{"id":9227,"date":"2026-09-27T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=9227"},"modified":"2026-09-27T13:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:00:44","slug":"part-9-the-photograph-of-thomas-and-vane-was-real-but-nora-had-hidden-what-happened-thirty-seconds-after-it-was-taken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=9227","title":{"rendered":"PART 9 \u2013 The Photograph Of Thomas And Vane Was Real, But Nora Had Hidden What Happened Thirty Seconds After It Was Taken"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody reached for the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds it remained in Nora\u2019s hand between us, an ordinary glossy print carrying an impossible fact. Thomas Reed, the man we had spent hours discussing as a vanished victim, stood beside Charles Vane only four months earlier. They were close enough to shake hands. Neither appeared restrained. Neither appeared surprised.<\/p>\n<p>Michael broke the silence first. \u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora\u2019s fingers tightened around the photograph. \u201cMy father sent it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told us you hadn\u2019t heard from him since you were thirteen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said he never came home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael stepped closer. \u201cYou let me spend seven years helping you investigate his disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI needed you to believe he was still missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face hardened. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire pressed one hand against the back of her chair. \u201cThomas contacted you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora looked at her. \u201cSeveral times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened. \u201cAnd you kept that from everyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven after coming here with his letter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian stared at her. \u201cYou came into a police station, announced that you were Chloe\u2019s secret half sister, produced evidence of fraud and attempted murder, and somehow that wasn\u2019t the part you thought might be worth mentioning?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora ignored the sarcasm.<\/p>\n<p>She turned the photograph over.<\/p>\n<p>Writing covered the back.<\/p>\n<p>Three words.<\/p>\n<p>HE DOESN\u2019T KNOW.<\/p>\n<p>Michael took it from her. \u201cDoesn\u2019t know what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Thomas survived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned. \u201cVane is shaking his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence stopped everything.<\/p>\n<p>Dad leaned forward. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora tapped the photograph. \u201cThat man is pretending to be Charles Vane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian took it again. \u201cHe looks exactly like him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom that angle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora reached inside her evidence bag and removed another image.<\/p>\n<p>Same motel.<\/p>\n<p>Same date.<\/p>\n<p>Taken seconds later.<\/p>\n<p>The man beside Thomas had turned toward the camera.<\/p>\n<p>The resemblance to Vane remained strong, but something was wrong. The jawline was broader. The nose had been broken at some point. A pale scar crossed the left temple.<\/p>\n<p>Dad whispered, \u201cI know him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael looked at him sharply. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s expression became uncertain. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was useful,\u201d Sebastian muttered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I mean I\u2019ve seen him before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad closed his eyes as though searching through a room in his memory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn\u2019s funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael went still.<\/p>\n<p>Dad continued. \u201cHe stood in the back of the church. I thought he was one of her old clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora nodded. \u201cHis name is Victor Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She pulled her chair closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve seen that name in the trust records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsulting invoices. Years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael asked, \u201cWhat kind of consultant?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsset recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian gave a humorless laugh. \u201cThat sounds normal until you remember this family treats kidnapping like estate planning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora removed another document.<\/p>\n<p>Victor Hale had worked for Evelyn before her death.<\/p>\n<p>According to payment records, Grandma used him to locate missing assets, investigate Vane\u2019s shell companies, and track financial transfers Rebecca refused to explain.<\/p>\n<p>Then his invoices stopped.<\/p>\n<p>The month Thomas disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Nora. \u201cWhy was your father meeting him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Victor found him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArizona.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had been living under another name outside Tucson.<\/p>\n<p>Not because he was hiding from Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Not because he had abandoned Nora.<\/p>\n<p>Because he believed Vane still had people monitoring both families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy wait sixteen years?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Nora\u2019s face tightened. \u201cBecause he made a mistake after the shooting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe trusted Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her sharply.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas survived the confrontation at Lake Geneva.<\/p>\n<p>Vane believed he had been badly injured.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca believed he had died later.<\/p>\n<p>But Grandma moved him before Vane could verify anything.<\/p>\n<p>She hid him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor his protection?\u201d Dad asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen she used his survival as leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grandma told Thomas that if he resurfaced, Vane would destroy Claire, Michael, and the children connected to them.<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>Nora.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian, though nobody openly admitted his paternity yet.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas accepted a new identity.<\/p>\n<p>Grandma financed it.<\/p>\n<p>And once again, she called control protection.<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cThat sounds like Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward her. \u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot that Thomas survived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Evelyn always believed the worst thing that could happen was public scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo she kept everybody separated because she thought silence was safer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael replied, \u201cAnd Charles benefited every time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The unanswered message on my phone still glowed.<\/p>\n<p>ASK NORA WHAT SHE HASN\u2019T SHOWN YOU.<\/p>\n<p>I held it up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho sent these?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora\u2019s expression shifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have an idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would he warn us about you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he doesn\u2019t trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael said, \u201cNeither do I right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora accepted that without argument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She removed a tiny memory card taped beneath the lining of her bag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father gave me this at the motel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were there?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFour months ago?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting in the photograph had not been discovered by Nora.<\/p>\n<p>She arranged it.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas wanted Victor to believe he was ready to reveal himself.<\/p>\n<p>Victor wanted Thomas to disappear permanently before Vane realized he was alive.<\/p>\n<p>Nora attended from another room.<\/p>\n<p>A hidden camera recorded everything.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian pointed at the card. \u201cThen why show us still photographs instead of the video?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Thomas told me not to play it until Claire was free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked startled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m free now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word landed softly.<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s expression darkened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou physically left St. Agnes. The guardianship still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mara had already contacted attorneys, but legally Rebecca remained Claire\u2019s appointed guardian until a judge ruled otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>That meant Rebecca could report Claire as an endangered patient.<\/p>\n<p>Vane could use the guardianship order to force her return.<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s face went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not going back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one said you are,\u201d Dad replied.<\/p>\n<p>His voice had changed.<\/p>\n<p>No longer hesitant.<\/p>\n<p>No longer trying to keep peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe challenge it today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor nodded. \u201cEmergency petition. We have enough evidence to request suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora inserted the memory card into the station computer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re doing that, you need to understand why Thomas wanted Claire legally independent first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The video opened.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas appeared in the motel room.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>Thin.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>He sat across from Victor Hale.<\/p>\n<p>His voice was clearer than I expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told me Charles doesn\u2019t know you\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor answered, \u201cHe doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Charles knew, neither of us would be sitting here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to Evelyn\u2019s original ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor looked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe hid it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou worked for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean she trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas laughed quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t trust anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why she survived as long as she did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I froze.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian paused the video.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he mean by that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Michael stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn died of a stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora finally answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what the certificate says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s head turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody moved.<\/p>\n<p>He stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother was seventy-six. She collapsed at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho found her?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room chilled.<\/p>\n<p>Nora resumed the video.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked Victor whether Evelyn had discovered who was really behind Vane\u2019s financial network.<\/p>\n<p>Victor said yes.<\/p>\n<p>Then Thomas asked a question none of us understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she tell Arthur?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor answered, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped the video myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnew what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora whispered, \u201cKeep watching.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Rebecca has been lying about Charles too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe had to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Charles Vane doesn\u2019t own the network.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho does?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Onscreen, Thomas asked the same question.<\/p>\n<p>Victor hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>Then answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the frozen image.<\/p>\n<p>Dad made a sound under his breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca can barely understand her credit-card statements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may be what she wanted people to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned.<\/p>\n<p>She looked sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca was always good with money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe constantly said finances confused her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we were teenagers, she kept our father\u2019s books.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad sat down.<\/p>\n<p>Claire continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe studied accounting for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor looked stunned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she dropped out after marrying Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n<p>Everything about Mom\u2019s incompetence began to look different.<\/p>\n<p>The unpaid cards.<\/p>\n<p>The emergency transfers.<\/p>\n<p>The fake mortgage.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe they were not the acts of someone drowning in chaos.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe they were smoke.<\/p>\n<p>Nora resumed the recording.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas pressed Victor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Rebecca owns the network, why is Charles threatening her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor answered, \u201cBecause ownership and control are different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca created several original entities using family money.<\/p>\n<p>Vane expanded them.<\/p>\n<p>Over time, he gained control of the accounts.<\/p>\n<p>But Rebecca retained documents proving how they began.<\/p>\n<p>Neither could destroy the other without risking themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked whether Evelyn knew.<\/p>\n<p>Victor said she discovered it only after Claire\u2019s confinement.<\/p>\n<p>Then Grandma spent years moving properties and hiding assets, trying to create a clean inheritance outside the fraudulent structure.<\/p>\n<p>My trust.<\/p>\n<p>That was why she left it to me.<\/p>\n<p>Not simply because she favored me.<\/p>\n<p>She was trying to place legitimate family assets beyond Rebecca and Vane\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked what happened when Rebecca realized.<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s answer made my hands cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe started draining it before Chloe turned twenty-five.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fake emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian\u2019s condo.<\/p>\n<p>Credit cards.<\/p>\n<p>My payments.<\/p>\n<p>Those were not merely Mom\u2019s lifestyle problems.<\/p>\n<p>She was keeping me financially depleted while extracting assets Grandma intended me to control.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian whispered, \u201cShe knew exactly what she was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>The video continued.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked about the ledger again.<\/p>\n<p>Victor said it was the only record linking Rebecca directly to the earliest fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Without it, prosecutors could prove crimes around Vane but perhaps not Rebecca\u2019s role at the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas asked if Vane had it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor leaned toward the camera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn gave it to someone who didn\u2019t know what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArthur?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichael?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Victor smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe gave it to the one person Rebecca would never search.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas whispered, \u201cSebastian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every head turned toward my brother.<\/p>\n<p>He stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have any ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nora stopped the recording.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas believed you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would know if Grandma gave me a criminal accounting archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael asked, \u201cWhat did she give you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBooks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat books?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad suddenly looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe chess set.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom gave you Evelyn\u2019s chess set after the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recognition crossed his face.<\/p>\n<p>An old walnut chess box.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy.<\/p>\n<p>Scratched.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian had kept it because Grandma taught him to play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>His face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich storage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe unit I rented after selling the condo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to go now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian already had his phone out.<\/p>\n<p>Then he stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe storage unit was broken into last week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was taken?\u201d Nora asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou checked?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI checked the obvious things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas the chess set there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see it afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n<p>A new message.<\/p>\n<p>THEY FOUND THE BOX.<\/p>\n<p>Before I could show anyone, another arrived.<\/p>\n<p>BUT NOT WHAT EVELYN HID INSIDE IT.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Sebastian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat could be inside a chess set that someone stealing it might miss?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face slowly changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe queen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandma replaced one piece before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said the original white queen cracked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael stared.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe replacement was metal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A hollow metal chess piece.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy enough that nobody questioned its weight.<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sebastian swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot in storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI took it years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His cheeks reddened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was Grandma\u2019s favorite piece.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI keep it in my desk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt your apartment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Dad moved toward the door.<\/p>\n<p>Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>This time the number was not hidden.<\/p>\n<p>REBECCA MONTGOMERY.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>Mom did not say hello.<\/p>\n<p>Her first words were a warning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever Sebastian has, do not open it.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=9228\">Click here to continue reading: PART 10: Sebastian\u2019s Metal Chess Queen Contained A Ledger Code, And Rebecca Finally Admitted Why She Had Been Draining My Accounts<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody reached for the photograph. For several seconds it remained in Nora\u2019s hand between us, an ordinary glossy print carrying an impossible fact. Thomas Reed, the man we had spent &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9227","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\/9227","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=9227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9271,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9227\/revisions\/9271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}