Chapter 7: The Voice on the Recording
My father did not answer the phone.
He just stared at the screen.
The name glowing there was mine.
My picture.
My number.
My identity.
But I was standing right in front of him.
The silence inside the house became unbearable.
“Dad,” I whispered.
He looked up.
His face was drained of color.
“That’s impossible.””
I stepped closer.
“Who is calling you from my phone?””
He didn’t answer.
The phone continued vibrating.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Finally, Raymond pressed the speaker button.
“Hello?””
For a moment, there was only static.
Then a voice.
A woman’s voice.
“Raymond.””
My blood went cold.
Because I recognized it.
Not immediately.
But enough.
A voice I had heard at birthday parties.
At family dinners.
A voice that had laughed with my mother.
My father stood completely still.
“Marissa?””
I looked at him.
The doctor.
Why would she be calling from my number?
The voice on the phone continued.
“You found it, didn’t you?””
My father closed his eyes.
“What did you do?””
A pause.
Then:
“What I should have done eight years ago.””
I grabbed the phone.
“Marissa?””
The line went silent.
Then she spoke.
“Simone.””
Her voice changed instantly.
Fear replaced whatever confidence she had before.
“Where are you?””
I tightened my grip.
“At my father’s house.””
A sharp breath.
“No.””
The panic in her voice made my stomach drop.
“Simone, leave.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Leave the house.””
My father looked at me.
“Why?””
Marissa answered.
“Because whoever sent those messages knows you found the letter.””
I looked around the hallway.
The empty wall.
The hidden compartment.
The photographs.
My skin prickled.
“Who?””
Silence.
“Marissa.””
She didn’t answer.
“Who?””
Finally, she whispered:
“Your uncle.””
I froze.
My father’s face changed.
“No.””
Marissa continued.
“Raymond, you need to tell her everything.””
My father looked away.
I stared at him.
“Dad?””
He said nothing.
“Who is my uncle?””
Another silence.
Then my father spoke.
“Daniel.””
The name meant nothing at first.
Then it did.
My father’s older brother.
The man who used to bring me candy when I was little.
The man who disappeared after my mother’s funeral.
The man everyone said moved across the country.
“Uncle Daniel?””
My father nodded slowly.
“He wasn’t supposed to come back.””
The phone crackled.
Marissa spoke quickly.
“Listen to me. Your mother found out Daniel was involved with something he shouldn’t have been involved in.””
“What kind of something?””
“We need to talk in person.””
“No.””
I stepped closer to the phone.
“No more secrets.””
My voice shook.
“No more people deciding what I can handle.””
Marissa was quiet.
Then she said:
“Your mother was investigating missing money from the family business.””
I looked at my father.
“What family business?””
He swallowed.
“Our construction company.””
“And Daniel?””
My father looked toward the window.
“Daniel was managing finances.””
I felt a chill.
“How much money?””
Nobody answered.
That was answer enough.
“Millions?””
Raymond nodded.
“Over several years.””
I stepped back.
My mother wasn’t just dealing with an affair.
She wasn’t just dealing with heartbreak.
She had discovered something bigger.
Something dangerous.
Marissa’s voice lowered.
“Your mother confronted Daniel first.””
I listened.
“She told him she was going to expose everything.””
“And then?””
Marissa hesitated.
“Then she went to the hospital.””
The room went silent.
My father whispered:
“It was an accident.””
I looked at him.
“You always say that.””
His eyes filled.
“Because that’s what I believed.””
“Believed?””
The word hung there.
He looked broken.
“Because later I found out there were things about that night I didn’t know.””
I turned toward him.
“What things?””
Before he could answer, there was a loud sound outside.
A car door closing.
All three of us froze.
Someone was outside.
My father looked toward the front window.
The curtains moved slightly.
Then came a knock.
Three slow knocks.
Not a neighbor.
Not someone passing by.
Someone who wanted us to know they were there.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down.
A new message.
From my own number.
*You should have left when I warned you.*
My heart pounded.
I showed my father.
His face went pale.
The knocking came again.
This time louder.
Raymond moved toward the door.
I grabbed his arm.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“Simone.””
“No one opens that door.””
Then the person outside spoke.
A voice I had not heard in years.
A voice that made my father step backward.
“Raymond.””
My father whispered:
“Daniel.””
The door handle moved.
Slowly.
Someone was trying to come in.
May you like
And then Daniel said:
“I know Simone found Elena’s letter.””