Chapter 8 - Michael Was Never The Mastermind
Police located Michael Trent.
He cooperated quickly.
He admitted posing as Robert’s secret son.
Caroline had created the plan.
Michael needed money and agreed.
He memorized family details Caroline collected from Priscilla.
He practiced Robert’s supposed history.
He stayed at Harbor House so Dean could meet him privately.
But Michael revealed something Priscilla had not known.
Caroline was not merely stealing from Margaret.
She had used the same method on other families.
She befriended people with access to wealthy relatives.
She normalized small boundary violations.
Borrow a card.
Use a saved account.
Photograph an ID for convenience.
Share a login.
Then she collected the information.
Michael called it “soft access.”
No hacking.
No dramatic break-ins.
People handed over pieces because each request seemed small.
Michael had helped with fake identities and pressure tactics.
He was responsible for that.
But Caroline controlled North Star.
Investigators traced the unknown device token to her.
The $7,950 charge was hers.
The attempted credit line was hers.
The fake Robert letters were hers.
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Priscilla had opened the door.
Caroline walked through it.
