{"id":13753,"date":"2026-10-04T19:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13753"},"modified":"2026-10-04T19:30:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:30:56","slug":"part-12-the-ledgers-proved-victor-and-evan-had-been-financing-both-sides-while-richards-escape-forced-me-to-question-who-wanted-him-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13753","title":{"rendered":"PART 12 \u2013 The Ledgers Proved Victor and Evan Had Been Financing Both Sides, While Richard\u2019s Escape Forced Me to Question Who Wanted Him Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Pierce was brought to the station in handcuffs just after midnight.<\/p>\n<p>I watched through the interview-room glass with Rachel beside me.<\/p>\n<p>He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>Bruise beneath one eye.<\/p>\n<p>Split lip.<\/p>\n<p>Dried blood on his shirt.<\/p>\n<p>Still, there was something almost amused in the way he sat.<\/p>\n<p>As if arrest were merely another room he expected to pass through.<\/p>\n<p>Harris entered first.<\/p>\n<p>I was not permitted inside initially.<\/p>\n<p>That lasted twelve minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Then Michael refused to speak unless Rachel and I were present.<\/p>\n<p>Harris hated the condition.<\/p>\n<p>He accepted it.<\/p>\n<p>We sat opposite him.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at her brother for several seconds before saying anything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou let Richard go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what they told you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor wasn\u2019t his hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he was originally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did that change?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Victor convinced Evan that Richard was more dangerous alive outside their control than guilty in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sentence doesn\u2019t answer anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt answers enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound like Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m learning not to take that as a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, he smiled genuinely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris placed a photograph on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Victor handing Evan the folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s before Evan told me Victor was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvolved in what?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur brother\u2019s accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan told you Victor tried to kill Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Evan was secretly meeting Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Now he understood.<\/p>\n<p>His brother had manipulated him too.<\/p>\n<p>Family tradition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was in the folder?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have a theory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich ones?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTransfers connected to Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe original ledgers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Copies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Victor give Evan evidence against Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo direct him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris asked, \u201cToward what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at the mirror.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToward killing him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel whispered, \u201cYou were going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>No denial.<\/p>\n<p>No excuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believed Richard murdered Evan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan was standing beside Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did he reveal himself to you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same time you entered Daniel\u2019s life as Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy hide your relationship from Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe made me promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat reason?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Rachel would get herself killed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently he knows me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael ignored her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he had spent years building a case against Victor and Richard. If either knew I had found him, they would disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you pretended he was still dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd worked your way toward Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Daniel connected everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was true.<\/p>\n<p>Richard recruited him.<\/p>\n<p>Victor paid him.<\/p>\n<p>Evan approached him.<\/p>\n<p>Michael used him.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel distrusted him.<\/p>\n<p>And I married him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Evan want from Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe location of the settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Daniel betrayed both of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe betrayed everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel said, \u201cIncluding himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEspecially himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris placed copies of ledger pages on the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain these.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Payments to Evan after his death.<\/p>\n<p>Payments to Michael\u2019s shell company.<\/p>\n<p>Transfers from Victor-controlled entities.<\/p>\n<p>Michael studied them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can explain mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe three hundred thousand was bait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBait?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor believed he was paying me to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would he pay you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Richard had ordered someone to sabotage Evan\u2019s boat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mouth twisted around the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dead brother returned and told me the sabotage wasn\u2019t meant to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was meant to make him vanish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he could become Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re saying Evan agreed to the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. The sabotage was real. The plan came afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan survived. Victor found him before police did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor had been following him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. For himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor realized Evan could disappear officially and become useful unofficially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is monstrous,\u201d Rachel said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter nearly dying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Victor staged the body identification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose body?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at Harris.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA drifter recovered farther down the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>She had mourned a stranger.<\/p>\n<p>Buried him under her brother\u2019s name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid your mother know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer devastated her.<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan said that was the worst thing he ever did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot bad enough to come home,\u201d Rachel whispered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood something then.<\/p>\n<p>Evan\u2019s survival had not healed the family.<\/p>\n<p>It had created another deception.<\/p>\n<p>Another person deciding the truth was too dangerous for someone else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Victor get from Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what did Evan get?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDocuments. Money. A new identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas Reed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy work directly for Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo watch him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris tapped the ledger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese payments show Victor financing him for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo were they enemies or partners?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer explained too much.<\/p>\n<p>Victor and Evan needed one another.<\/p>\n<p>Distrusted one another.<\/p>\n<p>Used one another.<\/p>\n<p>Just like Victor and my father.<\/p>\n<p>Just like Daniel and Richard.<\/p>\n<p>Every alliance in this story had two edges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Victor now?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou saw him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn office Richard owns through another company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAddress?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael gave it.<\/p>\n<p>Harris passed it to an officer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI intercepted him leaving the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sent Claire the photo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I finally had confirmation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich other messages did you send?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe photo of Rachel\u2019s bracelet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou staged that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou put makeup on me for the hostage photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went silent.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stared at her brother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan tied me up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTemporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stood so fast her chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTemporarily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris motioned for her to sit.<\/p>\n<p>She ignored him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy own brother tied me to a chair and photographed me bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he needed Claire to believe the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo save her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo force her to freeze Daniel\u2019s access and bring police attention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered the exact sequence.<\/p>\n<p>The threats had pushed me toward evidence.<\/p>\n<p>The storage unit.<\/p>\n<p>The blue house.<\/p>\n<p>The tapes.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had been directing me.<\/p>\n<p>Not toward safety.<\/p>\n<p>Toward discovery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan used me like a search dog.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s expression softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe believed Robert designed everything around you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father designed the clues for both daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. Evan didn\u2019t know that until later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he think seventeen meant?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd twenty-three?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had seen it in Elaine\u2019s papers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So Rachel\u2019s number came partly from her mother, as Evan had said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Elaine know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel sat again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom told me twenty-three was the day she met Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The twenty-third.<\/p>\n<p>Not simply a cipher.<\/p>\n<p>A private marker.<\/p>\n<p>Our father had borrowed it for the final puzzle.<\/p>\n<p>Harris returned to Richard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael gave the address of an abandoned accounting office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted a confession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you get one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he admit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStealing from Carter Industries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver twelve million before Robert discovered it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than anyone thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he admit arranging my father\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Victor did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Convenient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Richard lies even when the truth would help him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That description felt familiar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened when Evan arrived?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe brought Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTied?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the hostage photo was real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor told Richard the ledgers had been found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Harris.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did Victor know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the interesting part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause someone inside the evidence chain told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>The ledgers had only been recovered hours earlier.<\/p>\n<p>If Victor knew, someone connected to police, the cemetery, or the investigation had leaked it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor didn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard offered a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat deal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe location of offshore accounts in exchange for being released.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel whispered, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause one of those accounts belongs to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have an offshore account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do if your father created one in your name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My father.<\/p>\n<p>Another hidden asset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard said eighteen million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even Harris stopped moving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEighteen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccumulated over twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom stolen company money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen it isn\u2019t mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegally, maybe not. On paper, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood immediately why control mattered.<\/p>\n<p>A hidden account in my name could make me look complicit in my father\u2019s financial crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Richard could use it against me.<\/p>\n<p>Victor could manipulate it.<\/p>\n<p>Evan could expose it.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel could help access it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Richard prove it existed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe showed Evan a partial statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Evan released him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo get the account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s face collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe chose money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else do you call it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe believes the account contains the transfer history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The eighteen million was not simply money.<\/p>\n<p>It was evidence.<\/p>\n<p>A map of where funds had gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard said the transaction history identifies everyone who participated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd whoever arranged my father\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the payment came through it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris asked, \u201cWhere is Richard going?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZurich.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That explained the abandoned airport plan.<\/p>\n<p>Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor\u2019s ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard arranged it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the man using Victor\u2019s passport\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas a decoy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Everything designed to look like someone else.<\/p>\n<p>Harris stood and began issuing instructions.<\/p>\n<p>International alerts.<\/p>\n<p>Airports.<\/p>\n<p>Border crossings.<\/p>\n<p>Financial-crimes contacts.<\/p>\n<p>I remained seated.<\/p>\n<p>Something still bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Evan needed Richard alive to access the account, why take Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael answered quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Victor knows the authorization phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat phrase?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how does Claire fit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked directly at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re the account holder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey need both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou and Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Richard knows where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three keys.<\/p>\n<p>Location.<\/p>\n<p>Authorization.<\/p>\n<p>Owner.<\/p>\n<p>That was why nobody had simply killed everyone.<\/p>\n<p>They needed one another alive.<\/p>\n<p>For now.<\/p>\n<p>My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>A message from Rachel\u2019s number.<\/p>\n<p>But Rachel sat beside me.<\/p>\n<p>We both looked at her phone.<\/p>\n<p>It was in an evidence bag on the table.<\/p>\n<p>The message had been spoofed.<\/p>\n<p>A photograph appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Victor and Evan stood beside a private aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>Richard was visible in the background.<\/p>\n<p>All three alive.<\/p>\n<p>All three apparently together.<\/p>\n<p>The caption said:<\/p>\n<p>THEY ARE NOT ENEMIES ANYMORE.<\/p>\n<p>Then another:<\/p>\n<p>THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED EXCEPT YOU.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris was already shouting for the airport teams.<\/p>\n<p>A final message appeared.<\/p>\n<p>A set of coordinates.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>COME ALONE OR THE ACCOUNT OPENS IN YOUR NAME WITHOUT YOU.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n<p>He stared at the coordinates.<\/p>\n<p>His face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know the place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father\u2019s old airfield.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered it.<\/p>\n<p>A private landing strip Carter Industries once used for executives.<\/p>\n<p>Abandoned after my father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf all three of them are there, something has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard, Victor, and Evan have spent years trying to destroy one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the message again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow they\u2019re afraid of the same person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt the room narrow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael\u2019s answer came quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever actually paid Dr. Voss to kill your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13754\">Click here to continue reading: PART 13: At My Father\u2019s Abandoned Airfield, Three Lifelong Enemies Waited Together Because the Man Behind His Murder Had Finally Returned<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Pierce was brought to the station in handcuffs just after midnight. I watched through the interview-room glass with Rachel beside me. He looked exhausted. Bruise beneath one eye. Split &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13753","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\/13753","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=13753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13796,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13753\/revisions\/13796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}