Chapter 5: The Voice in the Dark
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Daniel still held the phone against his ear.
The call had ended, but he hadn't lowered it.
I stared at him.
“Call the number back.””
He didn't respond.
“Daniel.””
His eyes lifted toward mine.
“It's disconnected.””
“Then call it.””
“I already tried.””
“And?””
“Nothing.””
I reached for the phone.
He gave it to me without resisting.
I looked at the screen.
The number was exactly as the voice had described it.
The number from my childhood home.
The number my mother had called from every night when I was away at college.
The number that had been disconnected after she moved out.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
I pressed redial.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then someone answered.
I froze.
“Hello?””
Silence.
I looked at Daniel.
“Hello?”” I said again.
A faint crackling sound came through the speaker.
Then a man's voice.
Older.
Rougher than I remembered.
But familiar.
“Rachel?””
My knees almost gave out.
I grabbed the nearest chair.
The terminal disappeared around me.
People became shadows.
Announcements became distant noise.
There was only that voice.
That one impossible voice.
“Dad?””
No answer.
“Dad, is that you?””
A breath.
Then:
“You shouldn't have come to Chicago.””
Tears filled my eyes so quickly that everything blurred.
“Where are you?””
“Not somewhere you can find me.””
“Why?””
“Because they're watching.””
“Who?””
The line went silent.
“Dad?””
I could hear something in the background.
A train?
A television?
Maybe rain.
I pressed the phone harder against my ear.
“Dad, please.””
“I wanted to come back.””
My throat closed.
“When?””
“A long time ago.””
“Why didn't you?””
He exhaled.
“Because every time I tried, someone got hurt.””
I looked at Robert.
He had gone completely still.
I looked at Daniel.
He was watching me with an expression I'd never seen before.
Not fear.
Grief.
My father's voice returned.
“Rachel, listen carefully. You cannot trust the people around you.””
I stared at Daniel.
My father continued.
“They will tell you I'm dead. They will tell you I abandoned your mother. They will tell you I stole money.””
My breathing stopped.
“Did you?””
“No.””
The answer came instantly.
“I never left because I wanted to.””
“Then why?””
A long silence.
“Your father—”
I stopped myself.
“Dad?””
“Yes?””
“Did the Bennett family make you disappear?””
Another silence.
Then:
“Yes.””
My hand began shaking.
“How?””
“I found the ledger.””
“What ledger?””
“The one they have been looking for ever since.””
Robert suddenly stepped toward me.
“Rachel, hang up.””
I turned away from him.
My father heard his voice.
“Is Robert there?””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
“Then don't tell him where you are.””
Robert's face drained.
My father continued.
“And don't let Daniel take you home.””
I stared at my husband.
“Why?””
“Because Daniel doesn't know what his father has done.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Dad?””
The voice on the phone went quiet.
Then:
“Daniel?””
He swallowed.
“Yes.””
My father's breathing changed.
“You sound like your mother.””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I never met you.””
“I know.””
“I looked for you.””
“I know.””
“How?””
“Because I was looking for you too.””
Daniel's face broke.
He lowered his head.
My father continued.
“You were a child.””
“I was twenty-six when I found out.””
“You were still a child to me.””
Daniel covered his mouth.
Robert suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Enough.””
Daniel pulled away.
“No.””
He looked directly at his father.
“No more.””
Robert's voice dropped.
“You don't understand what you're doing.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I understand exactly.””
He looked at me.
“I've been trying to fix this for six months.””
My father went silent.
Then he said,
“Then you need to stop.””
Daniel stared at the phone.
“Why?””
“Because the ledger isn't safe.””
Eric moved closer.
“What ledger?””
My father ignored him.
“Rachel, do you still have your mother's jewelry box?””
I frowned.
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“At my house.””
“Do not go there.””
“Why?””
“The key is inside.””
“What key?””
“The second key.””
I looked at Evelyn.
She was listening carefully.
“Second key to what?””
“The place where I left everything.””
My pulse quickened.
“Everything?””
“Evidence. Documents. Recordings.””
“Where?””
“My old office.””
I stared at him.
“The office that burned?””
“Yes.””
I remembered that building.
It had burned two weeks after my father vanished.
The newspapers called it an electrical fire.
My mother had cried when she saw the footage.
I'd forgotten about it until that moment.
“Dad, the office is gone.””
“No.””
His voice was suddenly firm.
“The office burned.””
“Yes.””
“But not the basement.””
I felt a chill.
“There's a basement?””
“There was.””
Robert spoke again.
“You're making a mistake.””
My father's voice hardened.
“You made the mistake twenty-two years ago.””
Robert looked away.
I turned back toward my father.
“How do I get there?””
“You don't.””
“What?””
“You send Daniel.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Me?””
“You're the only one they'll believe is still loyal to them.””
He let out a bitter laugh.
“They'll kill me.””
My father was silent.
Then:
“They might.””
I stared at my husband.
“You want him to go?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
“You.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“There are people watching Daniel. People watching Robert. People watching Eric.””
“What about me?””
“They forgot about you.””
I almost laughed.
“After twelve years?””
“You were the one person they never considered dangerous.””
That sentence hurt more than it should have.
My father continued.
“That's why you're alive.””
My eyes filled again.
“What does that mean?””
He hesitated.
“Rachel, your mother did not die naturally.””
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?””
“She was killed.””
I gripped the chair.
“No.””
“I need you to listen.””
“No.””
“Rachel.””
“No. They said she had a heart attack.””
“They wanted you to believe that.””
I shook my head.
“My mother had heart problems.””
“After they poisoned her.””
I couldn't breathe.
Eric reached toward me.
I pushed his hand away.
“Where is the proof?””
“Second key.””
“Where?””
“In the jewelry box.””
“I'll get it.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because they're already waiting.””
I looked toward the terminal windows.
Planes were moving beyond the glass.
People were walking.
Normal lives.
All around me, people were worrying about missed flights, lost luggage, dinner reservations.
My entire history had just been rewritten over a phone call.
“Dad.””
“Yes?””
“Are you really alive?””
His answer came quietly.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
A tear finally escaped.
“Can I see you?””
“Not yet.””
“Please.””
“Rachel, if I see you now, they will know exactly where I am.””
“Then when?””
“When the ledger is found.””
A sharp sound came through the phone.
My father inhaled suddenly.
“Dad?””
Nothing.
“Dad?””
There was a muffled voice in the background.
A door opening.
Someone said something I couldn't make out.
Then my father whispered,
“They found me.””
The line went dead.
I stared at the screen.
“Dad?””
Nothing.
I called again.
Straight to voicemail.
I called again.
Nothing.
Eric immediately pulled out his own phone.
“Who can trace that number?””
I looked at him.
“Can you?””
“Maybe.””
“Do it.””
He stepped away and began speaking rapidly into the phone.
Daniel remained beside me.
I looked at him.
“Did you know my mother was murdered?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“No.””
“Did your father?””
“I don't know.””
I slapped him.
His head turned with the impact.
Nobody around us reacted.
Maybe the airport noise swallowed it.
Maybe no one noticed.
He slowly looked back at me.
“I deserved that.””
“You deserved worse.””
“I know.””
I turned away.
Evelyn touched my shoulder.
“Rachel.””
I looked at her.
“There is something I haven't told you.””
“What?””
“The photograph I gave you wasn't the only thing your father left me.””
She reached into her bag and pulled out a sealed envelope.
My name was written across it.
*Rachel.*
In my father's handwriting.
I couldn't move.
“How long have you had that?””
“Twenty-two years.””
“Why didn't you give it to me?””
“Because I was told to wait.””
“By who?””
She hesitated.
“Your father.””
I took the envelope.
My fingers shook as I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Five handwritten lines.
I read them once.
Then again.
My vision blurred.
*Rachel,*
*If you're reading this, they failed to erase everything.*
*Do not trust Robert.*
*Do not trust the trust.*
*And whatever Daniel tells you about the night we met, ask him where he was before you were introduced.*
I slowly lowered the paper.
I looked at Daniel.
He had gone pale.
“Rachel…”
I folded the letter.
“You told me we met at a charity dinner.””
He didn't answer.
“Daniel.””
His jaw tightened.
“Where were you before that?””
He looked at his father.
Robert closed his eyes.
I stepped closer.
“Where were you, Daniel?””
He finally whispered the truth.
“I was at the hospital.””
My heart stopped.
“Doing what?””
He looked at me.
“Trying to save your father.””
Before I could respond, Eric came running back toward us.
His face was white.
“We have a problem.””
“What?””
He held up his phone.
“I traced the call.””
“Where was it?””
“Milwaukee.””
My heart pounded.
“And?””
Eric looked at Daniel.
“Not just Milwaukee.””
He turned the screen toward me.
A location marker blinked on a map.
I recognized the street immediately.
My father's old office.
The building that had supposedly burned down twenty-two years ago.
Eric's voice dropped.
“Someone is there right now.””
My phone buzzed.
A new message arrived from an unknown number.
There was no text.
Only a photograph.
A dark basement.
A wooden desk.
And my father's face reflected in a cracked mirror.
Alive.
Then a second message appeared.
May you like
*Come alone, Rachel.*
*Your husband can't save you this time.*
