{"id":17864,"date":"2026-07-24T17:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=17864"},"modified":"2026-07-25T10:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T10:40:05","slug":"one-year-after-my-husbands-funeral-i-found-his-grave-empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=17864","title":{"rendered":"One Year After My Husband\u2019s Funeral, I Found His Grave Empty\u2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

PART 2: The message had only one line. Don\u2019t answer if you\u2019re with Eleanor. Laura stared at the screen until the words blurred together. Her heart hammered so violently she could hear blood rushing in her ears. She checked the number twice. It was Gabriel\u2019s old cell phone. The same number that had been disconnected the week after his funeral.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n
<\/div>\n

The same number she had called every night for three months just to hear his voicemail before the carrier finally replaced it with an automated message. Her hands trembled. She typed. Who is this? The three dots appeared almost instantly. Then disappeared. Then returned. Finally another message arrived\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PART 3: I only have a few minutes. Don\u2019t call me. Don\u2019t tell anyone. Especially not Eleanor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s throat tightened.<\/p>\n

Gabriel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several seconds passed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She nearly dropped the phone.<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

She called anyway.<\/p>\n

Straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

No greeting.<\/p>\n

Just silence.<\/p>\n

Thirty seconds later another text appeared.<\/p>\n

I said don\u2019t call. They\u2019re watching records.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her fingers moved before she could think.<\/p>\n

Where are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

Five minutes.<\/p>\n

Ten.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Then\u2014<\/p>\n

Can you still get into our old storage unit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She frowned.<\/p>\n

Storage unit?<\/p>\n

She had forgotten about it.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Years ago, before they bought the house, she and Gabriel rented a small storage locker outside Emeryville for furniture they couldn\u2019t fit in their apartment. After moving into the house, they emptied most of it.<\/p>\n

Most.<\/p>\n

Gabriel had insisted on keeping it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cheap,\u201d he had laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never throw anything away.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cOne day you\u2019ll thank me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura hadn\u2019t thought about it since.<\/p>\n

Unit C-118. Use your old key. Go alone. Tomorrow. Noon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another pause.<\/p>\n

Then one final message.<\/p>\n

If anyone asks, you never heard from me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The number immediately became unreachable.<\/p>\n

Laura didn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n

She spent the night replaying every memory from the last eighteen months.<\/p>\n

The accident.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The closed casket.<\/p>\n

Eleanor refusing an autopsy.<\/p>\n

The rushed funeral.<\/p>\n

The missing baby.<\/p>\n

The house.<\/p>\n

The paperwork.<\/p>\n

Everything had happened so fast that she had never been allowed to ask questions.<\/p>\n

Grief had become its own prison.<\/p>\n

Now every locked door suddenly looked intentional.<\/p>\n

At eleven the next morning she drove to Emeryville.<\/p>\n

The storage facility hadn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n

Same faded blue sign.<\/p>\n

Same chain-link fence.<\/p>\n

Same bored manager watching daytime television behind scratched Plexiglas.<\/p>\n

He barely glanced at her driver\u2019s license before buzzing her through.<\/p>\n

Unit C-118 sat at the end of a narrow aisle.<\/p>\n

Dust coated the roll-up door.<\/p>\n

It looked untouched.<\/p>\n

Laura dug through an old key ring she\u2019d almost thrown away months earlier.<\/p>\n

The tiny brass key slid into the lock.<\/p>\n

It still fit.<\/p>\n

The metal door rattled upward.<\/p>\n

Inside\u2026<\/p>\n

Nothing looked unusual.<\/p>\n

An old dining table.<\/p>\n

Wedding decorations.<\/p>\n

Boxes labeled CHRISTMAS.<\/p>\n

Camping gear.<\/p>\n

A bicycle with flat tires.<\/p>\n

For one disappointed second she wondered whether she\u2019d imagined everything.<\/p>\n

Then she noticed something.<\/p>\n

Gabriel had always been obsessively organized.<\/p>\n

Every box had handwritten labels.<\/p>\n

Except one.<\/p>\n

A plain gray file box sat hidden beneath an old quilt.<\/p>\n

No label.<\/p>\n

No dust.<\/p>\n

Someone had touched it recently.<\/p>\n

Laura knelt.<\/p>\n

Inside were dozens of folders.<\/p>\n

Bank statements.<\/p>\n

Insurance records.<\/p>\n

Medical bills.<\/p>\n

Then\u2026<\/p>\n

A sealed envelope.<\/p>\n

Written in Gabriel\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n

If Laura is opening this\u2026I\u2019m either dead\u2026or someone wants her to believe I am.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She stopped breathing.<\/p>\n

The envelope shook so hard she nearly tore it in half opening it.<\/p>\n

Inside was a handwritten letter.<\/p>\n

Laura.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re reading this, something happened exactly the way I feared.<\/em><\/p>\n

First\u2026I love you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Second\u2026don\u2019t trust my mother.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laura covered her mouth.<\/p>\n

Tears poured down her face before she could stop them.<\/p>\n

The letter continued.<\/p>\n

Three years ago I discovered my father didn\u2019t die bankrupt like everyone believes.<\/em><\/p>\n

He left everything to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

But Mother altered documents after his death.<\/em><\/p>\n

She has spent years moving money through fake charities and shell companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I confronted her, she smiled.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo one will believe you over me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I hired an attorney.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two weeks later my brakes failed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n

Not an accident.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re reading this because I actually died\u2026my attorney has everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re reading this because someone says I died but you never saw my body\u2026run.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because she\u2019ll do anything to protect herself.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laura flipped frantically through the remaining pages.<\/p>\n

There was a business card paper-clipped to the back.<\/p>\n

Nathan Caldwell. Attorney at Law.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below it\u2026<\/p>\n

A handwritten address.<\/p>\n

And one final sentence.<\/p>\n

If I disappear\u2026ask Nathan about Project Sparrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

Project Sparrow.<\/p>\n

Laura whispered the words aloud.<\/p>\n

They meant nothing.<\/p>\n

Yet.<\/p>\n

A sudden metallic bang echoed outside.<\/p>\n

Someone had slammed a car door.<\/p>\n

Laura froze.<\/p>\n

Voices.<\/p>\n

Male.<\/p>\n

One of them laughed.<\/p>\n

Then footsteps.<\/p>\n

Slow.<\/p>\n

Getting closer.<\/p>\n

She quietly lowered the storage door until only a few inches remained open.<\/p>\n

Black shoes stopped outside.<\/p>\n

Another pair joined them.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026manager said someone signed into this unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure she\u2019s alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s pulse exploded.<\/p>\n

She recognized the second voice.<\/p>\n

It belonged to Victor.<\/p>\n

Eleanor\u2019s longtime chauffeur.<\/p>\n

The man who had driven the funeral limousine.<\/p>\n

The man who had packed Gabriel\u2019s belongings after the accident.<\/p>\n

The man who had stared at Laura in the hospital without saying a single comforting word.<\/p>\n

Victor.<\/p>\n

Why was he here?<\/p>\n

Laura carefully pulled the door completely shut from inside.<\/p>\n

Darkness swallowed the storage unit.<\/p>\n

She barely dared breathe.<\/p>\n

Outside\u2014<\/p>\n

Metal scraped.<\/p>\n

Someone tried the lock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s locked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe could already be inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

Then\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck every row.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura looked wildly around the cramped storage unit.<\/p>\n

There was no back exit.<\/p>\n

No windows.<\/p>\n

Only stacks of boxes.<\/p>\n

Then she noticed something hidden behind an old wardrobe.<\/p>\n

A narrow maintenance hatch.<\/p>\n

Barely large enough to crawl through.<\/p>\n

Gabriel had never mentioned it.<\/p>\n

She shoved the wardrobe aside as quietly as she could.<\/p>\n

The hatch wasn\u2019t locked.<\/p>\n

Fresh air drifted through the opening.<\/p>\n

Footsteps returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The padlock rattled violently.<\/p>\n

Laura squeezed into the tunnel just as the storage door began to rise.<\/p>\n

She heard Victor\u2019s voice behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then another voice answered with chilling calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura crawled faster through the darkness, clutching Gabriel\u2019s handwritten pages against her chest.<\/p>\n

For the first time since the cemetery\u2026<\/p>\n

She no longer wondered whether someone had lied about Gabriel\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Now she knew something far more terrifying.<\/p>\n

Someone was still willing to kill to keep the truth buried.<\/p>\n

PART 4<\/h2>\n

Laura forced herself forward on her elbows, the rough concrete scraping through the knees of her jeans. The maintenance tunnel was barely two feet high, smelling of dust, mildew, and rusted metal. Cobwebs clung to her hair and face, but she didn\u2019t dare stop to wipe them away.<\/p>\n

Behind her, the voices grew louder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found fresh footprints.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSearch every box.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she\u2019s here, she doesn\u2019t leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor\u2019s voice remained unnervingly calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cEleanor wants everything recovered. Especially the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s pulse thundered.<\/p>\n

Not\u00a0the papers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0the box.<\/em><\/p>\n

The letter.<\/p>\n

They knew exactly what Gabriel had left for her.<\/p>\n

Which meant they already knew Gabriel had expected something to happen.<\/p>\n

The realization chilled her more than the darkness.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t damage control.<\/p>\n

This was a plan that had been in motion for years.<\/p>\n

The tunnel sloped downward before ending at a rusted metal grate. Laura pushed carefully.<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

She pushed harder.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

She looked around in desperation before noticing a corroded latch buried beneath years of dirt. Using the sleeve of her sweater, she scraped away enough grime to flip it open.<\/p>\n

The grate swung outward with a soft groan.<\/p>\n

Sunlight flooded in.<\/p>\n

She emerged behind the storage facility, hidden by an overgrown strip of blackberry bushes that bordered an abandoned railroad track.<\/p>\n

For several seconds she simply lay there, trying to breathe.<\/p>\n

Then she heard shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor.<\/p>\n

Laura didn\u2019t wait to hear more.<\/p>\n

She sprinted toward the street, ducked behind a delivery truck unloading furniture, and disappeared into a crowd outside a grocery store.<\/p>\n

Only after she had boarded a city bus headed toward Oakland did she finally allow herself to look at the rest of Gabriel\u2019s file.<\/p>\n

Hidden beneath the handwritten letter was a flash drive taped inside the bottom of the gray box.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t noticed it before.<\/p>\n

There was also a folded photograph.<\/p>\n

It showed Gabriel standing beside a middle-aged man in a navy suit.<\/p>\n

On the back, Gabriel had written:<\/p>\n

Nathan Caldwell. Trust him. If anything happens to me, he already knows half the truth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Half the truth.<\/p>\n

Laura stared out the bus window.<\/p>\n

Half.<\/p>\n

How much worse could the other half possibly be?<\/p>\n

Nathan Caldwell\u2019s office occupied the third floor of an aging brick building near Jack London Square.<\/p>\n

Unlike the polished downtown firms Gabriel had once used for business contracts, this office looked almost forgotten.<\/p>\n

The receptionist glanced up.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have an appointment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to see Mr. Caldwell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe retired eight months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura felt another door slam shut.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where I can find him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The receptionist hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t meet clients anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt never is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura reached into her purse and placed Gabriel\u2019s handwritten letter on the counter.<\/p>\n

The receptionist\u2019s expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n

She looked at the handwriting.<\/p>\n

Then at Laura.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She disappeared through a hallway.<\/p>\n

Less than two minutes later an elderly man wearing reading glasses emerged from a back office.<\/p>\n

His hair had turned almost completely white, but his eyes sharpened the instant they landed on Laura.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stopped breathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been expecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside his office, Nathan locked the door before lowering the blinds.<\/p>\n

Without speaking, he crossed to a bookshelf.<\/p>\n

He removed three law books.<\/p>\n

Behind them sat a small safe.<\/p>\n

Laura watched silently as he entered a six-digit code.<\/p>\n

Inside were dozens of folders.<\/p>\n

He selected one labeled:<\/p>\n

VANCE \u2013 PRIVATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nathan placed it on the desk but didn\u2019t open it immediately.<\/p>\n

Instead, he studied Laura with visible sadness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always hoped I\u2019d never have to show you this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s voice shook.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Gabriel alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan closed his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the answer she expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard from him in fourteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s heart sank.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he texted me last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan looked genuinely startled.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe what?\u201d<\/p>\n

She handed him her phone.<\/p>\n

He read every message twice.<\/p>\n

When he reached the final one, he slowly removed his glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen everything just changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means Gabriel survived longer than I believed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura grabbed the edge of the desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree years ago Gabriel came to me because he believed someone inside his own family was stealing from the Vance Foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe charity?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan slid several financial statements across the desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was actually used to move millions of dollars overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura stared.<\/p>\n

\u201cEleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened another folder.<\/p>\n

Photos spilled across the desk.<\/p>\n

Men in expensive suits.<\/p>\n

Luxury homes.<\/p>\n

Private jets.<\/p>\n

Wire transfers.<\/p>\n

Government contracts.<\/p>\n

Shell corporations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t simply fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan\u2019s voice grew quieter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was organized financial crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s stomach turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother-in-law?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe inherited the network from her late husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Gabriel said his father\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDied bankrupt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan gave a bitter smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what everyone was supposed to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He leaned forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura\u2026your father-in-law didn\u2019t lose his fortune.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe built it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIllegally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan opened another envelope.<\/p>\n

Inside was an old newspaper clipping.<\/p>\n

LOCAL DEVELOPER DIES OF HEART ATTACK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date.<\/p>\n

Seventeen years earlier.<\/p>\n

Nathan tapped the article.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo autopsy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think he was murdered?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he discovered someone planned to replace him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence filled the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe intended to expose everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan looked toward the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately\u2026someone learned what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura slowly removed the flash drive from her purse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan\u2019s expression changed completely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the storage unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He almost snatched it from her hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy God\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been looking for this for over a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

He plugged it into an old laptop that never touched the internet.<\/p>\n

Several folders appeared.<\/p>\n

ACCOUNTS.<\/p>\n

TRANSFERS.<\/p>\n

AUDIO.<\/p>\n

VIDEO.<\/p>\n

One file immediately caught Nathan\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

PLAY IF I DISAPPEAR.mp4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laura couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

Nathan clicked.<\/p>\n

The screen flickered.<\/p>\n

Gabriel appeared.<\/p>\n

He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n

Unshaven.<\/p>\n

Wearing the same blue jacket Laura remembered from the week before the accident.<\/p>\n

He looked directly into the camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re watching this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled sadly.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026then my mother has already made her move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura burst into tears.<\/p>\n

Gabriel continued speaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know whether I\u2019m dead\u2026or hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m alive, it means I couldn\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m dead, it means they caught me first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan lowered his head.<\/p>\n

Gabriel continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are three people you can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNathan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Detective Samuel Ortiz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s younger sister had vanished from the family years earlier after a bitter argument with Eleanor.<\/p>\n

Everyone had said she was unstable.<\/p>\n

That she had stolen money.<\/p>\n

That she\u2019d cut off the family forever.<\/p>\n

Gabriel continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother told everyone Claire disappeared because of addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was another lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura felt cold all over.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaire ran because she learned what our family really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel leaned closer to the camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Laura is watching this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes softened.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI especially tried to protect our son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura froze.<\/p>\n

Everything inside her stopped.<\/p>\n

Our\u2026<\/p>\n

Son.<\/p>\n

Not\u00a0baby.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0child.<\/em><\/p>\n

Son.<\/p>\n

Alive?<\/p>\n

Gabriel swallowed hard before continuing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything happens before I reach you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The video suddenly glitched.<\/p>\n

Static filled the screen.<\/p>\n

The audio cracked.<\/p>\n

Then the image returned for only two more seconds.<\/p>\n

Gabriel shouted something desperately into the camera.<\/p>\n

But only four words survived the corrupted recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s alive\u2026 don\u2019t let\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The screen went black.<\/p>\n

Laura screamed.<\/p>\n

Nathan immediately began trying to recover the damaged file, but the remaining data was corrupted beyond recognition.<\/p>\n

Laura sat frozen, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.<\/p>\n

Not because Gabriel might be alive.<\/p>\n

Not because Eleanor had lied.<\/p>\n

Not because an entire criminal empire had hidden behind charity dinners and church donations.<\/p>\n

She was crying because, for the first time in over a year\u2026<\/p>\n

Someone had finally said the impossible words.<\/p>\n

Their son might never have died at all.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PART 5<\/h2>\n

Laura couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n

The laptop screen had already gone black, but Gabriel\u2019s last clear words echoed through the office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to protect our son.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0I tried.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0I wish I could have.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0I\u2019m sorry he died.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our son.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alive.<\/p>\n

Nathan quietly closed the laptop.<\/p>\n

Neither of them spoke for nearly a minute.<\/p>\n

Finally Laura whispered, \u201cIf he\u2019s alive\u2026 where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said Gabriel trusted you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen tell me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nathan hesitated before opening the final folder in the safe.<\/p>\n

Inside was a sealed envelope marked:<\/p>\n

THE END! THANKS FOR READING!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART 2: The message had only one line. Don\u2019t answer if you\u2019re with Eleanor. Laura stared at the screen until the words blurred together. Her heart hammered so violently she … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17864"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17902,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17864\/revisions\/17902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}