Chapter 7: The Voice on the Recording
I stared at the USB drive in my hand.
Someone had been secretly recording my father during the final months of his life.
Someone who had lived in my house.
Someone my father had trusted.
"Who was it?"" I asked.
Mr. Harrison removed his glasses and slowly wiped them with a handkerchief.
"Your father specifically instructed me not to reveal the name until you had listened to the recording.""
"Why?""
"Because he believed you wouldn't believe me.""
I looked at Emily.
She had already connected a laptop to the office monitor.
"Let's hear it.""
Mr. Harrison nodded.
Emily inserted the USB drive.
A folder appeared containing twelve audio files, each labeled with a date.
The earliest recording was from three months before my father's death.
I clicked it.
At first, there was only static.
Then my father's voice filled the room.
"Arthur, I know about the transfers.""
A second voice answered.
"You have no proof.""
"I have the bank statements.""
"Those statements can be explained.""
My father coughed.
"Don't insult me. I've spent forty years building this company. I know exactly what you're doing.""
A chair scraped.
Then the second voice spoke again.
"Marcus doesn't need to know.""
My father's response was immediate.
"Marcus is the one person who deserves to know.""
I paused the recording.
"That's Arthur.""
Mr. Harrison nodded.
I played the next file.
This time, the conversation sounded different.
My father was speaking to someone else.
"I don't want to lose another son.""
A woman's voice answered.
"Then tell Jonathan the truth.""
I froze.
I recognized that voice.
It belonged to my mother.
But my mother had died six years earlier.
I looked at the date on the recording.
It was from seven years ago.
My mother was still alive.
I leaned closer to the speakers.
My father continued.
"Jonathan thinks I chose Marcus because he's more capable.""
"Didn't you?""
"That's not the reason.""
"Then tell him.""
"I can't. Not until he's ready.""
The recording ended.
I turned toward Mr. Harrison.
"What truth?""
He shook his head.
"Your father wanted to explain it himself. He never got the chance.""
I felt frustration rising in my chest.
"Then why did you wait six years?""
"Because the instructions were clear. I was to release the recordings only when someone attempted to misuse the trust.""
He pointed toward the screen.
"Keep listening.""
Emily opened the fourth file.
The next recording was dated four weeks before my father's death.
I heard a door close.
Then my father's voice.
"Jonathan, sit down.""
My brother answered.
"I don't have time for another lecture.""
"This isn't a lecture.""
"Then what is it?""
"I know you've been working with Arthur.""
A long silence followed.
Then Jonathan spoke.
"You never trusted me.""
"I trusted you with opportunities. You betrayed that trust.""
"You gave Marcus everything!""
"That's not true.""
"His name is on every building. His name is on every contract. Everybody thinks he's some genius businessman.""
My father sighed.
"Because he stayed when things were difficult.""
Jonathan laughed bitterly.
"And I didn't?""
"You walked away.""
"Because you made sure there was nothing left for me!""
My father's voice became firm.
"Listen to me carefully. If you continue working with Arthur, you'll destroy this family.""
Jonathan answered with a sentence that made my stomach tighten.
"Maybe this family deserves to be destroyed.""
The recording stopped.
Nobody moved.
I remembered Jonathan at our father's funeral.
He hadn't cried.
He'd stood near the back of the church, refusing to speak to me.
When I approached him afterward, he'd said something I'd never forgotten.
"You got what you wanted.""
At the time, I'd thought he meant the company.
Now I wasn't sure.
"Play the last recording," I said.
Emily selected the twelfth file.
There was a clicking sound.
Then my father's voice.
"Marcus, if you're hearing this, I've failed to protect you.""
I stopped breathing.
"Your brother believes I betrayed him. Arthur has convinced him that the company belongs to him. And Vanessa...""
My father's voice weakened.
"Vanessa knows more than she admits.""
A pause.
Then he continued.
"There's one thing you must understand. I didn't choose you to lead Reed Meridian because you're my oldest son.""
I leaned forward.
"I chose you because you were the only person who never asked me what you would inherit.""
My eyes burned.
My father continued.
"Your brother has been told a lie about his birth. Arthur knows the truth. And if Jonathan discovers it before you do, he will use it to destroy everything I've built.""
The recording ended with a soft click.
I sat completely still.
My father had known.
He'd known there was a secret about Jonathan.
And he'd carried it to his grave.
Mr. Harrison closed his briefcase.
"There's one more thing, Marcus.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He placed an old birth certificate on the desk.
The name printed beneath the father's information wasn't my father's.
It was Arthur Bennett.
My brother Jonathan wasn't my father's biological son.
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And Arthur Bennett wasn't simply a former employee.
He was the man who had fathered my brother.
