Chapter 2: The Phone In Her Purse
Nobody moved for several seconds.
Victoria stood frozen with one hand wrapped around her purse.
A normal person would have looked confused.
A normal person would have laughed and said, “What phone?””
But Victoria didn’t.
She knew exactly what Noah was talking about.
And everyone saw it.
“Rocco,” she said quickly, forcing a smile.
“This is ridiculous.””
I looked at the purse.
Then at her.
“Why did you grab it?””
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Man, you’re letting a child create a misunderstanding.””
I turned toward him.
“A misunderstanding?””
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
“That child just named you.””
Marcus looked away.
That was when I knew this wasn’t some random accident.
Something had been happening behind my back.
Something involving my son.
Maria moved closer to me.
“Rocco,” she whispered, “Noah has been acting scared around Victoria for weeks.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She hesitated.
I had known Maria as someone who never exaggerated.
If she was afraid to say something, it meant it was serious.
“What do you mean?””
She glanced at Victoria.
“Every time Victoria comes near him, Noah asks if he has to go upstairs.””
Victoria immediately interrupted.
“That’s because he gets overstimulated.””
“No,” Maria said.
The word came out stronger than anyone expected.
“No, Victoria. That’s not what I saw.””
The room shifted.
Guests started whispering.
Victoria’s face hardened.
“You’re an employee.””
Maria looked straight at her.
“And I’m the person who has been taking care of Noah when you were too busy planning this party.””
That sentence landed.
Because it was true.
After Noah’s mother passed away two years earlier, Maria had become one of the few people who understood him.
She knew his routines.
His fears.
His little habits.
I looked back at Victoria.
The woman standing in front of me was supposed to become my wife in three months.
She was supposed to be the person who protected my son.
Instead, my son was afraid of her.
“Open the purse,” I said.
Victoria stared at me.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
Her expression changed from panic to anger.
“You don’t trust me?””
I almost laughed.
Because trust was exactly what was missing.
“Right now, I’m trying to understand why my three-year-old thinks you and Marcus have been hiding something from me.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“This is insane. You’re embarrassing Victoria over a child’s imagination.””
I turned toward him.
“Then you won’t mind if we check.””
He looked nervous.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Victoria held the purse tighter.
“No.””
The entire room went silent.
“No?”” I repeated.
She swallowed.
“I mean… no, because this is humiliating.””
I stared at her.
“Humiliating is breaking my son’s hearing aid and lying about what happened.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“I said it was an accident.””
“And Noah said something else happened.””
She looked at Noah.
Then quickly looked away.
That small movement broke something inside me.
Because a person who loved my son would look at him.
A person who cared would ask if he was okay.
Victoria was only worried about herself.
I nodded toward my security team.
“Take the purse.””
Victoria stepped back.
“You cannot do this.””
One security guard looked at me.
I gave him a small nod.
He carefully took the purse.
Victoria didn’t fight.
She didn’t scream.
She just watched.
And somehow that was worse.
Inside the purse was nothing unusual at first.
A wallet.
Makeup.
Keys.
A small notebook.
Then Maria noticed something.
“Wait.””
She reached toward a hidden compartment.
Her fingers pulled out a small black phone.
Not Victoria’s regular phone.
A second phone.
The room exploded with whispers.
Marcus immediately turned away.
I felt cold.
“Rocco,” Victoria said softly.
I looked at her.
She was crying now.
But I didn’t know if the tears were real.
“Please listen to me.””
I picked up the phone.
“Why do you have a secret phone?””
She didn’t answer.
Marcus did.
“Because she was going to surprise you.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He forced a smile.
“She probably recorded something for your birthday or something.””
I stared at the phone.
Then I pressed the power button.
The screen lit up.
No password.
That was strange.
A secret phone with no password.
Like someone wanted it easy to access.
There were only a few things on it.
Photos.
Audio files.
Messages.
My hand started shaking when I saw the first audio recording.
The title was:
“Rocco Conversation.””
The date was three days earlier.
I looked at Victoria.
Her face went completely pale.
“No,” she whispered.
May you like
I pressed play.
And the first voice I heard was mine.
