Page 21 of Not This Soon

Finally, Mr. Morris spoke, his voice low and controlled. "Rebecca made her choices. She knew the risks of her job, the enemies she made. She didn't care about the consequences, about how it affected her family."

Rachel nodded slowly, her mind processing his words. The resentment in his tone was palpable, hinting at a deeper rift between father and daughter.

She glanced at Mrs. Morris, who seemed to shrink further into her chair, her eyes fixed on the floor. The dynamic between the couple was strained.

Rachel leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting on the metal table. "Mr. Morris, I understand that Rebecca's work may have caused some difficulties for your family. Can you tell me more about that?"

Mr. Morris's jaw clenched, his fingers curling into fists on the table. "Difficulties? That's an understatement. She nearly ruined us, dragging our name through the mud with her so-called investigations."

Rachel's eyes narrowed, her instincts as a ranger telling her there was more to the story. "What kind of investigations?"

Mr. Morris scoffed, shaking his head. "She went after powerful people, poking her nose where it didn't belong. And for what? Some misguided sense of justice?"

Mrs. Morris's head snapped up, her eyes wide with alarm. "Robert, please..."

But Mr. Morris ignored her, his attention focused solely on Rachel. "She didn't care about the consequences, about the damage she caused. She was selfish, reckless. And now look where it's gotten her."

Rachel sat back in her chair, her mind racing. The tension in the room was thick, the air charged with unspoken secrets and long-held grudges.

She studied Mr. Morris's face, taking in the lines of anger and frustration etched into his features. There was something more than just a father's concern behind his words, a bitterness that spoke of a deeper wound.

Rachel's gut told her that the key to unlocking the mystery of Rebecca's disappearance lay in the tangled web of her family's history. She would need to proceed with caution, to peel back the layers of resentment and hurt to uncover the truth.

But for now, she had to keep Mr. Morris talking, to gather as much information as she could. She took a deep breath. She leaned forward, her elbows resting on the cold metal table. She fixed Mr. Morris with a steady gaze. "I understand that there may be some difficult history between you and your daughter. But I need you to be honest with me. When was the last time you spoke with Rebecca?"

Mr. Morris's jaw clenched. He glanced at his wife, who had gone pale, her hands trembling in her lap. "It's been... a long time. Years, maybe. She cut us out of her life, decided she didn't need her family anymore."

Rachel noted the bitterness in his tone, the way his words dripped with resentment. "And why was that? What happened between you?"

Robert Morris' eyes flashed with anger. "She betrayed us. Betrayed everything we stood for. She went after my business, my reputation. Wrote those damn articles, stirred up trouble where there was none."

Mrs. Morris reached out, placing a hand on her husband's arm. "Robert, please. This isn't helping."

But Mr. Morris shook her off, his voice rising. "No, she needs to hear this. Our daughter was a traitor. She turned her back on her own family, on everything we gave her. And for what? To play at being some kind of hero? To make a name for herself, no matter who she hurt in the process?"

Rachel watched the exchange, her mind whirring. The pieces were starting to fall into place, the picture of a family torn apart by secrets and lies.

She turned back to Mr. Morris, her expression neutral. "I understand that you're angry, Mr. Morris. But I need to know more about these articles Rebecca wrote. What exactly did she uncover? And who was hurt by her revelations?"

Mr. Morris hesitated, his eyes darting back and forth between Rachel and his wife. For a moment, Rachel thought he might refuse to answer. But then he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Mr. Morris pulled out his phone, his fingers jabbing at the screen with barely contained rage. "She went after my business partners, my clients. Anyone she thought might have a skeleton in their closet. She didn't care about the consequences, about the lives she was ruining."

He thrust the phone at Rachel, the screen displaying a series of articles with bold, accusatory headlines. "There. See for yourself what our daughter was capable of."

Rachel scrolled through the articles, her eyes widening as she took in the scope of Rebecca's investigations. Corruption, fraud, abuse of power - it seemed no one was safe from the young journalist's probing gaze.

Mrs. Morris's sobs grew louder, her face buried in her hands. "Please, Robert. Don't do this. Don't drag our family through the mud."

But Mr. Morris ignored her, his attention fixed solely on Rachel. "She was sleeping with her sources, you know. Using her body to get what she wanted. She was no better than a common whore."

The words hung in the air, harsh and unforgiving. Rachel felt a surge of anger on behalf of the absent Rebecca, a woman she had never met but whose fierce determination she couldn't help but admire.

She set the phone down, her gaze level as she met Mr. Morris's eyes. "I'll need copies of these articles, Mr. Morris. And any other information you have on your daughter's work."

He nodded, his jaw clenched tight. "Take whatever you need. But don't say I didn't warn you, Ranger Blackwood.”

“Warn me? About what?”

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