Chapter 6: The Recording
Marcus lunged for the basement door.
Locked.
He pulled hard.
Nothing.
“Calvin!”” he shouted.
A calm laugh came from the other side.
“You always were loyal, Marcus.””
Marcus stepped back.
“Open the door.””
“No.””
Nia moved toward the stairs.
“Why are you doing this?””
Calvin's voice came through the wood.
“Because your father left you something that belongs to me.””
Nia looked at the cabinet.
The files.
The recorder.
“The evidence?””
“Not all of it.””
“What do you want?””
“The key.””
Nia touched her pocket.
“You already know I have it.””
“Put it on the floor.””
“And then?””
“I leave.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Don't.””
Nia looked at him.
Calvin spoke again.
“You have five minutes.””
Nia glanced at the ceiling.
“Why?””
“Because after five minutes, I stop asking.””
The silence that followed was worse than shouting.
Nia looked around the basement.
There had to be another way out.
Old houses had secrets.
Her father loved secrets.
She checked the walls.
Nothing.
She moved the empty shelves.
Nothing.
Marcus searched behind the workbench.
“There's something here.””
He pulled at a loose section of wood.
A narrow opening appeared.
Inside was a small crawlspace.
Nia stared.
“Can you fit?””
Marcus shook his head.
“You can.””
“Where does it go?””
“No idea.””
Calvin heard them.
“What are you doing?””
Nia looked at the basement door.
Then at the crawlspace.
She made a decision.
“I'm giving you the key.””
Marcus grabbed her arm.
“Nia.””
She whispered, “Trust me.””
She walked to the center of the room.
Then she threw the brass key toward the basement door.
It struck the concrete.
Clink.
Silence.
Calvin laughed.
“Good girl.””
A moment later, the lock turned.
The door opened.
But instead of stepping inside, Calvin reached through and picked up the key.
Nia watched him.
“You said you'd leave.””
“I will.””
“Then go.””
Calvin smiled.
“After I make sure you don't have anything else.””
He stepped inside.
Marcus immediately moved between them.
Calvin looked at him.
“You should've stayed out of this.””
Marcus said, “I don't take orders from you.””
“You will.””
“No.””
Calvin's gaze moved to Nia.
“Your father said the same thing.””
Nia's stomach tightened.
“You knew him at the end.””
“Yes.””
“You were with him when he died?””
Calvin's expression became unreadable.
“I was there.””
“Did you kill him?””
Calvin didn't answer.
Nia stepped closer.
“Did you kill my father?””
He looked directly into her eyes.
“No.””
Nia's breath caught.
“Then who did?””
Calvin smiled faintly.
“Your father.””
Nia stared.
“What?””
“He knew what was coming.””
“That doesn't answer me.””
“He chose his death.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“That's impossible.””
Calvin turned.
“Is it?””
He pulled a small device from his pocket.
A remote.
He pressed a button.
The basement lights flickered.
Then the door above slammed.
A second sound came from somewhere inside the walls.
Nia jumped.
Calvin smiled.
“Your father built this room to destroy itself if someone unauthorized opened the cabinet.””
Nia looked at the files.
“Then why didn't it?””
“Because I disabled it years ago.””
Marcus stared.
“You've been here before.””
“Yes.””
Nia's voice was quiet.
“You've been inside my father's house.””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The night he died.””
Nia's heart pounded.
“You killed him.””
“No.””
“You were here.””
“Yes.””
“You knew he was going to die.””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
Calvin's expression finally changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“I tried to stop him.””
Nia shook her head.
“I don't believe you.””
“You shouldn't.””
Calvin walked to the metal cabinet.
He picked up the cassette recorder.
Nia moved quickly.
“Don't touch that.””
Calvin stopped.
“Why?””
“Because it says it's for me.””
Calvin looked at the label.
Then he slowly placed the recorder back.
“Then listen.””
Nia picked it up.
She pressed play.
Static filled the basement.
Then her father's voice.
“Nia.””
Her knees nearly gave out.
She had heard his voice in messages.
But this was different.
It sounded close.
Tired.
Human.
“If you're listening to this, I didn't have time to tell you everything.””
Nia covered her mouth.
Marcus looked away.
The recording continued.
“I need you to understand something. Calvin isn't the man you should fear.””
Calvin closed his eyes.
Nia looked at him.
Her father's voice continued.
“The person who betrayed me is someone you've trusted.””
Nia's eyes widened.
Marcus looked at her.
The tape clicked.
Then her father said:
“Marcus knows where the final ledger is.””
Marcus went completely still.
Nia slowly turned toward him.
“What?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I didn't know about a ledger.””
The recording continued.
“He was told to keep it safe. He doesn't know why.””
Marcus stepped backward.
“No.””
Nia stared at him.
“You knew?””
“I swear I didn't.””
Her father's voice became weaker.
“If you're hearing this, Vanessa probably brought you to the restaurant.””
Nia looked toward the basement ceiling.
“Why?””
“Because she had no other way to reach you.””
The tape crackled.
Then:
“Vanessa will tell you she protected me. That's true.””
Nia looked at Calvin.
“But she also lied to me.””
Vanessa's voice suddenly came from the stairs.
“I know.””
Nia turned.
Vanessa stood at the basement entrance.
Calvin looked at her.
“How did you get in?””
“I have my ways.””
Marcus stared.
“You followed us.””
“Yes.””
Nia's voice shook.
“What did you lie about?””
Vanessa slowly descended.
“Your father asked me to take the blame for something he did.””
“What?””
“The disappearance of the ledger.””
Marcus looked confused.
“What ledger?””
Vanessa ignored him.
She looked at Nia.
“The ledger proves where every dollar went.””
“Where?””
“Into accounts controlled by Calvin.””
Calvin shook his head.
“That's not true.””
Vanessa laughed.
“You're still lying.””
Calvin stepped toward her.
“Careful.””
Vanessa didn't move.
“I spent twenty years being afraid of you.””
Then she looked at Nia.
“I don't think I'm afraid anymore.””
Calvin's expression hardened.
He pulled something from inside his jacket.
Marcus immediately stepped forward.
“Don't.””
Calvin held up a small photograph.
Not a weapon.
A photograph.
He placed it on the workbench.
Nia looked down.
It showed her father.
But not alone.
Beside him was a young woman.
Nia recognized her immediately.
Her mother.
Alive.
The photograph was dated two years after the official date of her mother's death.
Nia couldn't breathe.
She picked it up.
“That's impossible.””
Vanessa whispered, “I knew you'd say that.””
Nia looked at her.
“My mother died when I was eleven.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
Calvin said nothing.
Nia stared at the photograph.
Her mother's face was unmistakable.
She was older than Nia remembered.
Standing beside her father.
And behind them was the same restaurant.
The one Nia now managed.
Her father's voice suddenly came through the recorder again.
“One more thing, Nia.””
Static.
A long pause.
Then:
“Your mother is alive.””
The tape stopped.
Nobody moved.
Nia stared at the machine.
Her entire childhood had just collapsed.
She looked at Vanessa.
Then Marcus.
Then Calvin.
Finally, she whispered:
“Where is she?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
Calvin looked toward the basement door.
And from somewhere upstairs came the sound of a woman's voice.
“Nia?””
Nia froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in dreams for nineteen years.
The footsteps slowly descended the stairs.
Then a woman appeared in the doorway.
Older.
Gray at the temples.
But unmistakably her mother.
May you like
And she looked directly at Nia and said,
“I’m sorry I let you believe I was dead.””