The one-dollar transfer changed the investigation.<\/p>\n
Until then, Evelyn had been a missing daughter, a lost sister, and perhaps another victim of Thomas and Martin. Now she was something else.<\/p>\n
Active.<\/p>\n
Watching.<\/p>\n
Possibly close.<\/p>\n
The message had been sent three weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
THE CROSS SON FOUND HER.<\/p>\n
Lincoln stared at the words on the investigator\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t find Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe \u2018her\u2019 isn\u2019t Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
I thought of timing.<\/p>\n
Three weeks earlier, Dad had offered me money to cancel my wedding.<\/p>\n
Three weeks earlier, Lincoln\u2019s investigation of Kendrick had intensified.<\/p>\n
Three weeks earlier, Richard Cross decided Kendrick\u2019s false claims had become serious enough to confront.<\/p>\n
And somewhere, somebody sent Martin Vale a one-dollar warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cross son found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Lincoln.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message means you found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Chelsea understood next.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn was warning someone that Lincoln found Abby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would my relationship with Abby matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Diana\u2019s tape named her.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Thomas or Martin knew Mom had entrusted something to me as a child, then my engagement to Richard Cross\u2019s son could look dangerous.<\/p>\n
Two families whose secrets had remained separated for decades were about to become one.<\/p>\n
Our wedding was not merely inconvenient to Kendrick.<\/p>\n
It threatened people who had survived by keeping the Mercer and Cross histories apart.<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think someone wanted us separated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad certainly did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked surprised.<\/p>\n
It was true.<\/p>\n
His reasons had been ugly enough without needing conspiracy. He disapproved of Lincoln because he thought status mattered. That made him shallow, not necessarily part of Thomas\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
Chelsea leaned over the transaction record.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Evelyn sent the warning, who received it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale Executive Services,\u201d Lincoln said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr whoever controls the company now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigators had already begun tracing corporate ownership. The result came back through a maze of holding companies.<\/p>\n
The beneficial owner was not Martin Vale.<\/p>\n
It was Evelyn Shaw.<\/p>\n
Mom sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe owns it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln read further.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Martin transferred the company to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr she took control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad asked, \u201cIs Martin alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo confirmed death record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second search found another company tied to Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Shaw Advisory Group.<\/p>\n
Registered in Vermont.<\/p>\n
A photograph on an archived business page showed its founder.<\/p>\n
Elena Shaw.<\/p>\n
The woman in the picture was older than the college student in Evelyn\u2019s photographs, but there was no doubt.<\/p>\n
Mom touched the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s her.\u201d<\/p>\n
An address appeared beneath the registration.<\/p>\n
A small town two hours away.<\/p>\n
Mom stood.<\/p>\n
This time nobody told her to sit.<\/p>\n
We drove north that afternoon with investigators following at a distance.<\/p>\n
Lincoln and I shared the back seat.<\/p>\n
For the first hour, neither of us spoke much.<\/p>\n
Eventually I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were watching me before we dated.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked security.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is technically true in a way I\u2019m beginning to distrust.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled despite himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds ominous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fought with a coffee machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt stole from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched trees pass outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you investigating my family then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPromise?\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
That mattered more than I expected.<\/p>\n
Then I asked, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me who you were?\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer took longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you liked me before you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first serious girlfriend knew exactly who my father was before she knew anything about me. Every restaurant, every trip, every argument somehow returned to Cross. When it ended, she sold photographs and private messages to a magazine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had never heard this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, being Lincoln Hale became easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have told me before proposing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No defense.<\/p>\n
No excuse.<\/p>\n
Just yes.<\/p>\n
I appreciated it more than a speech.<\/p>\n
The Vermont address belonged to a modest cedar-sided house near a frozen lake.<\/p>\n
No gates.<\/p>\n
No guards.<\/p>\n
A red pickup sat beneath a carport.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s hands shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelsea answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with hello.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at her.<\/p>\n
Chelsea shrugged through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s what normal families do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
An investigator approached the house first.<\/p>\n
He knocked.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Then the door opened.<\/p>\n
The woman standing there was perhaps fifty-three.<\/p>\n
Dark hair streaked with gray.<\/p>\n
Brown sweater.<\/p>\n
Reading glasses hanging from a cord.<\/p>\n
She looked at the investigator.<\/p>\n
Then past him.<\/p>\n
At Mom.<\/p>\n
Everything in her face stopped.<\/p>\n
Mom stepped out of the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
For a second I thought she might shut the door.<\/p>\n
Instead, she whispered, \u201cYou weren\u2019t supposed to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom crossed the yard slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to find you since the day they took you from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found me before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1999.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin arranged it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI paid him for information. He disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came to the foster house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom turned toward Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you never found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn studied him.<\/p>\n
Then realization came.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked like you,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he was my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you didn\u2019t want me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you had another family and paid him to make sure I stayed away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom crossed the remaining distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never stopped wanting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
But she stepped backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas being arrested doesn\u2019t make this safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward the trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin died in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStroke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is there no record?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is. Under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The alias Dad had met.<\/p>\n
Except Dad met Matthew Voss three months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible,\u201d Dad said.<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you see him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDescribe him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad did.<\/p>\n
Evelyn listened.<\/p>\n
Then shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln asked, \u201cWho else had access to Vale Executive Services?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at him for the first time.<\/p>\n
Recognition flashed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLincoln Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother died when I was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn stepped inside and returned with a folder.<\/p>\n
She handed it to Lincoln.<\/p>\n
Inside were copies of letters written by Eleanor Cross.<\/p>\n
Lincoln recognized the handwriting.<\/p>\n
His hands began to tremble.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get these?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letters dated from the period before Thomas disappeared.<\/p>\n
Eleanor had been documenting financial irregularities independently.<\/p>\n
One line was underlined.<\/p>\n
If Richard refuses to expose his father, I will.<\/p>\n
Lincoln stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said she knew nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
Mom corrected her gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr he believed he had protected her from knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn gave a sad smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame family disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost liked her immediately.<\/p>\n
Lincoln continued reading.<\/p>\n
Another letter mentioned Diana.<\/p>\n
Diana has the courage Richard lacks, but she is protecting Howard. Howard is protecting Thomas. Everyone is protecting the person who will eventually destroy them.<\/p>\n
Dad looked away.<\/p>\n
Evelyn turned to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Abby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced toward an old photograph on the wall.<\/p>\n
A younger woman stood beside Evelyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look like Lincoln\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way you watch people before deciding whether to believe them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked at me.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I sent the signal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one-dollar transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale Executive Services is mine. I keep the old account alive because Thomas watches it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo THE CROSS SON FOUND HER\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeant you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw photographs of you and Lincoln together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKendrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew you were alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe discovered me six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas lead him to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone inside Mercer Properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know their real name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe third copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom whispered, \u201cYou have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln asked, \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomewhere neither Thomas nor Richard could destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Richard destroy it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at Lincoln.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Eleanor discovered Richard knew more than he admitted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to stop his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Cross Global was weeks from collapse. Exposing the fraud would have destroyed thousands of pensions tied to the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln stared at the letters.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he chose the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe chose what he believed would hurt fewer people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like something he would say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at him carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re angry because you want him to have been better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln said nothing.<\/p>\n
She turned to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re angry because you want Howard to have been worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
That struck painfully close.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would I want that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause simple villains are easier than flawed fathers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
Evelyn moved toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one person still unaccounted for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man pretending to be Matthew Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad said, \u201cCould Thomas have hired him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he was working against Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe warned me Kendrick was compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same time Dad met him.<\/p>\n
Evelyn continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also knew Lincoln\u2019s identity before Kendrick did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew I was Richard\u2019s son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery few people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard. His security director. Several senior Cross executives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father\u2019s attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel Reed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the attorneys beside Richard at the Harbor Grand.<\/p>\n
One older man had stood almost continuously at his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Reed at the hotel today?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d<\/p>\n
He took out his phone.<\/p>\n
Before he could call, Evelyn\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She checked the number.<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She showed us.<\/p>\n
Unknown.<\/p>\n
She answered on speaker.<\/p>\n
A man\u2019s voice said, \u201cYou brought them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn stared through the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln went completely still.<\/p>\n
The voice continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you not to involve Richard\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln stepped toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cReed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then the man laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Lincoln.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCloser than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
An investigator shouted from outside.<\/p>\n
We rushed toward the door.<\/p>\n
Smoke rose behind the detached garage.<\/p>\n
By the time we reached it, flames had already climbed the rear wall.<\/p>\n
Evelyn stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe records.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ran.<\/p>\n
Lincoln caught her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe third copy is inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The one-dollar transfer changed the investigation. Until then, Evelyn had been a missing daughter, a lost sister, and perhaps another victim of Thomas and Martin. Now she was something else. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9011","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\/9011","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=9011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9031,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9011\/revisions\/9031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}