Chapter 8 - THE RECORDING
Celina came to my mother's house before sunrise.
She looked terrified.
She carried a small handbag.
Inside was a recording device.
“I stole this from Gideon.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew he was lying.”
She sat at the kitchen table.
“I started recording him two weeks ago.”
Evelyn connected the device to her laptop.
The first recording was ordinary.
Gideon talking.
Marcus talking.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“Once Bernice signs, we move the money.”
Marcus asked:
“What if she refuses?”
Gideon answered:
“She won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Roger is the pressure point.”
I covered my mouth.
Marcus laughed.
“Good.”
Gideon said:
“She'll do anything for that boy.”
The recording continued.
Then Marcus asked:
“And Celina?”
Gideon laughed.
“She thinks she's getting a business.”
Marcus replied:
“She isn't?”
“No.”
“What happens to her?”
Silence.
Then Gideon said:
“She'll leave town.”
My sister began crying.
“He was never going to help me.”
“No.”
The recording continued.
Marcus asked:
“What about Bernice's mother?”
Gideon's voice became colder.
“She won't be a problem.”
I felt my body go numb.
“What does that mean?”
Celina shook her head.
“I don't know.”
We played the recording again.
Then we heard something else.
A name.
“Victor.”
Victor Shaw.
Marcus told him to “handle the house.”
The audio ended.
Evelyn immediately made copies.
Then she looked at me.
“This is enough to go to federal authorities.”
My hands trembled.
“Will they believe us?”
“With the financial records, camera footage, forged documents, and this recording?”
“Yes.”
For the first time in days, I felt hope.
But it lasted only minutes.
Because my phone rang.
The number was my mother's.
She was standing beside me.
Her phone was on the table.
She hadn't called.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice said:
“Look outside.”
I froze.
We moved toward the window.
A black SUV sat across the street.
Victor Shaw was inside.
He raised his phone.
Then he held up a photograph.
It showed Roger leaving the house with my mother.
My blood turned cold.
The caller said:
“You have until noon.”
“For what?”
“To return the evidence.”
“No.”
“Then you will regret it.”
The line went dead.
Evelyn immediately called the police.
But before anyone arrived, the SUV disappeared.
We moved Roger to a secure location.
Evelyn contacted authorities.
Daniel tracked the vehicle.
Everything happened quickly.
Too quickly.
At 11:47 a.m., we received an emergency notice.
The property transfer had been suspended.
The fraudulent documents were under investigation.
Then, at 12:03, Gideon showed up.
Not at the house.
At my mother's.
Two police cars were already outside.
He stood on the sidewalk.
He looked directly at me.
For the first time since I'd known him, I saw no warmth in his face.
Only calculation.
“Bernice,” he said.
I stepped outside.
“You need to leave.”
“I want my son.”
“You're not taking him.”
“He's my child.”
“And I am his mother.”
He looked at me.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
He lowered his voice.
“You're destroying your family.”
I almost smiled.
“You did that.”
Then he looked past me.
At Celina.
His expression changed.
“You.”
Celina stepped backward.
“You ruined everything.”
I said:
“No, Gideon.”
He looked at me.
“You did.”
His jaw tightened.
Then police officers approached.
“Mr. Hale, you're being detained for questioning.”
He stared at me.
As they placed handcuffs on him, he whispered:
“This isn't over.”
I watched him get into the police car.
For the first time in months, I felt like I could breathe.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
Gideon wasn't the one who planned this.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Another message arrived.
Ask Marcus who hired him.
