Chapter 6 - THE RECORDING
I waited until everyone slept.
Then I went into Ryan's office.
His laptop was locked.
His desk drawers were empty.
But behind an old aviation manual, I found a small black storage drive.
My hands shook as I plugged it into the computer.
There were dozens of files.
One was labeled:
TAHOE_11:42PM
I opened it.
At first, there was only static.
Then Ryan's voice.
“Turn the camera off.”
A woman's voice answered.
Brooke.
“You said nobody would know.”
“I know.”
“What about the mechanic?”
“He saw us.”
A man's voice followed.
“Then we have a problem.”
I stopped breathing.
That voice belonged to Ryan's company executive.
The recording continued.
“We need the incident to look like mechanical failure.”
Brooke began crying.
Ryan said:
“Nobody needs to know we were here.”
I covered my mouth.
Then the recording changed.
A different voice appeared.
The mechanic.
He was alive.
And he was angry.
“You think I'm going to let you two walk away?”
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
The official accident report had said the mechanic died after a mechanical failure.
But the recording proved he had survived the initial crash.
Someone had lied.
Someone had left him.
And someone had made sure the truth disappeared.
I copied the files.
Then I heard footsteps.
I turned.
Ryan stood in the doorway.
He looked at the computer.
Then at me.
“What did you find?”
I closed the laptop.
“Enough.”
His face changed.
“Natalie.”
“You left a man to die.”
“No.”
“You lied about it.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You were protecting yourself.”
He stepped forward.
I stepped backward.
“I have the recording.”
Ryan stopped.
For the first time in eleven years, I saw genuine fear in my husband's eyes.
Then he said:
“You don't understand what they'll do if that recording gets out.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
I whispered:
“Who, Ryan?”
He looked toward the hallway.
May you like
Then he said:
“They've already started watching our family.”
