Chapter 7: The Recording
Ethan's expression did not change.
But his hand tightened around the edge of his jacket.
“My father?”” he said.
Victoria nodded.
“He was there that night.””
Ethan stared at her.
“My father died six years ago.””
“I know.””
“You expect me to believe he was involved in Marcus Hayes's death?””
Victoria's voice shook.
“I don't expect you to believe anything. I'm telling you what I saw.””
Nathaniel turned toward Ethan.
“Why would your father be involved?””
Ethan didn't answer.
Samantha still held the brass key.
It felt impossibly heavy in her palm.
She looked at Victoria.
“Where is the safe?””
Victoria looked toward the far end of the mansion.
“Study.””
“Take me there.””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
Samantha's voice became firmer.
“You lied to me about my father my entire life. You're not choosing what I know anymore.””
Olivia stepped closer.
“Samantha…”
Samantha looked at her.
Olivia swallowed.
“Let her take us.””
Charlotte nodded.
“We deserve to know too.””
Victoria looked at all three girls.
For a moment, she seemed to see something she had spent years refusing to acknowledge.
They weren't little girls anymore.
They were women standing in the ruins of her secrets.
She turned.
“Fine.””
The study was at the far end of the mansion.
Victoria unlocked the door.
Dust covered several bookshelves despite the immaculate house.
Samantha had cleaned this room hundreds of times.
She had polished the desk.
Wiped the windows.
Dusting the photographs had always been one of her chores.
But there was one drawer she had never been allowed to touch.
Victoria walked directly toward it.
Nathaniel noticed.
“That drawer.””
Victoria stopped.
“Yes.””
“You kept everything here.””
“Yes.””
She opened it.
Inside were old envelopes, legal folders, a silver watch, several photographs, and a small black box.
Samantha stared at the box.
“That's it?””
Victoria nodded.
Ethan stepped forward.
“No.””
Victoria looked at him.
“What?””
“You're still hiding something.””
“I've shown you the box.””
“You're holding your left hand behind your back.””
Victoria froze.
Nathaniel looked down.
In Victoria's other hand was a folded photograph.
Ethan reached for it.
She pulled it away.
“My father,” he said.
Victoria hesitated.
Then she handed it to him.
Ethan unfolded it.
The photograph was old.
Marcus stood in the center, younger than Samantha had ever imagined him.
Beside him was a teenage Victoria.
And behind them stood two men.
One was an older version of Nathaniel's grandfather.
The other was Ethan's father.
Ethan's face changed.
“They were friends.””
Nathaniel looked at the picture.
“Before the feud.””
“Yes,” Victoria said.
Samantha stared at Marcus's face.
He had her eyes.
She had spent years staring into the mirror and wondering where they came from.
Now she knew.
She reached out and touched the photograph.
“My father.””
Victoria looked away.
Samantha noticed another photograph beneath it.
She pulled it free.
It showed Marcus holding a newborn baby.
Samantha's breath stopped.
“That’s me.””
Nobody spoke.
Marcus's face in the photograph was different from the one in the first picture.
He was smiling.
Actually smiling.
His eyes were full of wonder.
Samantha's fingers trembled.
“He knew.””
Victoria nodded.
“He held you.””
“Then why did you take me away?””
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Because my father threatened me.””
Samantha looked up.
“Grandfather?””
“He said he would destroy Marcus if I refused.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“Destroy how?””
“Financially. Legally. Personally.””
Victoria's voice grew quieter.
“He had people everywhere.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“My father worked for him?””
“At first.””
“Doing what?””
“Whatever your grandfather asked.””
Ethan stared at her.
“And Marcus?””
“Marcus refused.””
Samantha looked at the black box.
“What happened next?””
Victoria placed the box on the desk.
“The night Marcus died, he gave this to me.””
Nathaniel's expression hardened.
“Why would he give something to you?””
“Because he knew he was running out of time.””
Victoria opened the box.
Inside was an old digital recorder.
Samantha stared at it.
“That still works?””
“Yes.””
Nathaniel took a step closer.
“Play it.””
Victoria hesitated.
Ethan said, “Now.””
She pressed the button.
Static crackled through the study.
Then a man's voice.
Weak.
Breathing heavily.
Marcus.
Samantha covered her mouth.
“Victoria…”
The recording continued.
“If you're hearing this, I'm probably gone.””
A pause.
“I don't know who will find this.””
Marcus coughed.
“But I need the truth to survive me.””
Samantha's eyes filled with tears.
Nathaniel stood motionless.
His father continued.
“Dad thinks he can control the company forever. He thinks fear makes a family stronger.””
Another cough.
“He's wrong.””
Victoria looked down.
Marcus's voice became softer.
“Samantha is my daughter.””
Samantha closed her eyes.
“I know.””
Nathaniel looked at her.
Marcus continued.
“She was born healthy. She was beautiful.””
Samantha began to cry.
“I held her.””
His voice broke.
“She grabbed my finger.””
The recording crackled.
“I told Victoria I would marry her. I told her we'd leave. I'd start over. Somewhere no one knew us.””
Victoria's eyes filled.
“But she was afraid.””
The recording paused.
Then Marcus spoke again.
“Dad knows about Samantha now.””
Nathaniel whispered, “Oh, God.””
Marcus continued.
“He says her inheritance can never reach her.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Charlotte gasped.
Nobody looked away from the recorder.
Marcus said,
“He says if I fight him, he will make Samantha disappear.””
Samantha's knees weakened.
Nathaniel caught her arm.
Marcus continued.
“I've tried to protect her.””
Another pause.
“But I'm beginning to believe I can't.””
Then his tone changed.
“If anything happens to me, the people responsible are not only my father.””
Ethan's expression became rigid.
Marcus said a name.
“Daniel Blackwell.””
Ethan's face went blank.
“My father.””
“Yes,” Victoria whispered.
The recording continued.
“Daniel knows what my father is doing. He has helped him move money through Blackwell accounts.””
Ethan stepped backward.
“No.””
His voice sounded broken.
Marcus continued.
“And Victoria knows.””
Samantha looked at her mother.
“She knows where the documents are.””
Victoria bowed her head.
“And if she tells you otherwise, she is lying.””
The recording stopped for several seconds.
Then Marcus spoke one final time.
“There is one person I trust.””
Nathaniel leaned closer.
“Who?””
Marcus answered.
“Rebecca.””
Rebecca's name echoed through the room.
Samantha looked at the doorway.
Rebecca stood there crying.
Marcus continued.
“She knows where I hid the original evidence.””
Nathaniel turned toward Rebecca.
“You knew?””
Rebecca nodded.
“I knew where he hid it.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid you would come looking.””
“For what?””
Rebecca looked at Samantha.
“For this.””
Marcus's voice returned.
“The evidence is not in the mansion.””
Samantha frowned.
“Then where is it?””
Marcus said,
“Pier Seven.””
Ethan frowned.
“Pier Seven?””
Nathaniel looked at him.
“You know it?””
Ethan nodded.
“Blackwell shipping property.””
Victoria suddenly grabbed the recorder.
“That's enough.””
Nathaniel took it from her.
“What else did he say?””
Victoria's eyes filled with panic.
“He said where the evidence was. That's all.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.””
Victoria turned.
Rebecca stepped into the study.
“That isn't all.””
Victoria's face froze.
Rebecca reached into her coat and pulled out a second recording.
“This is the part you never knew I had.””
Victoria whispered, “Rebecca…”
Rebecca pressed play.
The same room appeared to come alive again.
But this recording wasn't from Marcus.
It was a conversation between three people.
Victoria.
Daniel Blackwell.
And Victor Hayes.
Samantha listened.
Victor's voice was unmistakable.
“Marcus has to disappear.””
Daniel asked, “And the girl?””
Victoria answered,
“I'll raise her.””
Victor laughed.
“Not as a daughter.””
Samantha's face went white.
Victoria's recorded voice continued.
“Then what?””
“Keep her useful.””
Samantha stared at her mother.
Victor said,
“When she turns twenty-one, transfer the trust to Olivia and Charlotte through the marriage arrangement.””
Daniel responded,
“And if she refuses?””
Victor laughed.
“Then take the house.””
Samantha's breathing became ragged.
Nathaniel looked sick.
Olivia began sobbing.
Charlotte whispered, “Mom…”
The recording continued.
Daniel asked,
“And what happens if the girl finds out about her father?””
Victor answered calmly.
“She won't.””
Daniel paused.
“And if she does?””
Victor's voice came again.
“Then she becomes a problem.””
Samantha stepped backward.
A chair hit the wall behind her.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Victoria was crying now.
“You don't understand.””
Samantha looked at her.
“I understand perfectly.””
“No.””
“You planned my life.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You planned to take everything my father left me.””
“I didn't know what else to do.””
“You made me a servant.””
Victoria's voice cracked.
“I gave you a home.””
Samantha laughed through her tears.
“No.””
She looked around the study.
“You gave me a cage.””
Victoria collapsed into the chair.
Nathaniel turned toward Ethan.
“Pier Seven.””
Ethan nodded.
“We go tonight.””
Samantha wiped her face.
“I’m coming.””
Nathaniel immediately said, “No.””
“I am.””
“It's dangerous.””
“So was growing up in that house.””
Nathaniel fell silent.
Samantha looked at Ethan.
“What is at Pier Seven?””
He hesitated.
Then answered.
“My father's private warehouse.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“Your father died six years ago.””
“Yes.””
“And the warehouse is still active?””
Ethan's face darkened.
“It shouldn't be.””
“What's that supposed to mean?””
Ethan pulled out his phone and checked something.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He showed Nathaniel the screen.
An access log.
Someone had entered the warehouse that afternoon.
Ethan stared at the timestamp.
“Three hours ago.””
Nathaniel looked at Samantha.
“Who?””
Ethan shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Then another notification appeared.
A security camera image.
A figure walking into the warehouse.
Samantha leaned closer.
She recognized the coat.
Her eyes widened.
“That’s my mother.””
Victoria stopped breathing.
Ethan looked at her.
“You went there today?””
Victoria shook her head violently.
“No.””
Nathaniel stared at the screen.
“Then who is that?””
The image refreshed.
May you like
The figure turned toward the camera.
And Samantha saw her own face staring back.
