{"id":31515,"date":"2026-10-06T16:08:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31515"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:08:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:08:55","slug":"part-20-the-man-inside-lindas-safe-house-knew-which-baby-victor-stole-but-he-wanted-arthur-hayes-before-he-would-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31515","title":{"rendered":"PART 20 \u2013 The Man Inside Linda\u2019s Safe House Knew Which Baby Victor Stole, but He Wanted Arthur Hayes Before He Would Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The revelation changed the operation immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher Hayes was not simply another name from Victor\u2019s past.<\/p>\n<p>He was family.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s nephew.<\/p>\n<p>My cousin.<\/p>\n<p>A man hidden so completely that I had never known he existed.<\/p>\n<p>And Jessica remembered him as part of Victor\u2019s household.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Victor employ Margaret\u2019s son?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dad sounded sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo control her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe found Christopher after the adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he was a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd told Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo she would stay quiet about the switched babies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think she tried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The unsent letter.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Margaret had written it, then lost her nerve after Victor showed her he could reach Christopher.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica sat beside the command vehicle, staring into darkness toward the Salem property.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was he like?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuiet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe twenty years older than me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat fits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe drove Victor sometimes. Fixed things around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know his last name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy call him Mr. Grey?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor told me that was his name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another borrowed identity.<\/p>\n<p>Another layer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he close to Linda?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought they were relatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe, in a twisted sense, they were.<\/p>\n<p>Linda\u2019s connection to the Morales family made everyone orbit the same bloodline even when no one knew exactly how.<\/p>\n<p>Police attempted contact with the house.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>They called Linda\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca\u2019s phone remained off.<\/p>\n<p>Then Christopher called me.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice was calm.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristopher?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A quiet laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Arthur finally told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe barely knew what to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad heard through speaker.<\/p>\n<p>His breathing changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then Christopher said, \u201cUncle Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word seemed to strike Dad harder than any accusation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been alive the entire time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI looked for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou looked until it became inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad closed his eyes in his hospital room hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSave it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher returned his attention to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet her go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re helping her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinishing something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA debt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Margaret.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe truth corrected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout the babies?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was there when she finally found out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1995.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A year before the fire.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena\u2019s baby was born years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did Margaret wait?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed in 1995?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda told her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every answer returned to Linda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Linda wanted something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProtection from Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Margaret give it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the fire happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Christopher\u2014did you know Cole ordered it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad spoke sharply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChris, why didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I hated you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother spent her life terrified because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t Arthur\u2019s fault,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher heard her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stepped closer to the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI met you once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Seattle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou weren\u2019t supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher ignored the question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArthur has to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s recovering from surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been watching the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda.<\/p>\n<p>Or Christopher.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe both.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you need him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he needs to hear this from me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe can hear you now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll misunderstand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone keeps saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher gave a tired laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRuns in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet Rebecca go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Arthur comes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Linda decides what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you aren\u2019t controlling this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That honesty mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Linda want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot the recording anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole\u2019s files.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArthur knows where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret found them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she do with them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGave you the location.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA birthday gift.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy fortieth?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him through the video connection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat toolbox?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret gave me an old machinist\u2019s chest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Everything returned to that workshop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never found anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you never opened the false bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad swore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole\u2019s files are there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA key is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another key.<\/p>\n<p>Always another locked place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher said, \u201cBring Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen figure it out yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The line disconnected.<\/p>\n<p>Police immediately began coordinating a search of Dad\u2019s workshop.<\/p>\n<p>An officer went with a locksmith.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty minutes later, they found the machinist\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n<p>The false bottom existed.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were three objects.<\/p>\n<p>A photograph of Margaret holding a teenage boy.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher.<\/p>\n<p>A brass key.<\/p>\n<p>And a folded map.<\/p>\n<p>The map showed a rural property outside Hood River.<\/p>\n<p>Dad recognized it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole\u2019s hunting cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew he had one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew he hunted. Not where.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher had been telling the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret had hidden the location in plain sight for decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy give it to you without explaining?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared at the photograph of his sister.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe she planned to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut died first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The police now had reason to search the Hood River property.<\/p>\n<p>That helped with Cole.<\/p>\n<p>It did nothing for Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>Midnight approached.<\/p>\n<p>Linda called.<\/p>\n<p>This time her voice held no patience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe can\u2019t travel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe just had surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen bring proof you found Margaret\u2019s key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Maya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher must have told her.<\/p>\n<p>Or Linda already knew the key existed and had spent years searching.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want from the cabin?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Cole will trade anything to keep it buried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shot him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI failed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no remorse.<\/p>\n<p>Only frustration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca for the key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristopher said Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristopher has sentimental needs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re not working together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re temporarily facing the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A useful distinction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me speak to Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time Linda agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca came on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristopher?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s not hurting me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda took the phone back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you save me from the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>I had not planned to ask it.<\/p>\n<p>But once spoken, the question felt inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>Linda\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena\u2019s recording.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have the original.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole ordered the fire started near my bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou moved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Partly.<\/p>\n<p>The word struck me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother child?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho did you lose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice became cold again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring the key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The line ended.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe reacted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo the child question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena looked toward the darkness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if Linda\u2019s child didn\u2019t die?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The thought arrived slowly.<\/p>\n<p>What if \u201cI won\u2019t lose another one\u201d did not refer to death?<\/p>\n<p>What if it referred to a child taken from her?<\/p>\n<p>A baby switched.<\/p>\n<p>A baby given away.<\/p>\n<p>Victor took the wrong child.<\/p>\n<p>The sentence changed shape again.<\/p>\n<p>Maya spoke carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuppose Elena delivered one girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda delivered another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone switched identities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor took one baby believing she was Elena\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen where did Elena\u2019s real daughter go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd where did Linda\u2019s real daughter go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same question from the other direction.<\/p>\n<p>Elena sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaroline Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The woman from the private adoption agency.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret had written that Caroline took one infant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if Caroline took Linda\u2019s baby?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd whichever baby Victor raised became me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re already waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But time had never moved more slowly.<\/p>\n<p>Then Maya\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>She answered.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression changed within seconds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She covered the microphone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lab expedited the first comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich comparison?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou and Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither of us breathed.<\/p>\n<p>Maya listened.<\/p>\n<p>Then closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>She ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds, she seemed unwilling to say it.<\/p>\n<p>Finally:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou and Jessica are not biological siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words hit me with such force that I had to sit down.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Elena stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot siblings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen she isn\u2019t my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe could still be Elena\u2019s daughter if Ethan\u2019s paternity differs, but the lab says the relationship expected for maternal half-siblings is excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Elena.<\/p>\n<p>She understood.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica was not her biological daughter.<\/p>\n<p>The woman Victor had raised as Victoria Morales had not been Elena\u2019s baby.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica sank into a chair.<\/p>\n<p>For days she had been dismantled and rebuilt around the idea that Elena was her mother.<\/p>\n<p>Now that identity vanished too.<\/p>\n<p>Elena moved toward her.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica lifted one hand.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>Elena stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Maya continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey also ran the comparison between Jessica and Linda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The entire vehicle went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d Jessica whispered.<\/p>\n<p>Maya looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda is your biological mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jessica closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>No one spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had indeed taken the wrong baby.<\/p>\n<p>Or perhaps he had taken exactly the baby someone intended him to take.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica was Linda\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Which meant Elena\u2019s real daughter had gone somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>And if Caroline Hart had carried that infant away, she might still be alive.<\/p>\n<p>Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got the result,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda knew before you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My blood cooled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe still has people inside the hospital system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo correct what Margaret couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen tell me where Elena\u2019s daughter is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChristopher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know who Caroline Hart was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Margaret.<\/p>\n<p>The answer silenced everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret took Elena\u2019s baby?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher breathed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe gave her to someone Victor would never think to search.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA family outside Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat family?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll tell you when Arthur comes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nearly threw the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen ask him one question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk Arthur why he paid Margaret every month from 1988 until she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned toward Dad\u2019s video connection.<\/p>\n<p>His face had gone blank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you pay Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His silence answered before he spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was supporting a child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena stood so quickly her chair struck the side of the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat child?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>Tears filled his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat child?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe baby Margaret took.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot who she was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew there was a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you paid for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never knew the family\u2019s real name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christopher\u2019s voice came through the phone one final time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then he disconnected.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31516\">Click here to continue reading: PART 21: Arthur\u2019s Secret Payments Led Us to Elena\u2019s Missing Daughter, but Christopher Had Hidden Her Behind a Name We Already Knew<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The revelation changed the operation immediately. Christopher Hayes was not simply another name from Victor\u2019s past. He was family. Dad\u2019s nephew. My cousin. A man hidden so completely that I &hellip; <\/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-31515","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\/31515","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=31515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31550,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31515\/revisions\/31550"}],"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=31515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}