Proof

'Hi, Brianne. There was a letter for you today. I left it on the table in the study.'

'Ah, thanks, Topaz.'

'Ellis, what's that?'

'They're photos, look...'

'Oh my God... That's him, putting the lighter through the letterbox like the report said!'

'Yeah. So... that's pretty undeniable.'

'I guess it's nothing we don't know already, but still. That's confirmation.'

'That's proof.'

'Can you hand them over to the investigation?'

'Sure I can, and I will, but don't be surprised if they mysteriously go missing.'

'Yeah... more department interference.'

'Sorry. You know I've tried in the past, trying to get them to investigate him over something, but-'

'But nothing ever comes back on him. Anything relating to him somehow magically stops dead in its tracks.'

'Exactly.'

'Do you have any idea who the one doing it is, anyway?'

'No, not for certain. Of course, you have suspicions, and if I looked into it I could probably find out just who he's bribed. It just seems like it'd cause more trouble.'

'I understand. Probably better for us to deal with this ourselves.'

'What are we going to do, though? This fire happened in the first place because you pissed him off. I'm not victim-blaming you, I swear, I just mean from his perspective...'

'No, no, I get it. There's a big risk.'

'What's going on?'

'Come in, Edward, and shut the door behind you, in case the kids are around.'

'We've been sent photos of Tate setting the fire at Raya's house.'

'Oh Jesus, who from?'

'Well, I don't like to bring up that man here, but we know who has form for sending incriminating evidence of Tate with the intention of causing as much chaos as possible.'

'…Oh. Is there a letter included?'

'No, just the photos. It was addressed to all of us, actually. Me, Raya... and Aria's name is on it too.'

'Does that mean he took the photos? And was he the one who called the fire department because he witnessed it?'

'It seems pretty clear that the one who called the fire department is the same one who took these photos, but whether it's actually him or not, I'm not sure.'

'Yeah, how does he keep getting these pictures anyway? He had pictures of baby Vin too. Does he just stalk Tate everywhere and take photos of him doing suspicious things?'

'How can he, though? He works at ORTOS and presumably that's full time. He just wouldn't have the time to follow Tate everywhere and then be back in Midnight Hollow. And then he has to eat and sleep as well...'

'And I'm sure Tate would have noticed by now if Miles really was following him around.'

'This is really weird.'

'Either way... ugh, I'm so sorry, Saraya. It's beyond horrific to have a father who would do that to you.'

'It's okay. I've already accepted it was him who did it, this just proves it. I'm more concerned about him hurting Mattie somehow. But I've got those further fire protections from the Exners coming, so... we'll manage.'

'Even so, how dare he do such a thing? Ugh, I wish there was something else we could do.'

'Yeah, well, it's been a struggle keeping Aria from doing anything else so far. It's just not worth the retaliation, okay?'

'I know, I know. I'm not suggesting instant action. We all know how well that tends to go...'

'It's so difficult. I really want to get back at him too, but fuck!'

'Would be so much easier if he just dropped dead...'