For several seconds, I said nothing.<\/p>\n
The words on Marcus\u2019s screen remained ordinary black text.<\/p>\n
Device Owner: Nathan Crowe.<\/p>\n
Registered Network: Meridian Crown Systems.<\/p>\n
Current Location: Grand Whitmore Convention Center.<\/p>\n
The implications were anything but ordinary.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrent location isn\u2019t proof of current access,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Marcus nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. The convention center network only tells us the registered device is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaptop or phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaptop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know whether he brought one?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pictured Nathan in the lobby. Suit. Watch. No briefcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus scrolled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe registration record lists a company-issued Ultralight Pro. We have no authority to seize it without consent or a legal order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no basis to interrupt the competition publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen tapped one finger against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safest step is preservation. Notify championship IT that any activity from the device is to be logged without interference.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd alert counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready done.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n
Eli.<\/p>\n
Where are you? Nathan wants us to eat lunch with him.<\/p>\n
I stared at the message.<\/p>\n
Under ordinary circumstances, the absurdity alone would have made me laugh. Nathan had gone from failing to recognize his sons to proposing lunch in less than two hours.<\/p>\n
Now I wondered what he wanted.<\/p>\n
I typed back.<\/p>\n
Your choice. You owe him nothing. I\u2019m in a meeting. Stay in public areas and don\u2019t miss your rounds.<\/p>\n
Three dots appeared.<\/p>\n
Then Eli replied.<\/p>\n
We said no.<\/p>\n
A second message followed from Ethan.<\/p>\n
He offered steak.<\/p>\n
I typed:<\/p>\n
Tragic sacrifice.<\/p>\n
Ethan answered with a photo of a championship turkey sandwich wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n
This is abuse.<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I smiled.<\/p>\n
Helen noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are they handling him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus closed his laptop halfway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMara, if you need to recuse completely, say so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already recused from any decision involving their competition scores.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean from the Crowe inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
My sons were now directly affected by an investigation involving their father and half brother. What had previously been a disclosed personal history had become an active collision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want counsel to review it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they recommend recusal, I\u2019m out immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo argument?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus studied me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been on this investigation for four months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is exactly why I won\u2019t give Nathan an excuse to challenge legitimate findings later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen smiled without warmth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll challenge them regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I want him to lose on facts.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I returned to the public level, the lunch break had begun.<\/p>\n
Students filled folding tables throughout the atrium. Teachers opened coolers. Parents distributed sandwiches. A group from a rural school sat on the floor beside a planter, sharing homemade cookies from a metal tin.<\/p>\n
I found Eli and Ethan at the far end of a table with two competitors from another district.<\/p>\n
Nathan was standing beside them.<\/p>\n
Of course he was.<\/p>\n
He had pulled up a chair, though neither twin had invited him to sit.<\/p>\n
Celeste stood nearby with Preston.<\/p>\n
The six of them formed a family arrangement no one had ever planned.<\/p>\n
I slowed.<\/p>\n
Preston saw me first.<\/p>\n
His expression was different from earlier.<\/p>\n
He knew.<\/p>\n
I could tell before anyone said a word.<\/p>\n
Nathan must have told him.<\/p>\n
Or Celeste had.<\/p>\n
Preston looked at Eli, then Ethan, then me.<\/p>\n
Not hostile.<\/p>\n
Stunned.<\/p>\n
Ethan spotted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just speaking with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eli folded the corner of a napkin.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan ignored the implication.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost asked whether he remembered he did not own the table.<\/p>\n
Instead, I took the empty chair beside Ethan.<\/p>\n
Preston continued watching the twins.<\/p>\n
Finally he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re my brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
Preston nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The awkwardness was painful because none of the teenagers had created it.<\/p>\n
Celeste touched Preston\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to distract you before your events.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not entirely true, but I understood why she said it.<\/p>\n
Preston looked at Nathan.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew they were here this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean you didn\u2019t recognize them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Preston looked down.<\/p>\n
That silence told him more than Nathan could have.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know you had other kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nathan stiffened.<\/p>\n
Celeste answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were going to explain when you were older.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preston gave her a look that only a sixteen-year-old could deliver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never seemed like the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eli\u2019s fingers stopped folding the napkin.<\/p>\n
Ethan leaned back.<\/p>\n
Preston looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Ethan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preston swallowed.<\/p>\n
That answer hurt him.<\/p>\n
I could see it.<\/p>\n
One family had been erased from Nathan\u2019s daily life.<\/p>\n
The other had been protected from knowledge of the erasure.<\/p>\n
Both groups of children had paid for the arrangement in different ways.<\/p>\n
Nathan rested his forearms on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t how I wanted any of you to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eli looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you want us to find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan had no answer.<\/p>\n
Preston\u2019s cheeks reddened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need some air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Celeste reached for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreston\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
Nathan did too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have science finals in an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don\u2019t let this get in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preston stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan realized too late how the word sounded.<\/p>\n
Preston stepped away.<\/p>\n
Celeste followed.<\/p>\n
For a moment Nathan seemed torn between going after the son he had raised and staying with the sons he had just rediscovered.<\/p>\n
He stayed.<\/p>\n
That choice did not impress Eli.<\/p>\n
Nathan sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is difficult for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan looked toward the hallway where Preston disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably more difficult for him than you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll speak with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re good at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan\u2019s voice remained mild.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaking after things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I put a hand flat on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve let them form a very specific picture of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey formed it from absence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kept away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eli\u2019s chair scraped softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan met his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my pulse jump.<\/p>\n
Eli went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered without looking away from Nathan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you kept away?\u201d Eli repeated.<\/p>\n
Nathan exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother and I had attorneys involved. It wasn\u2019t simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Ethan.<\/p>\n
He shrugged slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not little.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
The boys had asked years ago to read the divorce documents. I had given them access when they were fifteen, after warning them the records would answer legal questions but not emotional ones.<\/p>\n
Nathan had signed voluntarily.<\/p>\n
The document could not be argued with.<\/p>\n
Eli leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou waived visitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou showed them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sixteen,\u201d Ethan said.<\/p>\n
Nathan ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should have stayed between adults.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision involved them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted them against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pushed my chair back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every nearby sound sharpened.<\/p>\n
Plastic wrappers.<\/p>\n
Shoes on tile.<\/p>\n
Distant laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to accuse me of poisoning children against a man who disappeared without requiring my help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan stared.<\/p>\n
My voice stayed low.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent years giving you softer explanations than you earned.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed slightly.<\/p>\n
Eli looked at me.<\/p>\n
I had never said that in front of them.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s eyes dropped to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat explanations?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you were busy. That adults sometimes failed. That maybe you were ashamed and didn\u2019t know how to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost believed him.<\/p>\n
Then his next sentence came.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you could have made it easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan shut his eyes.<\/p>\n
Eli looked away.<\/p>\n
The opportunity was gone.<\/p>\n
Nathan had been offered a door no wider than a sentence, and he still could not walk through without blaming someone else for the distance.<\/p>\n
An announcement called semifinalists to the mathematics hall.<\/p>\n
Ethan stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerfect timing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched his elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cFocus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan paused.<\/p>\n
He looked at Nathan for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not forgiveness.<\/p>\n
But it was more grace than Nathan deserved.<\/p>\n
Ethan walked away.<\/p>\n
A second announcement called engineering finalists to Hall C.<\/p>\n
Eli stood too.<\/p>\n
Nathan spoke quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEli.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it. Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eli\u2019s expression softened by a fraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he left.<\/p>\n
Nathan watched both sons disappear in opposite directions.<\/p>\n
He sat back down slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gathered the empty wrappers from the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came out before I considered whether to soften them.<\/p>\n
Nathan absorbed the answer.<\/p>\n
His phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
He removed it from his jacket.<\/p>\n
At the same instant, I heard another sound.<\/p>\n
A faint electronic chime from the black messenger case resting beneath his chair.<\/p>\n
I had not noticed it before.<\/p>\n
Nathan did.<\/p>\n
His foot shifted toward the bag.<\/p>\n
I looked down.<\/p>\n
Black nylon.<\/p>\n
Slim.<\/p>\n
Large enough for a laptop.<\/p>\n
Nathan followed my gaze.<\/p>\n
Something passed across his face.<\/p>\n
Too quick to name.<\/p>\n
He bent and picked up the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to take this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started to walk away.<\/p>\n
My heart accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
I forced myself to keep my voice ordinary.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you working today?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompany laptop?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
For two seconds, we simply watched each other.<\/p>\n
Then Nathan walked toward a quiet corridor.<\/p>\n
I did not follow him.<\/p>\n
That would have crossed a line.<\/p>\n
Instead, I took out my phone and called Marcus.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has the laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you identify it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack case. I haven\u2019t seen the device itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re logging traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything active?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Keyboard sounds.<\/p>\n
Then Marcus inhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe registered device just connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn external encrypted storage service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we see what it transferred?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched Nathan disappear around the corridor corner.<\/p>\n
Marcus continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Mara?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe connection started less than thirty seconds after the science semifinal packet was released to the secure judging server.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I said nothing. The words on Marcus\u2019s screen remained ordinary black text. Device Owner: Nathan Crowe. Registered Network: Meridian Crown Systems. Current Location: Grand Whitmore Convention Center. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":890,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}