And that stroke, there, at the end.

That isn’t mine.” And Alvin, looking at his father, a woodworker who had spent his life knowing the grain of things, who could see a warp in a board others would miss, believed him completely.

He took high-resolution photographs of the document and sent them straight to Inez.

Her reply came ten minutes later: Do not move the original box.

Do not confront them yet.