{"id":13622,"date":"2026-10-04T16:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T16:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13622"},"modified":"2026-10-04T16:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T16:19:47","slug":"part-10-roys-missing-hours-on-october-third-connected-victor-to-malcolm-again-and-arthur-had-recorded-the-meeting-everyone-swore-never-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13622","title":{"rendered":"PART 10 \u2013 Roy\u2019s Missing Hours on October Third Connected Victor to Malcolm Again, and Arthur Had Recorded the Meeting Everyone Swore Never Happened"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody spoke for several seconds.<\/p>\n<p>The storage unit suddenly seemed too small.<\/p>\n<p>Roy sat back down on the wooden chair.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra remained standing over him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou drove Victor to Malcolm?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told us Malcolm came back on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did. Before that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy rubbed his hands together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know they were still talking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena said, \u201cStart at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy looked toward the detectives.<\/p>\n<p>One of them had already begun recording.<\/p>\n<p>That changed his expression.<\/p>\n<p>There would be no casual version now.<\/p>\n<p>No convenient family shorthand.<\/p>\n<p>Every word mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Roy explained that on October third, Victor came to Arthur\u2019s house demanding access to the hidden archive.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur refused.<\/p>\n<p>They argued.<\/p>\n<p>Victor grabbed him.<\/p>\n<p>Roy intervened.<\/p>\n<p>At least that much remained consistent.<\/p>\n<p>Then Victor told Roy to drive him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you agree?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said if I didn\u2019t, he would come back when Dad was alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you rewarded the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy flinched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was trying to get him away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith your father bruised inside the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>There are answers so inadequate that arguing against them feels wasteful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was Malcolm?\u201d Elena asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA motel outside town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one in Arthur\u2019s photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy nodded.<\/p>\n<p>That explained the image of Malcolm, Victor, and Diane.<\/p>\n<p>Or part of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you arrived?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiane was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>Roy continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe had a folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat folder?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCopies from Sam\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The betrayal remained fresh every time it acquired detail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Victor want from Malcolm?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy took a long breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted him to disappear again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sandra laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like twenty-five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Dad had begun believing Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Malcolm agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of the man who entered Mr. Katz\u2019s office and stared at Roy like old history still lived between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor offered money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy caught Sandra\u2019s expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally. I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMalcolm laughed at him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That I could imagine.<\/p>\n<p>Roy\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Victor had spent his whole life buying frightened people and someday he was going to meet someone who was more tired than frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena wrote it down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Victor do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe threatened him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm had built a new life.<\/p>\n<p>A second marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Adult children who knew little about the scandal.<\/p>\n<p>Victor threatened to expose the money Malcolm accepted years earlier as proof he had participated in the original theft.<\/p>\n<p>A lie constructed from true details.<\/p>\n<p>Those are often the strongest kind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Malcolm give in?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did Arthur later photograph them together?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Malcolm made a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room shifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat deal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told Victor he would pretend to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sandra stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad told me later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur.<\/p>\n<p>Always one step beyond what we thought he knew.<\/p>\n<p>Roy said Malcolm secretly contacted Arthur after the motel meeting.<\/p>\n<p>He admitted Victor wanted him to locate the archive and report what Arthur had found.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur agreed that Malcolm should pretend to help.<\/p>\n<p>That was what Malcolm meant on the phone.<\/p>\n<p>Finishing what they started.<\/p>\n<p>He had gone back inside Victor\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n<p>Not because Arthur trusted him completely.<\/p>\n<p>Because Victor trusted people he believed compromised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Diane?\u201d Mr. Katz asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was there because Victor wanted her to keep feeding him estate documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz looked down.<\/p>\n<p>Roy spoke more softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad knew about her by then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sam looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he thought if you confronted her, Victor would know she\u2019d been exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz did not like that.<\/p>\n<p>But he understood it.<\/p>\n<p>So did I.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur had kept each person inside the role Victor expected.<\/p>\n<p>Diane believed she remained undiscovered.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm appeared vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>Roy appeared obedient.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra appeared greedy.<\/p>\n<p>And me?<\/p>\n<p>I wondered what role Arthur had allowed Victor to assign me.<\/p>\n<p>Probably harmless.<\/p>\n<p>A wife exhausted by caregiving.<\/p>\n<p>A woman who would crumble after a funeral.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that had been Arthur\u2019s most useful deception.<\/p>\n<p>Elena said, \u201cWhat ended the October third meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy&#39;s face changed again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor gave Malcolm a deadline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo get the archive location.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMalcolm said he needed access to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor told me to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy nodded.<\/p>\n<p>He arranged one of the meetings between Arthur and Malcolm.<\/p>\n<p>Not the first.<\/p>\n<p>A later one.<\/p>\n<p>He told Victor when it would happen.<\/p>\n<p>But Arthur already suspected Roy was reporting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Dad used you,\u201d Sandra said.<\/p>\n<p>Roy gave a humorless smile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody used everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArthur gave you chances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy\u2019s expression hardened, then fell.<\/p>\n<p>He knew the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Elena asked whether October third had been recorded.<\/p>\n<p>Roy did not know.<\/p>\n<p>But Arthur apparently did.<\/p>\n<p>We searched the flash drive.<\/p>\n<p>A folder labeled OCT 3 had been overlooked because Elena initially prioritized SEPTEMBER 18.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were audio files.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz found a laptop.<\/p>\n<p>The first recording began in Arthur\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized the clock ticking.<\/p>\n<p>His breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Then Victor\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re running out of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur answered, \u201cI have less of it than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou always did enjoy theater.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I enjoy documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s tone changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve been talking to Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou believed him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believed the records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re dying, Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has made me less patient with liars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Even now, hearing him hurt.<\/p>\n<p>But Arthur sounded like Arthur.<\/p>\n<p>Dry.<\/p>\n<p>Precise.<\/p>\n<p>Unimpressed.<\/p>\n<p>Victor asked about the archive.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur refused.<\/p>\n<p>Then the conversation moved to Margaret.<\/p>\n<p>Victor used her memory like a knife.<\/p>\n<p>He said Arthur\u2019s wife had lied to him for decades.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur replied, \u201cMargaret was frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe helped frame Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe chose Roy over you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur paused.<\/p>\n<p>Then said, \u201cI hope if I had been in her place, I would have chosen better. I am no longer arrogant enough to be certain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The humility of that broke me more than anger would have.<\/p>\n<p>Victor did not understand it.<\/p>\n<p>He mocked him.<\/p>\n<p>Then demanded the archive again.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur said no.<\/p>\n<p>A chair scraped.<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s voice moved closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you really think Helen keeps this house after you\u2019re gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think paperwork stops me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what does?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that you\u2019re not as clever as you think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A hard sound followed.<\/p>\n<p>Something struck furniture.<\/p>\n<p>Roy entered.<\/p>\n<p>His recorded voice shouted.<\/p>\n<p>The struggle intensified.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur gasped.<\/p>\n<p>Then Roy yelled at Victor to let him go.<\/p>\n<p>The recording became chaotic.<\/p>\n<p>But one sentence came through clearly.<\/p>\n<p>Victor said, \u201cIf you want your father alive until Christmas, get me what I need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went still.<\/p>\n<p>Roy covered his face.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra turned away.<\/p>\n<p>My hands shook.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur lived past Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Barely.<\/p>\n<p>But that threat had sat inside his final months.<\/p>\n<p>Then Roy\u2019s recorded voice said, \u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor replied, \u201cDrive me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first recording ended.<\/p>\n<p>The second began in a car.<\/p>\n<p>Roy must have recorded it.<\/p>\n<p>Or Arthur had planted something.<\/p>\n<p>The engine hummed.<\/p>\n<p>Victor spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re getting sentimental.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy answered, \u201cYou hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe resisted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the more reason he should understand limited time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy called him a bastard.<\/p>\n<p>Victor laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Then asked whether Roy wanted twenty-five years of theft exposed.<\/p>\n<p>Roy said, \u201cI\u2019m done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor replied, \u201cYou\u2019ve been done before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The conversation revealed something Roy had not told us.<\/p>\n<p>He had tried to break from Victor years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Twice.<\/p>\n<p>The first time, Victor threatened Margaret.<\/p>\n<p>The second, he threatened Sandra.<\/p>\n<p>Roy stared at his sister.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he have on me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>The recording did.<\/p>\n<p>Victor referenced a forged loan application.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor had arranged it.<\/p>\n<p>Using her name.<\/p>\n<p>Another leash.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra sat down hard.<\/p>\n<p>For years she believed a failed loan and damaged credit resulted from her own financial mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had created the problem so he could later offer help.<\/p>\n<p>The same pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Create fear.<\/p>\n<p>Then become indispensable.<\/p>\n<p>The car recording continued.<\/p>\n<p>Victor ordered Roy to pull into the motel.<\/p>\n<p>Diane and Malcolm were waiting.<\/p>\n<p>Roy carried a device in his pocket.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur must have persuaded him to record the meeting afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Or perhaps Roy did it secretly and gave Arthur the file.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, we could hear everything.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm challenged Victor directly.<\/p>\n<p>Diane sounded nervous.<\/p>\n<p>She wanted out.<\/p>\n<p>Victor reminded her how much money she had taken.<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cYou told me nobody would get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor replied, \u201cNobody who mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz\u2019s hand clenched.<\/p>\n<p>Diane had not begun as an enthusiastic conspirator.<\/p>\n<p>She had accepted money.<\/p>\n<p>Passed information.<\/p>\n<p>Then become trapped.<\/p>\n<p>It did not excuse her.<\/p>\n<p>But once again, Victor\u2019s method was visible.<\/p>\n<p>Corrupt someone with a small compromise.<\/p>\n<p>Then use that compromise to force a larger one.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm said Arthur had no archive.<\/p>\n<p>Victor did not believe him.<\/p>\n<p>He demanded proof.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm said he could get closer.<\/p>\n<p>Victor gave him time.<\/p>\n<p>Then, near the end, Diane asked a question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if Helen inherits the house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor replied, \u201cThen we remove Helen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My blood went cold.<\/p>\n<p>Roy stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His recorded self had been outside the room then.<\/p>\n<p>The device remained inside somehow.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps in a jacket.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps under a table.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm asked, \u201cRemove how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor answered, \u201cDon\u2019t be melodramatic. People sell houses every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diane said, \u201cShe won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArthur made her promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Mr. Katz.<\/p>\n<p>He had not known.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur had indeed asked me never to sell under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>I thought it was sentimental.<\/p>\n<p>Diane had overheard more than I realized.<\/p>\n<p>Victor said, \u201cThen pressure changes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>The recording ended.<\/p>\n<p>No explicit plan.<\/p>\n<p>No specific crime.<\/p>\n<p>But enough.<\/p>\n<p>Enough to understand why Arthur turned the house into a fortress of documentation.<\/p>\n<p>Enough to understand why Malcolm remained close to Victor after that meeting.<\/p>\n<p>He was trying to learn what \u201cpressure\u201d meant.<\/p>\n<p>Elena checked her phone.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives had traced Malcolm\u2019s last call.<\/p>\n<p>The signal originated near an abandoned industrial property owned by one of Victor\u2019s shell companies.<\/p>\n<p>Police were already moving there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Diane?\u201d Mr. Katz asked.<\/p>\n<p>No answer yet.<\/p>\n<p>Roy stood near the storage-unit entrance.<\/p>\n<p>He looked as if he had aged ten years since the previous morning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to tell you something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sandra sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy did not react.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Dad gave me the October third recording, he asked me to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChoose what?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether I wanted to keep being Victor\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase landed strangely.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s not your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Dad said I had spent more of my life obeying Victor than loving him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you choose?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Roy&#39;s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him I wanted out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did you come for the house after his funeral?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I failed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer was immediate.<\/p>\n<p>No excuse.<\/p>\n<p>Just failure.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur told Roy there was one way out.<\/p>\n<p>Tell the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Everything.<\/p>\n<p>To the police.<\/p>\n<p>To Sandra.<\/p>\n<p>To me.<\/p>\n<p>Roy agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Then Arthur died before he did it.<\/p>\n<p>Victor called the same evening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knew Dad was gone before I told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That detail chilled me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Victor instructed Roy to move quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Get possession of the house.<\/p>\n<p>Find the archive.<\/p>\n<p>Destroy anything tying him to the original theft.<\/p>\n<p>Roy convinced himself that if he complied one final time, Victor would release him.<\/p>\n<p>Even after twenty-five years.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy wiped his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believed I was too cowardly to do anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded true.<\/p>\n<p>Before anyone could respond, Elena\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>She answered.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She listened.<\/p>\n<p>Then looked at us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey found Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The relief barely arrived before she continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBadly injured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Diane?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena listened again.<\/p>\n<p>Then closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey found her too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Katz stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n<p>That was answer enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room fell silent.<\/p>\n<p>Diane Mercer was dead.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever choices had brought her into Victor\u2019s orbit, she would never explain them herself.<\/p>\n<p>Elena kept listening.<\/p>\n<p>Then held up one finger.<\/p>\n<p>Something else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>She ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMalcolm was conscious long enough to say Victor is leaving town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy moved toward her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave them a possible location.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elena looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does if Victor believes Arthur left something there that isn\u2019t in the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe final proof.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm\u2019s interrupted phone call returned to me.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur gave it to the only person Victor never thought he would trust.<\/p>\n<p>We had assumed Margaret.<\/p>\n<p>Then the storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>But maybe that was only another layer.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret\u2019s microfilm proved the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>The banker\u2019s boxes proved decades of blackmail.<\/p>\n<p>The recordings proved Victor\u2019s recent threats.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Arthur apparently believed one final piece mattered most.<\/p>\n<p>Something Victor was still willing to kill for.<\/p>\n<p>My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>A text.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>No message.<\/p>\n<p>Only a photograph.<\/p>\n<p>My kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Taken from inside the house.<\/p>\n<p>Current timestamp.<\/p>\n<p>On the table sat Arthur\u2019s gray cardigan.<\/p>\n<p>The same one I had left draped over his chair.<\/p>\n<p>Beside it lay a single handwritten note.<\/p>\n<p>COME HOME ALONE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT ARTHUR NEVER TOLD YOU.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13623\">Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Victor Waited Inside Arthur\u2019s House with One Final Secret, But Helen Realized the Invitation Was Designed for Someone Else Too<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody spoke for several seconds. The storage unit suddenly seemed too small. Roy sat back down on the wooden chair. Sandra remained standing over him. \u201cYou drove Victor to Malcolm?\u201d &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13669,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622\/revisions\/13669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}