The prosecutor's name was Michael Grant.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had trusted him.<\/p>\n
That was the part she couldn't reconcile.<\/p>\n
He had been there when she first gave her statement. He had explained every stage of the case. He had called her after difficult hearings. He had sat beside her when the defense questioned her memory.<\/p>\n
He had told her she was safe.<\/p>\n
Now investigators had evidence that the voice on the anonymous call belonged to him.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the recording transcript.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ran it through three separate comparisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould someone have copied his voice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed the paper away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has to be another explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator didn't argue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know what role he played.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have been compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThreatened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with them?\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator remained silent.<\/p>\n
That silence was answer enough.<\/p>\n
Rebecca returned home that afternoon and found Sophie sitting at the kitchen table with Chloe.<\/p>\n
They were working on a school project.<\/p>\n
Sophie looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're home early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca forced a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca put her bag down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're doing the fork thing again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca glanced at her hand.<\/p>\n
She was gripping a teaspoon.<\/p>\n
She almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie looked at Chloe.<\/p>\n
Chloe looked back.<\/p>\n
Neither believed her.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may have to deal with another part of the old case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie lowered her pencil.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it someone we know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie waited.<\/p>\n
Rebecca decided not to tell her the prosecutor's name.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
She had learned that fear could spread through a family faster than facts.<\/p>\n
That evening, investigators searched Michael Grant's office.<\/p>\n
He was not there.<\/p>\n
His assistant said he had taken personal leave.<\/p>\n
His computer was gone.<\/p>\n
His office filing cabinet had been emptied.<\/p>\n
But one drawer had been overlooked.<\/p>\n
Inside was a yellow envelope.<\/p>\n
It contained copies of documents from Rebecca's original case.<\/p>\n
Not court records.<\/p>\n
Private investigative notes.<\/p>\n
Some had never been filed.<\/p>\n
Others contained information that should have been available only to the investigative team.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's name appeared on several pages.<\/p>\n
So did Sophie's.<\/p>\n
And Chloe's.<\/p>\n
The investigator called Rebecca immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere's something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant had information he shouldn't have had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to know exactly what evidence you were holding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
The danger became clearer.<\/p>\n
Michael had not necessarily been involved from the beginning.<\/p>\n
But at some point, he had gained access to information that could help Guardian.<\/p>\n
The question was when.<\/p>\n
The investigators reconstructed his career.<\/p>\n
Michael had joined the prosecutor's office six years before Rebecca's disappearance.<\/p>\n
Before that, he had worked for a private law firm.<\/p>\n
The firm had represented several companies connected to Victor Ames.<\/p>\n
Rebecca felt a chill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wasn't this discovered before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the firm was legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd his clients?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome weren't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
His employment history showed another connection.<\/p>\n
Michael had worked on a regulatory investigation involving Rebecca's father's foundation.<\/p>\n
That investigation had been closed without charges.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the date.<\/p>\n
It was the same year her father died.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat down.<\/p>\n
She remembered Michael mentioning her father once during the original trial.<\/p>\n
He had said, \u201cYour father was a careful man.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, she had thought it was sympathy.<\/p>\n
Now she wondered whether it had been recognition.<\/p>\n
The investigators searched Michael's old case files.<\/p>\n
They found one handwritten note.<\/p>\n
Victor Ames.<\/p>\n
Monitor Carter family.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's hands went cold.<\/p>\n
The note was dated eleven years earlier.<\/p>\n
Before Michael became a prosecutor.<\/p>\n
Before Rebecca's disappearance.<\/p>\n
Before Sophie was threatened.<\/p>\n
The investigator looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis may be the earliest connection we've found.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could he have been involved that long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael was located two days later at a small property outside the city.<\/p>\n
He didn't resist arrest.<\/p>\n
When investigators told him why they were there, he simply nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew this was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
During questioning, he refused to answer most questions.<\/p>\n
Then he asked for Rebecca.<\/p>\n
She agreed to see him.<\/p>\n
Her attorney objected.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't owe him anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I need to hear him.\u201d<\/p>\n
They met in an interview room.<\/p>\n
Michael looked older than he had during the trial.<\/p>\n
His hair was gray.<\/p>\n
His face was tired.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat across from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She felt her stomach tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo warn you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threatened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI warned you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said, \u2018You finally found your father's letter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I knew where it had been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about the letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father wrote it eleven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was there when he wrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI met your father the week before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca's voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone says that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou helped Guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped them once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I became a prosecutor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found people for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployees. Witnesses. Anyone they thought might be useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was supposed to convince him to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael's voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they would threaten him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he would eventually give in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I wasn't there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why should I believe anything you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached into his pocket.<\/p>\n
The guard immediately stopped him.<\/p>\n
Michael slowly removed a small key.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis belonged to your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael gave her an address.<\/p>\n
It was an old bank branch.<\/p>\n
The safe had never been connected to the foundation.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's attorney accompanied her.<\/p>\n
The bank records showed that the safe had been opened only once in twelve years.<\/p>\n
The date was the day before her father's death.<\/p>\n
The signature belonged to Rebecca's father.<\/p>\n
Inside was a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
There was also a cassette tape.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's hands trembled.<\/p>\n
They played the recording in a secure room.<\/p>\n
Her father's voice filled the speakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Rebecca ever hears this, it means I failed to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
His voice sounded exactly as she remembered.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Measured.<\/p>\n
Trying not to frighten anyone.<\/p>\n
He explained that he had discovered a private network operating beyond the company.<\/p>\n
He had found payments.<\/p>\n
Names.<\/p>\n
Officials.<\/p>\n
Security contractors.<\/p>\n
He had realized that the network could survive the collapse of any single business.<\/p>\n
Then he said something that made Rebecca cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know whether they will come for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if they do, Rebecca must never believe that everyone offering help is helping her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape ended.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat in silence.<\/p>\n
Michael had tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have told you years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were also guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That honesty was almost harder to hear.<\/p>\n
Michael admitted that he had provided information to Guardian before becoming a prosecutor.<\/p>\n
But he insisted that he had later tried to undermine them from inside the system.<\/p>\n
He had deliberately kept certain evidence alive.<\/p>\n
He had helped investigators find Marlene.<\/p>\n
He had pushed for the original charges.<\/p>\n
He had protected Rebecca's testimony.<\/p>\n
But someone discovered what he was doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the anonymous calls?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to tell you to stop before they realized I was warning you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou frightened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou frightened Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't forgive you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned toward the door.<\/p>\n
Then he said something that stopped her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father wasn't the first Carter they approached.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca slowly turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family had been on their radar for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your grandfather helped create the banking structure they later exploited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca felt the room tilt.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought he was building legitimate businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Ames learned how to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca's mind raced.<\/p>\n
Her family foundation.<\/p>\n
Her father's investigation.<\/p>\n
The hidden account.<\/p>\n
The company.<\/p>\n
Guardian.<\/p>\n
The pattern went farther back than she had imagined.<\/p>\n
Michael handed her another document.<\/p>\n
It was an old photograph.<\/p>\n
Her grandfather stood beside Victor Ames.<\/p>\n
On the back was a date.<\/p>\n
Thirty years earlier.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the two men.<\/p>\n
One was her grandfather.<\/p>\n
The other was the man who would eventually build the network that destroyed her family.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cHow did they know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey built the first piece together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prosecutor's name was Michael Grant. Rebecca had trusted him. That was the part she couldn't reconcile. He had been there when she first gave her statement. He had explained … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7233","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\/7233","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=7233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7268,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7233\/revisions\/7268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}