{"id":9874,"date":"2026-09-12T17:42:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T17:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9874"},"modified":"2026-09-12T17:42:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T17:42:35","slug":"part-9-the-account-opened-in-rachels-name-was-supposed-to-protect-patricia-but-its-creation-exposed-a-second-identity-she-had-been-using","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9874","title":{"rendered":"PART 9 \u2013 The Account Opened in Rachel\u2019s Name Was Supposed to Protect Patricia, but Its Creation Exposed a Second Identity She Had Been Using"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rachel arrived at Daniel\u2019s office twenty minutes after I did.<\/p>\n<p>She was still wearing hospital scrubs beneath her coat. Her hair was pulled into the same loose knot she wore during long shifts, but there was nothing ordinary about her expression.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel had already told her why he wanted to see us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never opened that account,\u201d she said before she had even sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe you,\u201d Daniel replied.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel glanced at me.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>That seemed to steady her more than Daniel\u2019s reassurance.<\/p>\n<p>The account had been opened at North County Credit Union eight months earlier, almost five months before the first withdrawal from my savings. It bore Rachel\u2019s full legal name, date of birth and Social Security number.<\/p>\n<p>The address was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>The phone number was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>The email address belonged to no account Rachel recognized.<\/p>\n<p>But the identification used to open it appeared legitimate.<\/p>\n<p>A copy of Rachel\u2019s driver\u2019s license was attached to the application.<\/p>\n<p>She stared at the page.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s my license.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrent?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Look at the address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lived there two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you lose this license?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought I dropped my wallet in a grocery-store parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it returned?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wallet was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stopped writing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the license?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked from him to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone mailed the wallet back. Cash was still inside. Credit cards too. The license was missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you report it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI replaced it through the DMV. I didn\u2019t think much about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood immediately why that detail mattered.<\/p>\n<p>My identification had been copied.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s had physically disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>Two women connected to Brian.<\/p>\n<p>Two identities useful to Patricia.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked, \u201cDid Patricia know your license was missing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you post about the wallet online?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She pulled out her phone and searched.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a minute later she found it.<\/p>\n<p>A photograph of her returned wallet with a caption thanking whoever had mailed it back.<\/p>\n<p>The post was public.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia could have seen it while monitoring Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you mention the missing license?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel scrolled through comments.<\/p>\n<p>Then she stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Someone had asked whether everything was still there.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel had replied:<\/p>\n<p>Everything except my license. Weird, but easy enough to replace.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel photographed the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen was this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was before Rachel contacted Brian.<\/p>\n<p>Before Patricia had supposedly known she was searching for her biological family.<\/p>\n<p>At least according to Elaine.<\/p>\n<p>The timeline bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Patricia care about Rachel that early?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWere you publicly discussing your adoption search then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia could have discovered Rachel long before Rachel discovered Brian.<\/p>\n<p>The thought changed the shape of everything again.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Patricia had not reacted to Rachel\u2019s search.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe she had been watching it.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Ortiz joined us by phone.<\/p>\n<p>She confirmed the credit union had retained the account-opening documentation because the account was still technically active.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it opened in person?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Online.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen anyone with Rachel\u2019s information could have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did the money come from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe three transfers we discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventeen thousand four hundred dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it\u2019s still there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost was withdrawn through cashier\u2019s checks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s where this becomes interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One check was payable to a storage company.<\/p>\n<p>Another to an investigative service.<\/p>\n<p>The largest, for eleven thousand dollars, was payable to a law office.<\/p>\n<p>The same law office Patricia had used to seek access to sealed adoption records.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe used an account in my name to investigate me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The cruelty of it was almost elegant.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had taken money stolen under my identity and moved part of it through an account created under Rachel\u2019s identity, then used that money to investigate Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>Two women turned into financial disguises.<\/p>\n<p>If investigators stopped at the paperwork, both of us could appear responsible for Patricia\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s voice was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy the storage company?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer arrived that afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had rented a storage unit under Rachel\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<p>The account had paid six months in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Police obtained a warrant.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel advised me not to go.<\/p>\n<p>I agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Then I spent four hours pacing my house waiting for someone to call.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Ortiz finally did shortly after six.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial records. Family records. Photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings belonging to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDocuments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCopies of tax returns. Employment information. Bank statements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome appear to have come from the blue folder Patricia removed from your home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward the dresser where my grandmother\u2019s jewelry box still sat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer made no sense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy clothing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo jackets. A scarf. A pair of shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would she have my clothes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then I remembered the surveillance still from the fourth withdrawal.<\/p>\n<p>Winter coat.<\/p>\n<p>Scarf.<\/p>\n<p>Shorter woman.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind of scarf?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz described it.<\/p>\n<p>Gray wool with a narrow burgundy stripe.<\/p>\n<p>Mine.<\/p>\n<p>I had assumed I lost it the previous winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the coat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNavy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I knew that coat too.<\/p>\n<p>I had donated it.<\/p>\n<p>At least I thought I had.<\/p>\n<p>Months before the withdrawals, Patricia had volunteered to take several bags of clothes to a church charity drive.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently not everything reached the church.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe kept clothes so she could dress like me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shoes were the right size for Patricia, not me.<\/p>\n<p>That suggested she had built the disguise deliberately: my outer clothing combined with items that fit her.<\/p>\n<p>There were also inexpensive glasses similar to mine.<\/p>\n<p>A dark wig.<\/p>\n<p>Makeup.<\/p>\n<p>A photocopy of my license enlarged on a sheet of paper.<\/p>\n<p>Practice signatures.<\/p>\n<p>The fourth withdrawal was no longer a theory.<\/p>\n<p>It had a costume.<\/p>\n<p>Police found another item inside the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>A disposable prepaid phone.<\/p>\n<p>Most messages had been deleted.<\/p>\n<p>Forensics recovered fragments.<\/p>\n<p>One contact was saved only as E.<\/p>\n<p>Elaine.<\/p>\n<p>Another was B.<\/p>\n<p>Not Brian.<\/p>\n<p>The number did not belong to him.<\/p>\n<p>It belonged to Patricia\u2019s second prepaid phone, recovered from her basement.<\/p>\n<p>The messages were brief.<\/p>\n<p>Ready Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Use Cedar.<\/p>\n<p>Wear ring.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t talk too much.<\/p>\n<p>One recovered message from Elaine read:<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m done after this.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia replied:<\/p>\n<p>Then I\u2019ll finish it.<\/p>\n<p>That exchange occurred the night before the fourth withdrawal.<\/p>\n<p>The case no longer depended on perfume or body shape.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had documented her own decision to impersonate me.<\/p>\n<p>Brian called after Detective Ortiz informed him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw the photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice sounded hollow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat photographs?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wore your coat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember that coat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought you donated it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He breathed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe planned all of this while coming to our house for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAngela?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI keep thinking about Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom gave you that scarf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had bought it for me three Christmases earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The same scarf she later used while pretending to be me.<\/p>\n<p>Brian gave a short, broken laugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what kind of person does that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kind of person who believes everyone else is a piece on a board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was one of the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo were you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the part Brian was only beginning to understand.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia\u2019s manipulation had not begun when sixty-one thousand dollars vanished.<\/p>\n<p>It had existed much longer.<\/p>\n<p>She managed information.<\/p>\n<p>She controlled access.<\/p>\n<p>She decided who knew what.<\/p>\n<p>Then she arranged people\u2019s reactions around the version of reality she preferred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI met Rachel yesterday,\u201d Brian said.<\/p>\n<p>I hadn\u2019t known.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow was it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStrange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBad strange?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has Dad\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sentence carried more emotion than anything else he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you doing the DNA test?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom\u2019s attorney told me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaid it could complicate the criminal case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was new.<\/p>\n<p>Brian had made a decision his mother opposed.<\/p>\n<p>It should not have been remarkable for a forty-year-old man.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen do you get the results?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe a week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I wished him luck.<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAngela, can I ask something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can ask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf all this had never happened\u2014if the money hadn\u2019t disappeared\u2014do you think we would still be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked around the quiet kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Our kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>The room where he had first turned the laptop toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought we were.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Mom destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was the old reflex.<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, Brian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia created the trap. You stepped into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou keep saying that like fear made your choices for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou signed a court document accusing me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou separated our finances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou listened to your mother discussing my supposed secret life and never asked me whether any of it was true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia is responsible for crimes. You are responsible for what you did when she gave you a story you wanted to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His breathing changed.<\/p>\n<p>I expected him to argue.<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was new too.<\/p>\n<p>But some realizations arrive after the damage they might have prevented.<\/p>\n<p>When we ended the call, I felt no triumph.<\/p>\n<p>Only clarity.<\/p>\n<p>The next development came from the storage-unit records.<\/p>\n<p>The unit had been rented under Rachel\u2019s name, but the facility required a backup contact.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had entered one.<\/p>\n<p>M. Brooks.<\/p>\n<p>For months investigators assumed it referred to Michael Brooks, the dead man whose name had haunted her ledger.<\/p>\n<p>But the storage account had been opened years after Michael\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at the form.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone had to supply a current phone number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The number was disconnected now.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators subpoenaed historical subscriber records.<\/p>\n<p>The result surprised everyone.<\/p>\n<p>M. Brooks was not Michael.<\/p>\n<p>The number had belonged to Matthew Brooks.<\/p>\n<p>Brian\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s younger brother.<\/p>\n<p>Brian stared at the report when Daniel showed us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUncle Matt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I knew him too.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew lived in Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>He had attended our wedding.<\/p>\n<p>He sent Christmas cards.<\/p>\n<p>He called Patricia every few months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does he have to do with this?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Brian looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Detective Ortiz contacted him.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew initially denied knowing anything about the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ortiz mentioned Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>He stopped cooperating.<\/p>\n<p>By the following morning, he had hired an attorney.<\/p>\n<p>That was never a reassuring sign.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s investigator began examining Matthew\u2019s connection to the old company.<\/p>\n<p>He had been a minority partner in Brooks Family Construction.<\/p>\n<p>He left suddenly the year after Elaine\u2019s pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>Family history said he moved west because of a business opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Company records told a messier story.<\/p>\n<p>Michael had bought out Matthew\u2019s ownership interest.<\/p>\n<p>The amount was unusually low.<\/p>\n<p>There had also been a private settlement.<\/p>\n<p>The documents were sealed.<\/p>\n<p>We requested them.<\/p>\n<p>Before the court ruled, the DNA results arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Brian asked Rachel and me to be present.<\/p>\n<p>We met at Daniel\u2019s office because none of us wanted Patricia\u2019s house or mine associated with the moment.<\/p>\n<p>Brian opened the results on his phone.<\/p>\n<p>His face changed before he spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel watched him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brian looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s mouth trembled.<\/p>\n<p>The test showed a close biological relationship consistent with half-siblings.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Brooks had almost certainly been Rachel\u2019s father.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel covered her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Brian sat beside her.<\/p>\n<p>Neither knew whether to hug.<\/p>\n<p>Finally Rachel reached for his hand.<\/p>\n<p>He took it.<\/p>\n<p>I turned away.<\/p>\n<p>That moment belonged to them.<\/p>\n<p>For twenty-eight years Patricia had protected a family story that was false.<\/p>\n<p>Now biology had corrected it in a single page.<\/p>\n<p>But when Daniel examined the detailed DNA report, his expression became thoughtful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brian asked.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid the service identify other close relatives?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel opened the relatives section.<\/p>\n<p>Brian appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Several distant cousins appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Then another name.<\/p>\n<p>A first cousin or possible half-uncle-level match.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Brooks.<\/p>\n<p>That was expected if Matthew was Michael\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n<p>But the shared DNA amount sat at the upper edge of the predicted range.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel answered cautiously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brian looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re thinking something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thinking we still don\u2019t know why Matthew hired an attorney the moment Detective Ortiz mentioned Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question bothered us for two days.<\/p>\n<p>Then Matthew called Brian.<\/p>\n<p>Not the police.<\/p>\n<p>Not Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Brian.<\/p>\n<p>He said he wanted to explain privately.<\/p>\n<p>Brian refused.<\/p>\n<p>He told Matthew that anything relevant to Rachel or the theft had to be discussed with attorneys present.<\/p>\n<p>Another small sign that Brian was changing.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew reluctantly agreed.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting took place by video.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew appeared older than I remembered, his gray hair longer and his face deeply lined.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at Rachel for several seconds before speaking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor letting Patricia control this for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brian leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew rubbed his jaw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than I admitted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Dad Rachel\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>Then away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brian\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe DNA says she\u2019s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what does maybe mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElaine wasn\u2019t only seeing Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody moved.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s voice became very quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew looked directly into the camera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went still.<\/p>\n<p>He continued before anyone could interrupt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason Michael never got the paternity test wasn\u2019t only because Patricia feared proving Rachel was his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was afraid the test might prove Rachel was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=9875\">Click here to continue reading: PART 10: Matthew\u2019s Confession Reopened a Twenty-Eight-Year-Old Betrayal, and Patricia\u2019s Reason for Watching Rachel Became Darker Than Anyone Had Imagined<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rachel arrived at Daniel\u2019s office twenty minutes after I did. She was still wearing hospital scrubs beneath her coat. Her hair was pulled into the same loose knot she wore &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9874","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\/9874","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=9874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9894,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9874\/revisions\/9894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}