Chapter 8: The Voice From Fifteen Years Ago
Nobody answered.
Not Clara.
Not my father.
Not Mark.
The question stayed in the room like a weapon.
Where is my mother’s last phone call?
I looked at Clara.
She was no longer the woman who had stood in our living room with perfect confidence.
The woman who controlled every conversation.
The woman who always had an explanation ready.
Now she looked cornered.
And that terrified me.
“Clara,” I said again.
My voice was quieter this time.
“Where is it?””
She looked at Daniel.
Not me.
Not Mark.
Daniel.
Like she was waiting for him to save her.
But he didn’t move.
“Answer him,” my father said.
The words shocked everyone.
Especially Clara.
“Daniel.””
“No.””
His voice was different.
Tired.
Broken.
“I spent fifteen years protecting secrets because I thought I was protecting James.””
He looked at me.
“I was wrong.””
Clara’s face hardened.
“You’re really going to do this?””
Daniel stared at her.
“Yes.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Clara laughed softly.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for.””
I stepped closer.
“I’m asking for the truth.””
She looked at me.
“The truth changes everything.””
“It already has.””
My hands tightened.
“I found out my father isn’t my biological father.””
I looked at Daniel.
“I found out the man who raised me lied to me.””
Then I looked at Mark.
“I found out a stranger is my biological father.””
Finally, I looked back at Clara.
“So whatever you think will hurt me…”
I shook my head.
“Nothing can hurt more than what I already know.””
Something flickered in her eyes.
Maybe guilt.
Maybe anger.
I couldn’t tell.
Slowly, she reached into her purse.
My body tensed.
But she pulled out a small black phone.
An old one.
Not a smartphone.
A phone from fifteen years ago.
My breath caught.
“That’s impossible.””
Clara looked at it.
“I kept it.””
“Why?””
Her fingers tightened around the device.
“Because I wanted to remember what happened.””
Mark stepped forward.
“You kept it because you were afraid.””
Clara looked at him.
“Don’t pretend you know me.””
“I know exactly who you are.””
The tension between them felt like a storm.
I looked at the phone.
“Is that my mother’s phone?””
Clara didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
I already knew.
“Play it.””
Daniel immediately said:
“No.””
I turned toward him.
“No?””
His expression was painful.
“James…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to decide anymore.””
The room went silent.
I looked at Clara.
“Play it.””
For several seconds, she didn’t move.
Then she unlocked the phone.
Her hands were shaking.
“There’s only one recording.””
She pressed the screen.
A faint crackling sound filled the room.
Static.
Then a voice.
My mother’s voice.
Fifteen years disappeared instantly.
I was fourteen again.
Sitting beside her in the kitchen.
Hearing her laugh.
Smelling her perfume.
Everything I thought I had lost came rushing back.
“Daniel, please answer.””
Her voice sounded frightened.
Not sad.
Frightened.
The recording continued.
“I know you’re angry, but you need to listen to me. I found something.””
A pause.
A sound like she was crying.
“It’s Clara.””
Everyone froze.
Clara closed her eyes.
My mother continued.
“I was wrong about her. I thought she was just making mistakes. I thought she was desperate.””
Another pause.
“But she’s been planning this.””
My heart started racing.
The recording continued.
“She knows about the accounts. She knows I found the documents. She knows I was going to tell you.””
A noise came in the background.
Like a door opening.
My mother suddenly became quiet.
Then whispered:
“She’s here.””
The room went cold.
My fingers went numb.
The recording continued.
A second voice.
Clara.
Younger.
But unmistakably her.
“Who are you calling?””
My mother’s breathing changed.
“Stay away from me.””
Clara’s voice became calm.
“You always were too curious.””
Daniel covered his mouth.
Mark looked devastated.
I couldn’t move.
The recording continued.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing,” my mother said.
Clara laughed.
“No. You don’t understand.””
“What do you want?””
“I want you to stop.””
“I won’t.””
A long silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“Daniel will know.””
Clara replied:
“Daniel believes what I tell him.””
My chest tightened.
The recording suddenly became louder.
A struggle.
A crash.
My mother gasped.
Then Clara said something that made my blood freeze.
“You should have stayed out of my family.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody could.
I looked at Clara.
She looked smaller now.
Not innocent.
Not forgiven.
Just exposed.
“You were there.””
My voice barely worked.
She didn’t answer.
“You were there when my mother died.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Clara…”
She finally spoke.
“I didn’t kill her.””
Nobody moved.
I laughed bitterly.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because it’s the truth.””
Mark stepped forward.
“Then tell him what happened after the call.””
Clara looked at him with hatred.
“You don’t get to judge me.””
“No.””
His voice was cold.
“But James does.””
I looked at her.
“What happened?””
Clara sat down.
For the first time, she looked old.
Tired.
Like the weight of fifteen years had finally landed on her shoulders.
“Your mother found the documents.””
“What documents?””
“The ones proving Mark and I were connected.””
I frowned.
“Connected how?””
She looked away.
“We had business arrangements.””
Mark immediately interrupted.
“Don’t make it sound innocent.””
Clara ignored him.
“Your mother thought I was stealing from Daniel.””
“Were you?””
Silence.
That silence answered.
I felt sick.
“Why?””
Clara looked at me.
“Because I was desperate.””
I stared.
“Desperate enough to destroy my family?””
Her face tightened.
“I didn’t plan for your mother to die.””
The sentence made everyone freeze.
Not “I didn’t do anything.””
Not “I’m innocent.””
I didn’t plan for your mother to die.
Those words were a confession hidden inside an excuse.
“What happened?””
Clara looked down.
“I followed her.””
My heart sank.
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“Why?””
“Because she had the
