{"id":9056,"date":"2026-09-10T19:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9056"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:35:14","slug":"part-15-evans-note-put-mom-beside-edwards-name-and-his-hospital-confession-exposed-the-bargain-she-made-after-rebecca-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9056","title":{"rendered":"PART 15 \u2013 Evan\u2019s Note Put Mom Beside Edward\u2019s Name, and His Hospital Confession Exposed the Bargain She Made After Rebecca Died"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Olivia called Mom before we left Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>She did not mention Evan\u2019s note.<\/p>\n<p>She asked one question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom answered, \u201cHome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom heard something in her voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOlivia, what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she hung up.<\/p>\n<p>We did not drive to my parents\u2019 house immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez took us to the hospital where Evan Cole had been admitted under police watch.<\/p>\n<p>He had a fractured cheekbone, two broken ribs, a concussion, and injuries to his hands.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had hurt him deliberately.<\/p>\n<p>He was conscious.<\/p>\n<p>Whether he would talk was another question.<\/p>\n<p>Whitfield was not permitted into the first interview.<\/p>\n<p>Neither were we.<\/p>\n<p>We waited in a fluorescent hallway while Ramirez and another investigator went inside.<\/p>\n<p>Olivia paced.<\/p>\n<p>I sat with Rebecca\u2019s letter in my purse.<\/p>\n<p>After forty minutes, Ramirez emerged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked for Amelia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says he\u2019ll speak if you\u2019re present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whitfield immediately objected.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez agreed with him.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said Evan had specifically requested me and refused to continue otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whitfield looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are not obligated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>I entered with Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>Evan looked nothing like the man from my childhood.<\/p>\n<p>One eye was swollen. Purple bruising covered his jaw. His hands were bandaged.<\/p>\n<p>But his voice was recognizable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmelia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood near the door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho did this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled painfully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou really are Rebecca\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnswer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPersonally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know his name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Ed thinks I took something that belongs to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan\u2019s good eye widened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara had it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He closed his eye.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had not expected relief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were following Mara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou threatened her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou photographed Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou helped Charles and Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each answer came without resistance.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe pain had stripped away his defenses.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe the trunk being safely outside Edward\u2019s control changed his calculations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you help kill Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know Edward planned to stop her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot until afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you give him her route?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEllen called me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca was leaving. She was meeting Thomas. She had records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Mom ask you to stop her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did she call?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t answer me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan breathed carefully through his injuries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEllen thought Edward could make the financial problem disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo she called Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe called me first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone had trusted the wrong person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI called Ed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The simplicity chilled me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles thought I worked with him. Daniel thought I was his friend. But Ed owned the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou gave Edward Rebecca\u2019s route.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know he would hurt her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you suspect?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan closed his eye again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I let the silence sit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd told us Rebecca\u2019s accident solved nothing because Ruth had copies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the burglary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho took Grandma\u2019s safe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dad know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe helped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That contradicted Dad\u2019s version.<\/p>\n<p>I felt no surprise left.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough to expose North Lake. Not enough to prove Ed ordered anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to the contents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome burned. Some Ed kept.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy keep evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Always insurance.<\/p>\n<p>These men had survived by holding knives against one another\u2019s throats.<\/p>\n<p>I took out my phone.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez had already arranged official recording.<\/p>\n<p>I did not need mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy was Mom\u2019s name in your pocket?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat note wasn\u2019t for police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho was it for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared toward the ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdward Mercer \u2014 Ellen Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means Ellen knows where Ed keeps his private archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom knows?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she helped him move it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat archive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOriginal trust records. North Lake documents. Personal letters. Recordings. Anything Ed thought could protect him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst Charles?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why he had me beaten.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Mom does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of her insisting we not call Evan.<\/p>\n<p>Her fear.<\/p>\n<p>Her years of silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy hasn\u2019t she told us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Ed has something on her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heart thudded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEllen touched it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went cold.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez shifted beside me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd asked Ellen to bring Rebecca\u2019s car keys to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe morning she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he wanted to inspect the car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Mom know he planned to damage it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd told me afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make sure I understood that everybody was compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pattern again.<\/p>\n<p>Edward had not merely committed crimes.<\/p>\n<p>He had distributed pieces of responsibility so everyone around him became afraid to expose him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Mom do with the keys?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe gave them to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe returned them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she know the brakes had been touched?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot until Rebecca died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mind went back to Mom\u2019s confession.<\/p>\n<p>She said she saw Charles beside the car with the hood up.<\/p>\n<p>Had that been true?<\/p>\n<p>Or another layer?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Charles at the car?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd sent him to make sure Rebecca noticed nothing obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Charles cut the brake line?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word came quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPersonally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For twenty-seven years everyone had been unsure who physically tampered with Rebecca\u2019s car.<\/p>\n<p>Evan was claiming Edward Mercer did it himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you witness that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen this is still something Edward told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone witness it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evan\u2019s eye moved away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMara was in Duluth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was visiting her sister near Rebecca\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she see Edward?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe saw him return the keys to Ellen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That explained why Grandma protected Mara.<\/p>\n<p>Not only because she saw Evan at the motel.<\/p>\n<p>She had seen the chain begin.<\/p>\n<p>I left Evan\u2019s room after another half hour.<\/p>\n<p>Olivia stood when she saw me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom knows where Edward keeps his archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course she does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We drove to our parents\u2019 house with Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>Dad opened the door.<\/p>\n<p>Mom was in the living room.<\/p>\n<p>She saw the police and stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I placed a photocopy of Evan\u2019s note on the coffee table.<\/p>\n<p>Edward Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Ellen Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>Mom stared at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says you know where Edward\u2019s archive is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom sat down.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEllen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad walked away from her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom stared at the fireplace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdward has a house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know his registered residence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot that one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNear Lake Superior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCabin?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. A private house under another company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whitfield asked for the company name.<\/p>\n<p>Mom gave it.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez wrote everything down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Edward has a recording.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe morning Rebecca died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA telephone call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetween?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe and him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Mom continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI called Edward after Rebecca told me she was leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him I needed him to stop her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words landed brutally.<\/p>\n<p>Olivia sat down.<\/p>\n<p>Mom began crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI meant stop her from going to police. Stop her from taking the records. Stop her from destroying everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you said stop her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Edward kept the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he could make it sound like you ordered her death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know he would hurt her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you give him the keys?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom\u2019s face collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad whispered, \u201cEllen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he wanted to check the car because Rebecca had complained about the brakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Not ignorance.<\/p>\n<p>Convenient belief.<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cWhen he returned the keys, did you suspect?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you warn Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid she would ask what I had done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then she drove away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you watch?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had imagined Rebecca\u2019s final morning many times since finding the box.<\/p>\n<p>Now another image entered it.<\/p>\n<p>My mother standing somewhere nearby, knowing Edward had taken Rebecca\u2019s keys, suspecting something was wrong, and choosing silence because confession would expose her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter the crash?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI called Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat I should forget the keys ever left my possession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice broke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remembered every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Remembering was not the same as telling.<\/p>\n<p>Dad asked the question I could not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you marry me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we were both trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr did Ed tell you to stay close to me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom\u2019s silence answered before her mouth did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted you watching me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA few years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI stopped reporting to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Olivia was born.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>Olivia looked down.<\/p>\n<p>Mom continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told Edward I was done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he let you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe reminded me about the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olivia whispered, \u201cSo I was leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t call me that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mom stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez asked about Edward\u2019s hidden house.<\/p>\n<p>Mom provided directions.<\/p>\n<p>She had been there twice.<\/p>\n<p>The archive was behind a false wall in the basement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen were you last there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould it have moved?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy believe it hasn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Edward never trusted banks for the things that could destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad gave a hollow laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe taught us all well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez left to obtain the necessary legal process and coordinate with another jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>We were told to stay.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>This time I did.<\/p>\n<p>I sat on the porch with Olivia.<\/p>\n<p>Night had fallen.<\/p>\n<p>She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you hate Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was accurate.<\/p>\n<p>After a while Dad joined us.<\/p>\n<p>He did not sit.<\/p>\n<p>He leaned against the railing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI owe both of you an apology that is too small to matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olivia looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He flinched.<\/p>\n<p>Then she added, \u201cBut you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face broke.<\/p>\n<p>She looked away before he could answer.<\/p>\n<p>That was all she could give him.<\/p>\n<p>Near midnight Ramirez called.<\/p>\n<p>Police had reached Edward\u2019s hidden property.<\/p>\n<p>The house was empty.<\/p>\n<p>The basement wall existed.<\/p>\n<p>So did the concealed room.<\/p>\n<p>But the archive was gone.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was left?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmpty shelving. Burned paper in a fireplace. Several damaged drives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan they recover them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Again we had arrived late.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ramirez said, \u201cThere was one other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone on the porch went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOlder male. Identification is pending.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad whispered, \u201cEdward?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But an hour later we did.<\/p>\n<p>The dead man was Charles Avery.<\/p>\n<p>And according to the preliminary scene assessment, he had not died naturally.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9057\">Click here to continue reading: PART 16: Charles Was Found Dead Inside Edward\u2019s Hidden House, and the Surviving Recording Showed Which Man Had Started Killing Witnesses Again<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Olivia called Mom before we left Wisconsin. She did not mention Evan\u2019s note. 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