{"id":31520,"date":"2026-10-06T16:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31520"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:09:08","slug":"part-25-eric-entered-my-fathers-hospital-room-for-an-ending-but-his-real-target-was-the-man-guarded-down-the-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31520","title":{"rendered":"PART 25 \u2013 Eric Entered My Father\u2019s Hospital Room for an Ending, but His Real Target Was the Man Guarded Down the Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By the time we reached St. Vincent, the hospital entrance looked more like a courthouse under threat than a medical center.<\/p>\n<p>Police cars crowded the curb.<\/p>\n<p>Two officers stopped us before we crossed the lobby.<\/p>\n<p>Maya identified herself.<\/p>\n<p>I did not bother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father is Arthur Hayes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The officer\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s secure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill in his room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric Lawson?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInside the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he wasn\u2019t caught.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer made no sense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe went into Dad\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd left?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The officer hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wasn\u2019t carrying a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s supposed to make me feel better?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We were escorted upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>Dad sat upright in bed with two officers inside his room.<\/p>\n<p>He looked angry.<\/p>\n<p>That was reassuring.<\/p>\n<p>I crossed the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric came in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI gathered that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe talked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad glanced at the officers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya closed the door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe came for Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why visit you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo confirm something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether I knew Cole had a son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether Elena had the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe believed me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want next?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo know whether Margaret left anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My aunt again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Cole thought she copied part of his private records before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric thinks she did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric thinks everyone lied to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded familiar.<\/p>\n<p>Dad continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Cole kept him hidden because exposure would ruin him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRuin Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublicly, yes. Politically. Financially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy hide a son?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric said, \u2018Because my mother was a case.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood before she did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole manipulated a case involving Eric\u2019s mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCustody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Cole had apparently engineered legal control over the woman carrying his child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Eric tell you her name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at Maya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnita Lawson.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya reacted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father\u2019s notes mention her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was a witness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Cole\u2019s corruption?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad answered quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOverdose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word sounded too familiar in a story full of staged explanations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccidental?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric believes Cole caused it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why work for him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Cole raised him afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Another child turned into leverage.<\/p>\n<p>Another person raised by the source of his trauma.<\/p>\n<p>Eric had more in common with Jessica than either of them knew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Eric mean by an ending?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s going to kill Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The officers outside reacted to movement down the corridor.<\/p>\n<p>Maya stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole is still in this hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDifferent secured wing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame floor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Eric came here first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he needed one person from the old story to hear why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A chill moved through me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s not planning to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>That was answer enough.<\/p>\n<p>The hospital went into lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>Elevators were disabled for public use.<\/p>\n<p>Security swept stairwells.<\/p>\n<p>Police moved toward Cole\u2019s floor.<\/p>\n<p>We were told to remain in Dad\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p>I ignored that within thirty seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Maya caught up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not letting another person decide everything ends with a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t know where he is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know where Cole is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is also where armed police are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The corridor beyond the stairwell was chaos controlled by trained people.<\/p>\n<p>Nurses directed patients into rooms.<\/p>\n<p>Officers moved in pairs.<\/p>\n<p>A hospital administrator argued quietly with security.<\/p>\n<p>Then an alarm sounded from another floor.<\/p>\n<p>Fire alarm.<\/p>\n<p>Maya stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiversion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Eric had spent seven years inside Maya\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>He knew procedures.<\/p>\n<p>He knew how people reacted to alarms.<\/p>\n<p>Sprinklers did not activate, which suggested no real fire.<\/p>\n<p>But evacuation protocols began in sections of the building.<\/p>\n<p>Police radios erupted.<\/p>\n<p>Cole\u2019s security detail requested immediate transport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants Cole moved,\u201d Maya said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause movement creates vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We turned toward the service elevator.<\/p>\n<p>A man in hospital scrubs was pushing an empty wheelchair toward us.<\/p>\n<p>Cap low.<\/p>\n<p>Mask on.<\/p>\n<p>Something about his posture felt wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Maya saw it a second later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He froze.<\/p>\n<p>Then pulled down the mask.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph had made him seem ordinary.<\/p>\n<p>In person, he looked tired.<\/p>\n<p>That was the first thing I noticed.<\/p>\n<p>Not cruel.<\/p>\n<p>Not frantic.<\/p>\n<p>Simply exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeither should you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His gaze shifted toward Maya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou used my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou betrayed my office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour office betrayed my father first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raj Sharma.<\/p>\n<p>Another dead man in Cole\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Maya stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Cole kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why help him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he was my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence landed with terrible simplicity.<\/p>\n<p>Maya shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood too well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo see Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what weapon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou expect us to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t need a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric held up a hospital identification badge.<\/p>\n<p>Cole\u2019s physician\u2019s access level.<\/p>\n<p>Stolen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re going to poison him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked toward the corridor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me pass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you put Jessica in my life?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That stopped him.<\/p>\n<p>Maya looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told her where I worked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t make her approach you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou pointed her at me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole wanted Arthur\u2019s documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you helped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was twenty-eight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t a defense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt what age do we stop blaming the person who raised us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>He understood the question.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe because it was also mine.<\/p>\n<p>He looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you joined Maya.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou weren\u2019t spying for Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya\u2019s face went hard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI joined your office because he told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI read your father\u2019s notes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized Cole lied about Raj.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Raj Sharma tried to blackmail him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father was investigating him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya\u2019s anger shifted into something more wounded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI needed access.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the missing box?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI took it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it proves who ordered Anita\u2019s removal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer surprised us both.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Linda again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Linda kill your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Anita found out about Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knew Jessica was Cole\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnita threatened to expose him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Linda protected Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProtected Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cycle repeated.<\/p>\n<p>Children used to justify crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Crimes used to protect children.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing ever ended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s in the box?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnita\u2019s statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe recorded one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole kept it because it implicated Linda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now you have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why kill Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never said I would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad thinks you will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted him to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad had been bait.<\/p>\n<p>The hospital alarm.<\/p>\n<p>Cole\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you actually doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking Cole run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause frightened people go to what they value most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The old rule.<\/p>\n<p>Follow the person, find the secret.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole still has something hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe master index.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo his network?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Payments.<\/p>\n<p>Judges.<\/p>\n<p>Police.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>People who had protected him for decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Cole does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you need him to lead you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe already has.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric took out a phone.<\/p>\n<p>A tracking display showed movement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole left the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya grabbed her own phone.<\/p>\n<p>Police radios confirmed chaos.<\/p>\n<p>During the fire-alarm diversion, Cole\u2019s security transport had been redirected after a forged order.<\/p>\n<p>A vehicle had taken him from a service entrance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho picked him up?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at the tracker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone he still trusts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI genuinely don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was rare enough to believe.<\/p>\n<p>We returned to Dad\u2019s room.<\/p>\n<p>He looked furious when Eric entered with us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric shrugged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou taught the family method.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad almost smiled despite himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere\u2019s Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoving east.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToward Hood River?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric checked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya called police.<\/p>\n<p>The stolen vehicle was traced to the interstate.<\/p>\n<p>A state patrol unit picked it up.<\/p>\n<p>Then lost it after a tunnel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Cole go back to the cabin?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Dad said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToo obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared at the map.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHunting property was not his only place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor complained once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Cole kept something upriver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOld hydro facility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya searched.<\/p>\n<p>Several decommissioned facilities existed along the Columbia.<\/p>\n<p>Dad narrowed it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNear Cascade Locks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s tracker adjusted.<\/p>\n<p>The moving dot headed east.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly that direction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho gave Cole the phone you\u2019re tracking?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s expression became grim.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve been monitoring him that long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou joined my office for Cole, then started spying on Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho were you actually working for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMyself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the most believable answer he had given.<\/p>\n<p>Police mobilized toward the old hydro site.<\/p>\n<p>Dad insisted on coming.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone refused.<\/p>\n<p>He swore at all of us.<\/p>\n<p>We left him under guard.<\/p>\n<p>As we reached the elevator, he called my name.<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Cole has the index\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring it back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat names?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople still alive who think this ends when Cole does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the truth none of us wanted.<\/p>\n<p>Even if Cole died tonight, his network might remain.<\/p>\n<p>We drove east.<\/p>\n<p>Eric came under police supervision.<\/p>\n<p>Maya sat beside me.<\/p>\n<p>Rain began again.<\/p>\n<p>Somewhere ahead, Cole was fleeing toward whatever he valued most.<\/p>\n<p>And for once, we were not chasing a person because they held a secret about my past.<\/p>\n<p>We were chasing the record that might finally expose everyone still shaping our future.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31521\">Click here to continue reading: PART 26: Cole Led Us to the Master Index, but the Names Inside Included People Still Watching My Family From Inside the System<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the time we reached St. Vincent, the hospital entrance looked more like a courthouse under threat than a medical center. Police cars crowded the curb. 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