{"id":31579,"date":"2026-10-06T16:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31579"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:18:01","slug":"part-13-anna-pierce-answered-the-door-herself-and-one-look-at-her-son-changed-the-question-i-was-afraid-to-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31579","title":{"rendered":"PART 13 \u2013 Anna Pierce Answered the Door Herself, and One Look at Her Son Changed the Question I Was Afraid to Ask"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rebecca would not let me drive to Anna Pierce\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>She did not phrase it as an order. She rarely did. She simply looked across her desk after Leah showed us the property record and said, \u201cWe know a house exists. We know Anna owns it. We know money connected to Raymond\u2019s trust moved around the time she bought it. Everything else is inference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA seven-year-old boy whose middle name is Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. But it is not proof of anything either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated that she was right.<\/p>\n<p>The public records gave us only fragments. Anna Pierce was thirty-seven. She worked as a respiratory therapist. She had purchased the small Lafayette house eight years earlier through a transaction involving RPF Services. Her son, Noah Travis Pierce, had been born seven years ago. No father appeared in the easily accessible records Leah located.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel warned us not to assume the obvious.<\/p>\n<p>I tried not to.<\/p>\n<p>That lasted approximately ten minutes.<\/p>\n<p>I knew Travis\u2019s offshore schedule. I knew the years when he traveled through Lafayette more often than his job seemed to require. I remembered unexplained nights when he claimed weather delayed crew transportation.<\/p>\n<p>Once a suspicion has a shape, memory becomes dangerous. Every forgotten detail tries to climb inside it.<\/p>\n<p>I refused to do that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind facts,\u201d I told Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RPF Services had been formed nine years earlier, almost a year before Anna bought the house. The registered agent had been Victor Raines, the same dead offshore logistics worker whose name later appeared on Bayline Consulting.<\/p>\n<p>That connection eliminated coincidence.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had helped Travis create entities.<\/p>\n<p>RPF Services received money from an account containing funds traceable to Daddy\u2019s trust. Months later, the company transferred $94,500 to the closing attorney handling Anna\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>The purchase price was $121,000.<\/p>\n<p>Anna contributed the remainder through a mortgage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat looks like a down payment,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks like money used at closing,\u201d Leah corrected.<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated the precision even while it irritated me.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel obtained additional banking records through the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>RPF Services had almost no normal business activity.<\/p>\n<p>Money entered.<\/p>\n<p>Money left.<\/p>\n<p>No payroll.<\/p>\n<p>No regular customers.<\/p>\n<p>No meaningful operating expenses.<\/p>\n<p>One transfer went to Anna\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>Another paid an insurance premium.<\/p>\n<p>Several smaller transfers went directly to Anna.<\/p>\n<p>The descriptions said consulting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind of consulting does a respiratory therapist do for a shell company run by offshore workers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a reasonable question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna\u2019s attorney contacted Rebecca before we contacted Anna.<\/p>\n<p>That surprised everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently investigators had already approached her about RPF Services.<\/p>\n<p>She had hired counsel immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants to speak with you,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says she has information about Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer hurt in a way I had not expected.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa knew me as a story Travis told.<\/p>\n<p>Brooke knew me through letters.<\/p>\n<p>Investors knew an invented version of me.<\/p>\n<p>Now another woman I had never met apparently knew enough about my marriage to request a conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she know why we\u2019re interested in Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca\u2019s expression softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Travis his father?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnna has not confirmed that through counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Which meant she had not denied it.<\/p>\n<p>We arranged the meeting at Rebecca\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Anna arrived fifteen minutes early.<\/p>\n<p>I saw her through the glass wall before she saw me.<\/p>\n<p>She was small, with dark blond hair pulled into a loose knot. She wore hospital scrubs beneath a cardigan, as though she had come directly from work.<\/p>\n<p>Then a boy stepped into view beside her.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped walking.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJune?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could not answer.<\/p>\n<p>Noah was thin and long-legged. Brown hair fell across his forehead. He held a handheld game console with both hands.<\/p>\n<p>He looked nothing like me.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing like Carol.<\/p>\n<p>But when Anna said something to him, he tilted his head.<\/p>\n<p>Travis did that.<\/p>\n<p>A tiny physical habit.<\/p>\n<p>One shoulder dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Head angled slightly right.<\/p>\n<p>Eyes narrowed before answering.<\/p>\n<p>I had watched Travis make that movement across breakfast tables for nine years.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is the boy here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnna\u2019s sitter canceled. Her attorney asked whether you objected. I said we would use another room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t object.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noah never entered our meeting.<\/p>\n<p>A paralegal set him up in an empty office with snacks and his game.<\/p>\n<p>I was grateful.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever adults had done, he had nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n<p>Anna sat across from me.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney sat beside her.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca remained at my right.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Then Anna said, \u201cHe is Travis\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no preparation.<\/p>\n<p>No softening.<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated that too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis was married to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word hurt more than Melissa\u2019s confession had.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe because Melissa had been deceived about the condition of our marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Anna apparently entered the situation knowing exactly what it was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe weren\u2019t together the way you\u2019re thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sentence has become very popular.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a relationship before you married him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That changed the direction of the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe dated years ago. It ended. He met you later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe came back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three years into our marriage.<\/p>\n<p>I did the arithmetic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor several months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he tell you we were separated?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The honesty was brutal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared at her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere isn\u2019t an answer that makes me look better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t ask for one that did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney shifted slightly.<\/p>\n<p>Anna continued.<\/p>\n<p>She and Travis had remained loosely in contact after their earlier relationship ended. Mostly birthdays. Occasional messages. When her mother died, Travis reached out.<\/p>\n<p>Grief made old relationships feel familiar.<\/p>\n<p>He visited.<\/p>\n<p>Then visited again.<\/p>\n<p>The affair lasted roughly six months.<\/p>\n<p>Anna became pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Travis say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he would help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he ask you to terminate the pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeave me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ask him to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I knew he wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was something in the way she said it.<\/p>\n<p>Not heartbreak.<\/p>\n<p>Knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew him before I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you know that I didn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna looked at me for a long moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he never gives up one secure thing until he has another secure thing ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence fit so perfectly I felt almost dizzy.<\/p>\n<p>The house.<\/p>\n<p>The accounts.<\/p>\n<p>The investments.<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa.<\/p>\n<p>Gulf Horizon.<\/p>\n<p>His offshore job.<\/p>\n<p>Every transition overlapped.<\/p>\n<p>Travis did not leap.<\/p>\n<p>He built bridges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was I?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna understood the question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Not love.<\/p>\n<p>Not only love.<\/p>\n<p>Security.<\/p>\n<p>Property.<\/p>\n<p>A debt-free home.<\/p>\n<p>A woman who trusted him.<\/p>\n<p>A father whose estate might become accessible.<\/p>\n<p>Anna said, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean he didn\u2019t care about you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease don\u2019t explain his feelings to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stopped.<\/p>\n<p>The money for the house came after Noah was born.<\/p>\n<p>Travis wanted to provide support without establishing a normal paper trail.<\/p>\n<p>Anna refused at first.<\/p>\n<p>Then he offered a large down payment.<\/p>\n<p>She accepted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know where it came from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said investments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he say whose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That phrase had followed Travis everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>I should have asked.<\/p>\n<p>I should have checked.<\/p>\n<p>I should have verified.<\/p>\n<p>His life was built from other people\u2019s postponed questions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy RPF Services?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never knew what it stood for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Raymond Parker Funds.<\/p>\n<p>Or Raymond Parker Family.<\/p>\n<p>Or some private joke only Travis understood.<\/p>\n<p>My father\u2019s initials had apparently become labels on companies used to move his own money away from me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Travis support Noah regularly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCash sometimes. Transfers. School expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom RPF?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel later confirmed it.<\/p>\n<p>Money traceable to Daddy\u2019s trust had helped support Travis\u2019s son.<\/p>\n<p>The realization created a complicated emotion I could not name.<\/p>\n<p>Noah had needed food.<\/p>\n<p>Clothes.<\/p>\n<p>A home.<\/p>\n<p>School.<\/p>\n<p>He had done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I did not resent one dollar spent keeping a child safe.<\/p>\n<p>I resented that Travis made my father unknowingly provide what Travis should have provided honestly himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Noah know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Travis is his father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he know Travis was married?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>At least one person had been spared the adult version.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does he call him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word landed quietly.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had been someone\u2019s father for seven years.<\/p>\n<p>He had left our house for supposed work errands and visited his son.<\/p>\n<p>He had birthdays I never knew existed.<\/p>\n<p>School pictures.<\/p>\n<p>Christmas presents.<\/p>\n<p>Another entire category of responsibility hidden behind the same salary he used to tell me we could not afford repairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Carol know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>Carol had known her son had a child outside his marriage.<\/p>\n<p>She had helped conceal that too.<\/p>\n<p>For a moment I remembered every holiday she spent at my table.<\/p>\n<p>Every time she asked when Travis and I planned to have children.<\/p>\n<p>That question had always hurt because I had experienced two miscarriages.<\/p>\n<p>Carol knew.<\/p>\n<p>She knew her son already had a child.<\/p>\n<p>I had to stand.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca followed me into the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I walked to the restroom, locked myself in a stall and pressed both hands against the door.<\/p>\n<p>This was the first discovery that made me cry immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Not because Travis had a son.<\/p>\n<p>Because of Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Carol asking whether we were \u201cstill trying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis squeezing my knee beneath the table.<\/p>\n<p>Me saying, \u201cMaybe next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All while they knew.<\/p>\n<p>I cried quietly until my breathing steadied.<\/p>\n<p>Then I washed my face.<\/p>\n<p>When I returned, Anna was still there.<\/p>\n<p>She looked ashamed.<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Travis ever talk to you about my miscarriages?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face answered before she spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you were having a difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said it was probably better that you didn\u2019t have children together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I raised my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna began crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said children would complicate leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room disappeared for a second.<\/p>\n<p>I heard only the air conditioner.<\/p>\n<p>Children would complicate leaving.<\/p>\n<p>While I was mourning pregnancies I wanted, my husband had privately categorized those losses as logistical convenience.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca put her hand near mine without touching.<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated the choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he say when he planned to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never gave a date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he say he definitely would?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Travis talked in contingencies. If this happened. If that happened. If business worked. If the land value changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Scenario A.<\/p>\n<p>Scenario B.<\/p>\n<p>Remain married.<\/p>\n<p>Separate.<\/p>\n<p>House lost.<\/p>\n<p>Liquid offset.<\/p>\n<p>Even our unborn children had apparently become variables in a ledger.<\/p>\n<p>Anna opened her bag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI brought something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A photograph.<\/p>\n<p>Noah at perhaps three years old sitting on Travis\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>They were standing on a beach.<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked genuinely happy.<\/p>\n<p>I hated that the photograph was beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy show me this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause investigators may take copies. I didn\u2019t want you seeing it first in a file.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was unexpectedly kind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned the picture over.<\/p>\n<p>A date.<\/p>\n<p>Then a location.<\/p>\n<p>Galveston.<\/p>\n<p>The same year Travis began using the condominium with Melissa.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas this at the condo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMelissa\u2019s condo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna looked confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat Melissa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Overlap again.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had brought his son to the same property where he later\u2014or perhaps simultaneously\u2014conducted another affair.<\/p>\n<p>The compartments in his life were not even separate.<\/p>\n<p>They were rooms sharing walls.<\/p>\n<p>Anna genuinely did not know about Melissa.<\/p>\n<p>When I explained only enough to clarify the property, her expression changed from confusion to disgust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me the condo belonged to his company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a way, it did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he with her then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For once, I did not need to know.<\/p>\n<p>The exact overlap did not change anything important.<\/p>\n<p>Before Anna left, I asked one final question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Noah need anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked startled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean financially. Is the house at risk because of the investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney answered.<\/p>\n<p>Potentially, the source of the down payment created a restitution issue, but nobody intended to displace an innocent child without exploring alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t take the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJune\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recover money elsewhere if we can. We do not take Noah\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca studied me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can be discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna began crying again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t about you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I meant it.<\/p>\n<p>The sentence surprised both of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded toward the room where Noah waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father\u2019s money was supposed to protect family. Travis twisted that. I\u2019m not going to twist it again by throwing a seven-year-old out of his house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anna covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust don\u2019t lie to him about where he comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After she left, Rebecca asked whether I was certain about the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could have a legitimate recovery claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about it before making anything final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But I already knew.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, I walked around Daddy\u2019s pond until sunset.<\/p>\n<p>For months, I had been recovering what Travis took.<\/p>\n<p>Money.<\/p>\n<p>Documents.<\/p>\n<p>Authority.<\/p>\n<p>Information.<\/p>\n<p>I had started measuring justice by return.<\/p>\n<p>Put everything back.<\/p>\n<p>Restore the balance.<\/p>\n<p>Then Noah complicated the arithmetic.<\/p>\n<p>There were some things I could legally reclaim that I did not want.<\/p>\n<p>Daddy would have understood.<\/p>\n<p>He had been stubborn about property, but never cruel about children.<\/p>\n<p>My phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry to call tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe reviewed RPF Services more closely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house wasn\u2019t the only asset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped beside the pond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA custodial investment account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately two hundred forty thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My first thought was relief.<\/p>\n<p>At least the child had something secure.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe account is not in Noah\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared across the darkening water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was opened using your Social Security number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd who is listed as custodian?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Even the money intended for his own son had been built on my identity.<\/p>\n<p>And somewhere inside that arrangement was a reason Travis had needed me financially dependent, legally predictable, and alive on paper even when he had erased me everywhere else.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=31580\">Click here to continue reading: PART 14: The Account Opened in My Name Wasn\u2019t for Noah at All, and Its Beneficiary Form Revealed Travis\u2019s Longest Financial Trap<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rebecca would not let me drive to Anna Pierce\u2019s house. She did not phrase it as an order. She rarely did. She simply looked across her desk after Leah showed &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31579","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\/31579","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=31579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31614,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31579\/revisions\/31614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}