Brenda didn't answer her phone.<\/p>\n
She didn't answer the detectives either.<\/p>\n
Sarah tried twice.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Mark stood on the porch staring at the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did she go?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe went to find Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said she found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy source.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked back inside.<\/p>\n
I followed.<\/p>\n
The detectives returned less than ten minutes later.<\/p>\n
They had received a location from a traffic camera.<\/p>\n
Brenda's car had been recorded heading north.<\/p>\n
Detective Ruiz looked at Mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she tell you where she was going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spoke with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a few seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Ruiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Pierce?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her about the photograph.<\/p>\n
Then I told her about the letter.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed when I mentioned that Arthur believed someone was watching Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have the letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
I handed it over.<\/p>\n
She read it carefully.<\/p>\n
When she finished, she looked at Sarah.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Arthur ever file a report?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell you who he suspected?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz handed the letter back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we're working from very little.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere's an address on the back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKansas.\u201d<\/p>\n
She copied it.<\/p>\n
Harris checked his tablet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's an old address.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOld?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty changed hands years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the frustration building.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did Brenda find him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
Mark suddenly said, \u201cKevin.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnown what?\u201d Ruiz asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere Samuel was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Kevin was trying to save himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would he help Brenda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless he already knew she was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz narrowed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvolved in what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked toward Sarah.<\/p>\n
Sarah looked back.<\/p>\n
Then Mark said the words he had been avoiding.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father wasn't the only one keeping secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
He admitted that, months before Arthur died, Mark had discovered a transfer in one of Arthur's investment accounts.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
The recipient was Samuel Reed.<\/p>\n
Mark confronted Arthur.<\/p>\n
Arthur told him the money was none of his business.<\/p>\n
Mark investigated.<\/p>\n
He found Samuel's name in an old court document.<\/p>\n
Then he found a photograph.<\/p>\n
He realized Samuel was likely Arthur's son.<\/p>\n
But he didn't tell the others.<\/p>\n
He wanted to find Samuel himself.<\/p>\n
He believed Samuel could be persuaded to surrender his claim.<\/p>\n
Ruiz asked what he intended to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark's silence answered.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were going to buy Arthur's son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to protect the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know what Dad did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark's eyes filled with anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe abandoned Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went quiet.<\/p>\n
Arthur had never told us that.<\/p>\n
Mark explained that Samuel's mother had been pregnant when Arthur married Helen.<\/p>\n
Arthur chose Helen.<\/p>\n
He promised Samuel's mother he would provide financial support.<\/p>\n
But he never acknowledged the child publicly.<\/p>\n
Samuel grew up believing his father wanted nothing to do with him.<\/p>\n
Arthur had spent decades regretting that decision.<\/p>\n
That was why he had quietly sent money.<\/p>\n
That was why he kept the photograph.<\/p>\n
That was why he had finally contacted Samuel.<\/p>\n
Mark's voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then Dad decided to give him everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the will.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're still defending him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the porch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm trying to understand him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detectives received another message.<\/p>\n
Brenda's car had been spotted near a motel.<\/p>\n
Ruiz immediately ordered officers there.<\/p>\n
We followed separately.<\/p>\n
The motel was nearly an hour away.<\/p>\n
It was an old roadside property with faded signs and a cracked parking lot.<\/p>\n
Brenda's car was parked beside Room 12.<\/p>\n
The door was open.<\/p>\n
Nobody was inside.<\/p>\n
On the bed was the photograph.<\/p>\n
Beside it was a note.<\/p>\n
DAVID, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I FOUND HIM.<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
The note continued.<\/p>\n
I didn't know how to tell you.<\/p>\n
I was afraid Mark would find him first.<\/p>\n
That sentence changed everything.<\/p>\n
Brenda had not taken Samuel.<\/p>\n
She had been protecting him.<\/p>\n
There was another address.<\/p>\n
A small farm outside town.<\/p>\n
Ruiz sent officers ahead.<\/p>\n
We arrived twenty minutes later.<\/p>\n
The farmhouse was dark.<\/p>\n
A man stepped onto the porch.<\/p>\n
He was around fifty-five.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Lean face.<\/p>\n
Arthur's eyes.<\/p>\n
I knew immediately.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
For a moment neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Then Samuel looked past me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Claire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stepped forward.<\/p>\n
Samuel's expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled sadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've heard that my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark approached from behind us.<\/p>\n
Samuel's smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came to my motel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou offered me one hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire turned toward Mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked away.<\/p>\n
Samuel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me Arthur had no intention of acknowledging me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threatened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said if I went public, my life would become difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark's face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't understand what was at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at Sarah.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're the attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he leave me something?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe intended to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIntended?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe will we have is complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached into his coat.<\/p>\n
He removed a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
Arthur's handwriting was on it.<\/p>\n
Samuel handed it to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe mailed this six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I recognized the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven't opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he asked me to wait until he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Sarah.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside was a single page.<\/p>\n
Samuel,<\/p>\n
If you are reading this, I failed to keep you out of my children's reach.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Arthur knew.<\/p>\n
He had known this was coming.<\/p>\n
The letter said Samuel was not merely his son.<\/p>\n
He was the reason Arthur had created the estate structure.<\/p>\n
The money would not go directly to Samuel.<\/p>\n
It would first pass through me.<\/p>\n
Arthur believed that if Samuel appeared suddenly as a wealthy heir, the people who had already tried to steal his money would target him.<\/p>\n
So Arthur had chosen me as a temporary trustee.<\/p>\n
I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe explained it when we met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn't you come?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he told me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he suspected someone close to him was monitoring his communications.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah looked at the detectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the person had access to family information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he name me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark exhaled.<\/p>\n
Then Samuel said, \u201cHe named someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brenda arrived in the driveway.<\/p>\n
She ran toward us.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel!\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
She stopped several feet away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brenda nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the old letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you hide them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Mark?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz stepped between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone stays where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brenda began crying.<\/p>\n
She explained that she had found Arthur's letters two weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
The letters revealed that Samuel was his son.<\/p>\n
She also found notes about someone monitoring Arthur's bank activity.<\/p>\n
She believed Mark was involved.<\/p>\n
She confronted Mark.<\/p>\n
He threatened to expose her role in the forged documents if she didn't stay quiet.<\/p>\n
So she kept silent.<\/p>\n
Until Arthur died.<\/p>\n
Then she decided to find Samuel herself.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad loved money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved people badly.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence hit me.<\/p>\n
It was exactly right.<\/p>\n
Arthur had loved us.<\/p>\n
But he had spent decades believing secrecy was a form of protection.<\/p>\n
It wasn't.<\/p>\n
It had created damage.<\/p>\n
Sarah asked Samuel what he knew about the night Arthur died.<\/p>\n
Samuel's face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Arthur call you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe afternoon before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he had changed his will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then he looked directly at Mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said someone in the family knew about the new arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel didn't move.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me if anything happened to him, I should trust David.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Sarah.<\/p>\n
She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
Arthur had trusted me because I had never asked what he owned.<\/p>\n
That was the difference.<\/p>\n
Then Samuel reached into his pocket again.<\/p>\n
This time he produced a small memory card.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat's that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething he gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA video.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the detectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur recorded it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz took the card.<\/p>\n
They played it on a laptop inside the farmhouse.<\/p>\n
Arthur appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n
He looked tired.<\/p>\n
Older than I remembered.<\/p>\n
But his voice was steady.<\/p>\n
He explained that he had been receiving threatening messages.<\/p>\n
He believed someone was trying to force him to change his will.<\/p>\n
Then he said something that made Mark's face go blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who is doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don't know whether that person is acting alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Then another video file appeared.<\/p>\n
Its timestamp was from the night before Arthur's death.<\/p>\n
Arthur was sitting at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
The camera angle showed the thermos beside him.<\/p>\n
The back door opened.<\/p>\n
Someone entered.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
The figure stepped into view.<\/p>\n
It wasn't Mark.<\/p>\n
It wasn't Kevin.<\/p>\n
It wasn't Brenda.<\/p>\n
It wasn't Claire.<\/p>\n
It was someone none of us recognized.<\/p>\n
Samuel whispered, \u201cThat's him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel pointed at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur's financial adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man on the video placed a hand on the thermos.<\/p>\n
Then the recording cut to black.<\/p>\n
Brenda didn't answer her phone. She didn't answer the detectives either. Sarah tried twice. Nothing. Mark stood on the porch staring at the road. \u201cWhere did she go?\u201d He looked … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7614","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\/7614","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=7614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7634,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions\/7634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}