\/p>\n
Her arms went around my neck.<\/p>\n
Mine went around her.<\/p>\n
The embrace was instinct.<\/p>\n
Then reality returned.<\/p>\n
We separated almost at the same moment.<\/p>\n
Jessica looked past me.<\/p>\n
At Elena.<\/p>\n
My mother stood near Maya\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
Her face had gone white.<\/p>\n
Jessica stared.<\/p>\n
Elena took one step forward.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s mouth trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease,\u201d Jessica said. \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pain crossed Elena\u2019s face, but she nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked away.<\/p>\n
An officer escorted her toward an ambulance.<\/p>\n
Daniel came out next.<\/p>\n
His face was bruised exactly as it had been in the video.<\/p>\n
He was limping.<\/p>\n
Elena ran to him.<\/p>\n
Their embrace was different.<\/p>\n
Old.<\/p>\n
Familiar.<\/p>\n
Complicated.<\/p>\n
Daniel held her for several seconds before pulling away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBad habit.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched the bruise on his cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat real?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the ropes were yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you\u2019d notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca emerged next.<\/p>\n
She looked younger than I expected, though she had to be around forty. Her dark hair was cut short. Blood stained one sleeve.<\/p>\n
Daniel immediately moved toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose blood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCole\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched them embrace.<\/p>\n
Whatever else Rebecca Barrett Mercer had done, Daniel\u2019s fear for her was real.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas came through the doorway in handcuffs.<\/p>\n
He looked nothing like the monster I had constructed.<\/p>\n
Late sixties.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Ordinary face.<\/p>\n
The kind of man you might ask to watch your suitcase at an airport.<\/p>\n
He saw Elena.<\/p>\n
Something unreadable crossed his expression.<\/p>\n
Then he saw me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n
An officer pushed him forward.<\/p>\n
I stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
Maya blocked me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur raised you well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep walking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never told you the best part, did he?\u201d<\/p>\n
I ignored him.<\/p>\n
He stopped anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas,\u201d Rebecca said sharply.<\/p>\n
He looked toward his daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill choosing strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped between them.<\/p>\n
Rebecca didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey aren\u2019t strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police moved him away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Linda?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
The officer beside us frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Barrett, Rebecca Mercer, Daniel Mercer, Victoria Bennett, and Raymond Cole were present.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s five.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was standing behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMinutes before the raid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see her leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny exits?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBack loading bay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officers began speaking into radios.<\/p>\n
Linda had escaped.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
We were moved to a nearby command area.<\/p>\n
Cole had been shot once in the upper chest.<\/p>\n
Rebecca claimed Linda fired.<\/p>\n
Thomas claimed he had not seen the shooting.<\/p>\n
Jessica had heard Linda threaten Cole immediately before the gunshot.<\/p>\n
Daniel had seen Linda holding the weapon.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had tried to stop her and ended up with Cole\u2019s blood on her sleeve while applying pressure to the wound.<\/p>\n
That explained the scene.<\/p>\n
It did not explain why Linda had escaped while everyone else remained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she planned it,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n
We sat inside an unused office near the warehouse while detectives separated witnesses.<\/p>\n
Daniel and Rebecca had been permitted a few minutes together before questioning.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother never intended to give Thomas the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why kidnap Jessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica answered from the other side of the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought Victoria would force Arthur to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Linda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas was useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word sounded chillingly similar to something Elena had said about Victor.<\/p>\n
Useful.<\/p>\n
People reduced to functions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Linda want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cControl over Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom prosecution?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca rubbed her hands together.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother spent decades collecting information. Victor believed Thomas worked for him. Cole believed Victor controlled Thomas. Thomas believed Linda was helping him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward the warehouse wall as if she could see through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda was keeping copies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Victor\u2019s crimes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Linda\u2019s ease inside the hospital.<\/p>\n
The false identity.<\/p>\n
The calm voice.<\/p>\n
She had spent a lifetime becoming whoever she needed to become.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know Elena was alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena spoke from near the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know she knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at her biological mother.<\/p>\n
Their eyes met.<\/p>\n
Jessica looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda found you through Daniel,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n
Daniel stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice broke slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until last week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy going to Elena alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t fixing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their argument carried the exhausted familiarity of a marriage that had survived too many secrets.<\/p>\n
I understood that too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell Elena yesterday?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Linda knew where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe warned me to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why were you photographed together?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas\u2019s people were watching Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca added, \u201cI wanted them to think Elena trusted me enough to stay close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Thomas would focus on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe let himself get caught.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel grimaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot my finest plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou staged the restraints.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the beating?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was less theatrical than I hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy risk it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear what he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s expression darkened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Thomas wasn\u2019t running this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot fully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should.\u201d<\/p>\n
A detective entered and asked Rebecca to come with him.<\/p>\n
Before she left, she looked at Jessica.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica stiffened.<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry for what my family did to yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s reply was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re part of that family too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca absorbed the blow.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica flinched.<\/p>\n
Rebecca left.<\/p>\n
I sat beside Jessica.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow badly are you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeat belt bruises. Cut on my forehead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas hit your car?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of his men.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice picked him up earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
There was too much to say.<\/p>\n
Instead I asked, \u201cWhy did Thomas call you Victoria?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he never accepted Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Victor named me Victoria, so that was my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Jessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally understood why the name mattered.<\/p>\n
Jessica was not merely an alias.<\/p>\n
It was one of the first things she had chosen for herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call you Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the room, Elena watched us.<\/p>\n
Her expression held grief I could not begin to untangle.<\/p>\n
A detective entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Hayes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recovered several documents from the warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCopies of financial records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything belonging to Linda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed a clear evidence sleeve on the table.<\/p>\n
Inside was a photograph.<\/p>\n
A younger Linda stood beside Victor Morales and Raymond Cole.<\/p>\n
Between them was another man.<\/p>\n
I recognized him.<\/p>\n
Arthur Hayes.<\/p>\n
My father.<\/p>\n
The photograph appeared to have been taken years after the fire.<\/p>\n
On the back, someone had written a date.<\/p>\n
2004.<\/p>\n
Eight years after Elena disappeared.<\/p>\n
My father had told me he never dealt with Linda.<\/p>\n
He had told me he barely knew Thomas.<\/p>\n
Yet there he was, standing beside Linda, Victor, and Cole.<\/p>\n
And all four were smiling.<\/p>\n
The gunshot still seemed to echo after Jessica\u2019s call disconnected. I stared at the dead screen. \u201cElena, stay here.\u201d She was already opening the car door. \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cSomeone just fired … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31508","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\/31508","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=31508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31543,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31508\/revisions\/31543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}