{"id":14305,"date":"2026-10-05T19:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T19:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14305"},"modified":"2026-10-05T19:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T19:44:24","slug":"part-19-the-second-passport-led-investigators-to-a-safe-deposit-box-where-curtis-had-stored-more-than-money-and-escape-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14305","title":{"rendered":"PART 19 \u2013 The Second Passport Led Investigators to a Safe-Deposit Box, Where Curtis Had Stored More Than Money and Escape Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Investigator Ortiz called before we reached the parking garage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We turned around.<\/p>\n<p>By the time we returned to the financial crimes office, Priya had already transmitted Vanessa\u2019s statement about the second passport and cash.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz was moving quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel denies knowledge of a false passport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says the cash belonged to Ashford.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says Curtis had the safe combination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he admit that directly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Mr. Hale had legitimate access to business records and emergency reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmergency reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEighty thousand dollars in cash is legitimate now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz gave me a look.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said that is what Daniel claims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re coordinating with Canadian authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPassport?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCash?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three missing things.<\/p>\n<p>All potentially traveling the same direction.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz sat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is another issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe traced one of the Ashford entities to a bank that maintains safe-deposit services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Daniel\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurtis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She slid a sheet toward me.<\/p>\n<p>The lessee was Franklin Saye.<\/p>\n<p>The broker.<\/p>\n<p>I felt a small piece click into place.<\/p>\n<p>Franklin had been part of the network sixteen years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis brought him back for the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Saye say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says Curtis asked him to rent the box for document storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would a broker agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says he never opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The box had been frozen pending a warrant.<\/p>\n<p>By evening, Ortiz had authority to open it.<\/p>\n<p>I was not allowed inside the bank vault.<\/p>\n<p>I waited in an interview room nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam sat across from me reading messages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop tapping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not tapping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked down.<\/p>\n<p>My cane tip was striking the floor every few seconds.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We waited another forty minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz returned carrying photographs.<\/p>\n<p>Not evidence itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMultiple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She placed the first image down.<\/p>\n<p>Three passports.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s real passport.<\/p>\n<p>A second Canadian passport with Daniel\u2019s photograph under the name David Vance.<\/p>\n<p>And one British passport with Curtis Hale\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCash?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThirty-two thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot eighty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExternal drive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBox 7 documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz placed another photograph.<\/p>\n<p>A ledger.<\/p>\n<p>Handwritten.<\/p>\n<p>Initials.<\/p>\n<p>Dates.<\/p>\n<p>Amounts.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurtis\u2019s handwriting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The entries stretched back nearly fifteen years.<\/p>\n<p>C.H.<\/p>\n<p>D.V.<\/p>\n<p>F.S.<\/p>\n<p>C.D.<\/p>\n<p>R.V.<\/p>\n<p>Some initials obvious.<\/p>\n<p>Others not.<\/p>\n<p>Payments.<\/p>\n<p>Transfers.<\/p>\n<p>Collections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCollections?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral entries are labeled recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same word from Meridian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecovery of what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned another photograph.<\/p>\n<p>A list of people.<\/p>\n<p>Names beside dollar amounts.<\/p>\n<p>Some marked CLOSED.<\/p>\n<p>Others ACTIVE.<\/p>\n<p>One name made my blood run cold.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Vance.<\/p>\n<p>CLOSED.<\/p>\n<p>Below it:<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Vance.<\/p>\n<p>ACTIVE.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does active mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe entry appears recent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow recent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the guardianship petition.<\/p>\n<p>I felt anger rise.<\/p>\n<p>Not fear.<\/p>\n<p>Not anymore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>Then showed me a page from the back.<\/p>\n<p>My daily routines.<\/p>\n<p>Bank.<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacy.<\/p>\n<p>Grocery store.<\/p>\n<p>Doctor.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Home.<\/p>\n<p>Dates.<\/p>\n<p>Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaleb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My life reduced to movements.<\/p>\n<p>Another page contained notes.<\/p>\n<p>E.V. resistant to displacement.<\/p>\n<p>E.V. unlikely to sign voluntarily.<\/p>\n<p>Family-pressure route preferred.<\/p>\n<p>I read the words twice.<\/p>\n<p>Not medical concern.<\/p>\n<p>Not care.<\/p>\n<p>Displacement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho wrote this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes this look like Daniel\u2019s handwriting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurtis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCloser.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis abbreviation style matches the old Meridian memo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I saw it too.<\/p>\n<p>Not proof.<\/p>\n<p>Pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Another page:<\/p>\n<p>If incapacity fails, consider lien pressure.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Ortiz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat lien?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould they create a debt against my house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot legitimately without basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has never stopped them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas anything filed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing current that we\u2019ve identified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrafts?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She showed another image.<\/p>\n<p>A promissory note.<\/p>\n<p>Borrower: Eleanor M. Vance.<\/p>\n<p>Lender: Ashford Development Holdings.<\/p>\n<p>Principal: $375,000.<\/p>\n<p>My forged signature appeared at the bottom.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>I felt oddly calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many times does a person get to forge the same woman before it stops being surprising?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am past angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She held my gaze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are quieter. That is different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz continued.<\/p>\n<p>The note was dated five months before the guardianship filing.<\/p>\n<p>If used, it could support a claim that I owed Ashford money.<\/p>\n<p>Potential lien.<\/p>\n<p>Financial pressure.<\/p>\n<p>A second route if incapacity failed.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Redundancy.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis built systems the way Robert did.<\/p>\n<p>But for different purposes.<\/p>\n<p>If one failed, another remained.<\/p>\n<p>Guardianship.<\/p>\n<p>Forged debt.<\/p>\n<p>Below-market sale.<\/p>\n<p>Power of attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Each path led to the same destination.<\/p>\n<p>My property under someone else\u2019s control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the safe-deposit access log?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam asked.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz showed it.<\/p>\n<p>Franklin Saye opened the box twice.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis entered with him four times.<\/p>\n<p>Caleb once.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel never.<\/p>\n<p>That was interesting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel may not have known this existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich means Curtis kept his own insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was that word again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind of documents would Curtis keep to protect himself?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence showing other people agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Blame distribution.<\/p>\n<p>If things failed, everyone had fingerprints.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz turned to the final photograph.<\/p>\n<p>A memory card.<\/p>\n<p>Small.<\/p>\n<p>Labeled RV.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Vance.<\/p>\n<p>My body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is on it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have not examined it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was encrypted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone in my life had become fond of encryption.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForensic team has it now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall me when it opens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz said, \u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat again.<\/p>\n<p>She placed an envelope photograph down.<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n<p>Not a copy.<\/p>\n<p>Original.<\/p>\n<p>On the front:<\/p>\n<p>Curtis \u2014 last chance.<\/p>\n<p>My breath stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the safe-deposit box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did Curtis get it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOpen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz had a copy.<\/p>\n<p>The letter was dated four months before Robert died.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier than the encrypted recording.<\/p>\n<p>Robert accused Curtis of approaching Daniel again.<\/p>\n<p>He referenced Meridian.<\/p>\n<p>The fake Feld Mercer entity.<\/p>\n<p>The old forged authorization.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote:<\/p>\n<p>You stayed away because I let you believe silence was permanent.<\/p>\n<p>It is not.<\/p>\n<p>If you involve Daniel in my property or Eleanor\u2019s finances, I will provide everything I have to Miriam and the authorities.<\/p>\n<p>I am no longer willing to protect my son by protecting you.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Robert had finally seen the connection.<\/p>\n<p>Protecting Daniel had protected Curtis.<\/p>\n<p>His rescue had sustained both.<\/p>\n<p>Then the final paragraph:<\/p>\n<p>I know what you took from Meridian before it dissolved.<\/p>\n<p>Return it.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he take?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecords?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething Robert could prove?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam read the line again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore it dissolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meridian dissolved twelve years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever Curtis took had remained unresolved all that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat assets remained?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz opened archived corporate records.<\/p>\n<p>Meridian reported minimal cash at dissolution.<\/p>\n<p>Computers.<\/p>\n<p>Files.<\/p>\n<p>One listed intangible asset.<\/p>\n<p>Client recovery database.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miriam frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould be contact and settlement records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Robert care?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe because it contained evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Box 7.<\/p>\n<p>Surveillance.<\/p>\n<p>Fake invoices.<\/p>\n<p>Forged authorizations.<\/p>\n<p>A database could connect everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid it transfer to Hale Property Advisory?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why tell Curtis to return it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe Robert believed the original was not supposed to go with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom did it belong?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>Then Miriam\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Meridian created records while resolving Daniel\u2019s claims using Daniel\u2019s customer information, some source material may have belonged to the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr Robert,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz\u2019s phone buzzed.<\/p>\n<p>She read the message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe memory card is partially accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRV?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA video.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert and Curtis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>The recording date was one month before Robert\u2019s last confrontation with Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>We watched.<\/p>\n<p>Robert sat in his study.<\/p>\n<p>Thinner.<\/p>\n<p>A blanket over his legs.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis stood near the desk.<\/p>\n<p>I had never seen him there.<\/p>\n<p>That angered me more than expected.<\/p>\n<p>He had been inside my home while I was caring for Robert somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>The video had been recorded from the interior camera Robert must have activated himself.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis said, \u201cYou\u2019re making a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert replied, \u201cI made it sixteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou protected your son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI protected his consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou always needed to believe you were morally cleaner than the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s voice stayed calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI paid people Daniel owed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou also buried records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou approved transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou funded Meridian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen be careful about declaring yourself a victim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert coughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer surprised Curtis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m complicit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word hit me.<\/p>\n<p>Robert continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is why I\u2019m fixing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis looked toward the desk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you have?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo do what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForce you away from my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel comes to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you taught him panic is a business model.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>Robert leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd because you keep something over him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>There.<\/p>\n<p>The center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d Curtis asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou heard me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re sick, Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedication makes people suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert laughed weakly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry that on Eleanor sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite everything, I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis moved closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBe very careful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have no idea what Daniel signed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis realized he had said too much.<\/p>\n<p>He turned away.<\/p>\n<p>Robert said, \u201cWhat did he sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis left.<\/p>\n<p>The video ended.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the blank screen.<\/p>\n<p>Not what Daniel stole.<\/p>\n<p>Not what he owed.<\/p>\n<p>What he signed.<\/p>\n<p>Something Curtis could hold over him.<\/p>\n<p>Something perhaps older than Ashford.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe older than the house plan.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz said the rest of the memory card was still being recovered.<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Daniel\u2019s lifelong fear of Curtis.<\/p>\n<p>His obedience even when angry.<\/p>\n<p>His insistence that Hale was necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe debt alone did not explain it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Daniel sign?\u201d Miriam whispered.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the safe-deposit ledger.<\/p>\n<p>The fake passport.<\/p>\n<p>The forged note in my name.<\/p>\n<p>The exit cash.<\/p>\n<p>Then another thought surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe something that made Curtis\u2019s crimes look like Daniel\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>That was the logical move.<\/p>\n<p>Curtis never carried risk alone.<\/p>\n<p>He distributed it.<\/p>\n<p>If Daniel ever turned on him, Curtis would need documents proving Daniel was not merely client or victim.<\/p>\n<p>But participant.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe even principal.<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk Daniel about the signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked again at Robert\u2019s frozen image on the monitor.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, I understood why he had seemed frightened during his final months.<\/p>\n<p>He was not only afraid Daniel would lose everything.<\/p>\n<p>He was afraid Curtis had arranged things so Daniel could never escape without destroying himself.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14306\">Click here to continue reading: PART 20: The Document Curtis Held Over Daniel Was Finally Found, and It Made My Son Both More Guilty and More Trapped Than I Expected<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investigator Ortiz called before we reached the parking garage. \u201cCome back.\u201d We turned around. By the time we returned to the financial crimes office, Priya had already transmitted Vanessa\u2019s statement &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14305","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\/14305","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=14305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14378,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14305\/revisions\/14378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}