Chapter 4: The Voice That Knew Everything
The voice recorder clicked again.
For a moment, nobody breathed.
Not Adrian.
Not Ethan.
Not even Vanessa.
The tiny device sat on the floor beside the hidden compartment, its red light blinking like a heartbeat.
Then the man's voice returned.
“Before you judge Vanessa, you need to understand something.””
Adrian stared at the recorder.
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that belonged to someone who had planned every word.
“People think evil always looks obvious. It doesn't. Sometimes it looks like a friend. Sometimes it looks like someone trying to help.””
Vanessa slowly backed away.
“No…”
Adrian turned toward her.
“You know this voice.””
Her face went pale.
“I know who it is.””
“Who?””
Vanessa looked at the recorder.
Then at Adrian.
And for the first time since he had known her, she looked truly afraid.
“Marcus.””
The name hung in the room.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
The voice continued.
“Vanessa was useful because she was emotional. She wanted what Elena had. She wanted the life she believed she deserved.””
Vanessa whispered, “Turn it off.””
Adrian ignored her.
“Vanessa was easy to manipulate. But she wasn't the person who started this.””
Adrian looked at Vanessa.
“Is that true?””
She didn't answer.
“Vanessa.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I made mistakes.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“I was angry at Elena.””
“Why?””
Vanessa looked toward the floor.
“Because she had everything.””
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“Everything?””
“You had a perfect family. A beautiful home. A husband who loved you. A son who adored you.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“And I had nothing.””
Adrian stared at her.
“You had no right to take ours.””
“I know.””
The answer surprised him.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“I know.””
The recorder continued.
“Vanessa believed she could replace Elena. She believed Adrian would eventually forget.””
Adrian looked disgusted.
“She was wrong.””
“Yes,” Marcus's voice said through the recorder.
“She was.””
The room became colder.
“Because Elena was smarter than both of us.””
Adrian froze.
The words hit him.
Both of us.
He looked at Vanessa.
“You and Marcus.””
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
Ethan stepped closer to Adrian.
“Dad…”
Adrian immediately pulled him behind him.
“Stay there.””
The recorder continued.
“Elena discovered everything before we were ready.””
Adrian's fingers tightened.
“Everything?””
Marcus continued.
“She found the bank transfers. She found the fake documents. She found the recordings of our conversations.””
Adrian looked toward the hidden compartment.
The papers.
The USB.
The proof.
“She knew.””
“Yes.””
The voice paused.
“And that's why she had to be stopped.””
Adrian's entire body went still.
The sentence felt heavier than any confession.
Vanessa whispered:
“Adrian…”
He turned toward her slowly.
“Did he kill Elena?””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“I don't know.””
“You don't know?””
“I wasn't there.””
“Then where were you?””
She looked away.
That was enough.
Adrian's expression changed.
“Where were you?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“The night Elena died…”
Her voice became smaller.
“I was with Marcus.””
Ethan covered his mouth.
Adrian felt a wave of anger.
“You were with him.””
“Yes.””
“While my wife was dying.””
“I didn't know she was going to die.””
“You knew something was happening.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I knew Marcus wanted the documents.””
Adrian stared.
“And you helped him.””
“Yes.””
The honesty was worse than a lie.
Because lies could be fought.
Truth could only be accepted.
The recorder suddenly made a clicking sound.
A new file began playing.
Elena's voice.
Adrian immediately turned.
“Wait.””
The room filled with his wife's voice.
“If Adrian finds this recording, it means Marcus has already tried to control the story.””
Adrian closed his eyes.
Elena.
Still protecting him.
Still one step ahead.
“I need you to understand something, Adrian. Vanessa is guilty. But she is not the only person responsible.””
Vanessa looked at the recorder.
Elena continued.
“Marcus used her anger. He used her jealousy. But he also used me.””
Adrian frowned.
“What?””
“She came to me weeks before everything happened.””
Vanessa looked shocked.
“What?””
Elena's voice continued.
“Vanessa told me the truth.””
Adrian looked between them.
“What truth?””
The recorder played.
“She told me she had helped Marcus create the documents.””
Vanessa lowered her head.
“But she also told me something else.””
A pause.
“She wanted to stop him.””
Adrian looked at Vanessa.
“Is that true?””
Vanessa whispered:
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was scared.””
“Of Marcus?””
She nodded.
“He threatened me.””
Adrian shook his head.
“You expect me to believe that?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I don't expect you to believe anything I say.””
The answer was quiet.
“And I deserve that.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Ethan asked:
“Why didn't Mommy tell Dad?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Because she thought your dad would do something dangerous.””
Adrian looked away.
Maybe Elena had known him too well.
He had always been the kind of person who confronted problems head-on.
She had always been the person who thought ten steps ahead.
The recorder played Elena's final message.
“I hid the evidence because I needed time.””
Her voice became softer.
“Time to find out who Marcus was really working for.””
Adrian frowned.
“Working for?””
Elena continued.
“I discovered Marcus wasn't acting alone.””
The room went silent.
Vanessa looked up.
“What?””
Adrian felt a chill.
Elena's voice shook.
“Someone else was paying him.””
A paper moved somewhere upstairs.
Everyone turned.
A sound.
A person walking.
Adrian immediately grabbed Ethan.
“Who is in this house?””
No answer.
The footsteps stopped.
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
“He shouldn't be here.””
Adrian turned.
“Who?””
Her face lost all color.
“Marcus.””
The recorder continued playing.
“Elena, if you are hearing this—”
The voice suddenly changed.
Not Elena.
Marcus.
“Actually, Adrian…”
The recording stopped.
Then a man's voice came from the hallway.
The real voice.
Not from the device.
“Your wife was always dramatic.””
Adrian turned.
Standing at the entrance was Marcus Bell.
Perfect suit.
Calm expression.
A small smile.
Like he had been invited.
Ethan grabbed Adrian's arm.
“Dad.””
Adrian moved in front of him.
“How did you get inside?””
Marcus glanced around the room.
“The same way I always did.””
His eyes moved toward Vanessa.
“Because someone opened the door.””
Vanessa stepped back.
“You said you would leave me alone.””
Marcus smiled.
“And you believed me?””
Adrian stared at him.
“You threatened my son.””
Marcus tilted his head.
“I sent a warning.””
“A warning?””
“Yes.””
His smile disappeared.
“A warning would have been much worse.””
Adrian's anger exploded.
“You come into my home, threaten my child, and expect me to stand here?””
Marcus looked at the piano.
“No.””
Then he looked at Adrian.
“I expect you to finally understand something.””
He stepped closer.
“Elena didn't die because she found the documents.””
Adrian felt his stomach drop.
“She died because she found the person who ordered them.””
The room went silent.
Marcus smiled faintly.
“And that person is not Vanessa.””
Adrian stared.
“Then who?””
Marcus reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Then placed it on the piano.
A name was written across the top.
Adrian looked down.
And the blood drained from his face.
Because the person Marcus named was someone Adrian trusted more than anyone.
Someone who had been beside him since before Elena died.
May you like
Marcus whispered:
“Your brother knew everything.””
