Chapter 3: The Voice From the Dead
Nobody spoke.
The phone remained pressed against the housekeeper’s trembling hand.
The garden lights flickered softly above us, casting shadows across the faces of everyone standing there.
But I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t breathe.
Because the voice coming through that phone belonged to someone who was supposed to be gone forever.
Sarah looked like she had seen a ghost.
“Mom?””
Her voice was barely a whisper.
The woman on the other end didn’t answer immediately.
Only a faint sound of breathing came through the speaker.
Then:
“Sarah.””
Sarah covered her mouth.
Her knees almost gave out.
I reached out and caught her arm before she fell.
For five years, she had carried the pain of believing she had lost everything.
Her father.
Her daughter’s father.
Her chance to tell the truth.
And now the one person she thought she had buried was speaking to her again.
“Mom,” Sarah said again, tears filling her eyes.
“How is this possible?””
The voice became softer.
“Because the woman you trusted wanted everyone to believe I was dead.””
My eyes immediately turned toward Victoria.
She had stopped crying.
Her face had become completely empty.
Not sadness.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“You know her,” I said.
Victoria looked at me.
For a second, she didn’t answer.
That hesitation told me everything.
“Victoria,” I said coldly.
She looked away.
Sarah stepped forward.
“What did you do?””
Victoria’s voice shook.
“I can explain.””
“No.””
Sarah’s voice broke.
“You don’t get to explain anymore.””
The guests around us began whispering.
Some had already pulled out their phones.
Some looked uncomfortable.
Others looked fascinated.
A family secret that had been hidden behind wealth and luxury was now unfolding in front of everyone.
I didn’t care.
All I wanted was the truth.
I took the phone from the housekeeper.
“Who are you?””
A pause.
Then the woman answered.
“Daniel, my name is Margaret Bennett.””
I closed my eyes.
“Sarah’s mother?””
“Yes.””
“But Sarah told me you died.””
“I know.””
The woman’s voice became heavier.
“Because Victoria told her.””
Sarah looked at Victoria.
“No…”
Victoria stepped backward.
“Daniel, don’t listen to her.””
I turned toward her.
“You knew Margaret was alive?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Sarah’s expression changed from confusion to horror.
“How long?””
Victoria swallowed.
“Sarah…”
“How long did you know my mother was alive?””
Victoria’s silence was unbearable.
Sarah’s voice became louder.
“How long?””
“Five years.””
The words fell into the garden like a stone.
Sarah stared at her.
Five years.
The same amount of time she had spent separated from me.
Separated from her daughter’s father.
Separated from the life she deserved.
I looked at Victoria.
“Why?””
She shook her head.
“I didn’t want things to become complicated.””
“Complicated?””
My voice rose.
“You erased people from my life.””
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect us.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You were controlling everything.””
The phone crackled.
Margaret’s voice interrupted.
“Daniel, there is something you need to know.””
I brought the phone back to my ear.
“What?””
“Victoria did not act alone.””
The garden became silent again.
Sarah looked confused.
“What does that mean?””
Margaret continued.
“Five years ago, when I discovered what Victoria had done, I tried to expose her.””
Sarah whispered:
“Expose what?””
The older woman’s voice trembled.
“The truth about Emma.””
My eyes moved toward my daughter.
She was standing beside Sarah, holding her mother’s hand.
“What truth?””
Margaret paused.
Then said:
“Emma was never the reason Victoria separated Sarah from you.””
I frowned.
“What are you saying?””
“Victoria had another reason.””
The wind moved through the garden trees.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
“What reason?”” I asked.
Margaret’s voice lowered.
“Daniel, before you met Sarah, there was something about your family history you were never told.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“My family?””
“Yes.””
I looked toward the mansion.
The Whitmore name had always been a source of pride.
A company built by my grandfather.
A legacy passed down through generations.
“What does my family have to do with this?””
Margaret answered slowly.
“Everything.””
Victoria suddenly stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Everyone looked at her.
For the first time, panic was visible on her face.
“Daniel, you don’t need to hear this.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
“Because it’s true?””
Her lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Sarah looked between us.
“What is she talking about?””
Margaret continued.
“Victoria discovered something about the Whitmore family five years ago.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What?””
“She discovered that your father left behind documents before he died.””
My heart skipped.
My father had died when I was twenty-six.
His death had always been described as sudden.
Unexpected.
There were questions I never asked because my family told me there was nothing to know.
“What documents?””
Margaret hesitated.
“Documents proving that the company was not entirely built the way everyone believes.””
I felt a chill.
My company.
My family name.
Everything.
“What does that have to do with Emma?””
The answer came quietly.
“Because Sarah’s pregnancy happened at the same time Victoria discovered those documents.””
I looked at Victoria.
She was completely still.
“You used my daughter?””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
“Then explain.””
Her face twisted.
“I was scared.””
The same words again.
But this time, they sounded different.
Not like an excuse.
Like a confession.
“I found out your father had hidden things.””
“What things?””
She looked at the ground.
“Things that could destroy the Whitmore empire.””
A strange silence followed.
I had spent my entire life believing my family was untouchable.
That my father had been a brilliant businessman.
That everything we owned came from hard work and honest decisions.
Now, in one night, every belief I had was being questioned.
Sarah looked at me.
“Daniel, I didn’t know about any of this.””
I believed her.
Because unlike Victoria, Sarah looked terrified of the truth.
Victoria stepped closer.
“Daniel, listen to me.””
I looked at her.
“Why should I?””
“Because I was trying to save you.””
“By stealing my daughter?””
Her face crumbled.
“I made mistakes.””
“Mistakes?””
I pointed toward Emma.
“That little girl spent five years believing her father didn’t want her.””
Victoria started crying.
“I didn’t know how else to keep you safe.””
The phone crackled again.
Margaret spoke.
“Daniel.””
I answered.
“Yes?””
“You need to leave that mansion.””
Everyone looked confused.
“What?””
“Right now.””
“Why?””
A long pause.
Then:
“Because the person who tried to silence me five years ago knows I’m talking to you.””
Sarah looked around.
“Mom, what are you saying?””
Margaret’s voice became urgent.
“I’m saying you are all in danger.””
The lights above the garden suddenly went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
People screamed inside.
Glass shattered.
Someone yelled.
I immediately grabbed Emma and pulled her close.
“Stay with me.””
Sarah moved beside us.
“Daniel, what happened?””
I looked toward the mansion.
The darkness swallowed the windows.
Then, somewhere inside the house, a single light turned on.
The library.
The room where everything had started.
And in the glowing window, I saw a figure standing there.
Watching us.
Victoria saw it too.
Her face changed.
“Impossible.””
I looked at her.
“Who is that?””
She whispered the words that made my blood run cold.
“Your father.””
I froze.
“My father is dead.””
Victoria stared at the figure.
“No.””
May you like
Her voice trembled.
“He was supposed to be.””
