The evidence did not provide one.
Daniel told me uncertainty was not an invitation to invent certainty.
We could present the supported timeline and let investigators examine the gaps.
I went for a drive after that meeting.
I passed our former house and felt the familiar urge to stop.
I kept going.
The building looked peaceful from the street.
I finally understood that appearances had never been enough to tell me what happened inside.
Chapter 50: The Morning After the Workshop
After the workshop ended, the young apprentice returned because she had forgotten her notebook.
She found me stacking chairs and asked whether I ever wished I had confronted Preston differently.
I thought about the day I opened the bedroom door.
I remembered how badly I had wanted to erase the scene from my mind.
I told her I wished I had understood the financial warning signs sooner, but I did not regret refusing to turn the confrontation into a fight.
She said her father believed people had to defend their honor immediately.
I answered that honor was not something another man could steal by wearing a robe or making a cruel joke.
What mattered was whether I protected the people who depended on me when the real consequences appeared.
She picked up her notebook and considered that.
Then she asked whether she could use the lesson in a class essay.
I said she could, provided she wrote about the choices rather than the gossip.
She promised she would.
After she left, I switched off the classroom lights and locked the door.
The hallway smelled of fresh paint.
Outside, the evening was warm and a group of children were practicing basketball.
I stood there listening for a moment.
Nothing extraordinary happened.
I was glad.
Chapter 51: The Meeting in the Parking Garage
Preston contacted me through a mutual acquaintance and asked for a private conversation.
Daniel advised against it.
I followed his advice and suggested a meeting with lawyers present.
Preston refused.
Two days later he appeared beside my truck in the parking garage beneath a client office.
He stood with his hands visible and spoke in a low voice.
He said Allison had made errors that might look criminal.
He offered to help protect her if I persuaded Rachel to withdraw certain claims.
I asked him to repeat the proposal into my phone.
He stepped back and said I was threatening him.
I told him I would not discuss evidence in a parking garage.
