Chapter 7 - THE RECORDING
The flash drive contained one file.
Twenty-seven minutes.
I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, Daniel, then something went terribly wrong.”
I closed my eyes.
It was the first time I'd heard his voice in twelve years.
He explained everything.
The company.
The trust.
The missing money.
And the betrayal.
But then came the part that changed my entire understanding of my family.
“My wife is not the mastermind.”
I opened my eyes.
My father continued.
“She believes she is protecting Marcus.”
I looked at my mother.
“She doesn't know who is controlling him.”
Rachel leaned closer.
The recording continued.
“If Marcus is in trouble, it isn't because of gambling alone.”
I froze.
My father named a man.
Victor Hale.
But not the Victor I knew.
A younger Victor.
He had been involved in an illegal investment scheme.
Marcus had been used as a front.
My brother hadn't created the debt.
He had inherited it.
Someone had threatened him.
My father discovered the scheme and tried to stop it.
Then the recording became distorted.
A loud crash.
My father's voice:
“Who are you?”
Another voice.
A man's voice.
Then silence.
The recording ended.
Rachel stared at me.
“Can you identify the second voice?”
I shook my head.
Victor could.
He listened.
His face went pale.
“That isn't me.”
“Then who?”
Victor whispered:
“Thomas.”
“Who is Thomas?”
“My brother.”
I frowned.
“You never told me you had a brother.”
“He died twenty years ago.”
Rachel immediately sat upright.
“That's impossible.”
Victor nodded.
“I know.”
He played the audio again.
Then stopped.
“There is something wrong with this.”
“What?”
“The man speaking isn't Thomas.”
“Then who?”
Victor looked at me.
“My father.”
I felt a chill.
“Your father?”
“He died fifteen years ago.”
We sat in silence.
Then Rachel received an email.
She opened it.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She turned the laptop toward me.
A bank account had been accessed.
Someone had withdrawn $400,000.
The account belonged to my father.
An account that supposedly hadn't been touched in twelve years.
Rachel stood.
“That's impossible.”
I stared at the transaction.
Then another notification appeared.
A message.
Stop digging.
A second message arrived.
You already lost your family once. Don't lose your daughter too.
My blood ran cold.
I immediately called the police.
Within minutes, security was increased around Emily and Lily.
But I couldn't shake one thought.
Someone was watching us.
Someone knew where Lily was.
And someone knew exactly what frightened me most.
That night, I sat beside Lily's hotel bed.
She was asleep.
I watched her chest rise and fall.
I promised myself no one would ever hurt her again.
Then Emily came in.
She looked exhausted.
“Daniel?”
I turned.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“I remember something.”
“What?”
“The night before you left for Dubai.”
I waited.
“Your mother came to our room.”
“And?”
“She told me something.”
“What?”
Emily swallowed.
“She said, ‘If Daniel ever comes back, he will destroy all of us.’”
I stared.
“Why would she say that?”
Emily looked toward the sleeping Lily.
“I don't know.”
Then she whispered:
“But I remember something else.”
“What?”
“She wasn't alone.”
I stood.
“Who was with her?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“I couldn't see his face.”
“But I remember his voice.”
She opened her eyes.
“Daniel...”
“What?”
“That voice was the same voice on your father's recording.”
My heart stopped.
Because suddenly the mystery wasn't twelve years old.
May you like
It was still alive.
And it had been living inside my family.
