Chapter 8: The Hidden Recording
The interrogation room was colder than I expected.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
A plain table.
Two chairs.
A camera in the corner.
A place designed to make people talk.
Detective Harris sat across from me.
He placed several photos on the table.
“I want to believe your story.””
I looked up.
“But?””
“But evidence matters.””
I nodded.
“Then show me evidence.””
He turned one photograph around.
It showed the hidden room.
A lock.
A small metal mechanism.
“We found your fingerprints here.””
I stared.
“That room was built inside my house.””
“Yes.””
“I touched the wall today.””
“This fingerprint was eighteen months old.””
That made me stop.
Someone had been planning this.
For a long time.
“Who reported the evidence?””
The detective didn’t answer immediately.
That was enough.
“Daniel?””
His silence confirmed it.
I leaned back.
“My own brother.””
Detective Harris watched me.
“Your brother says you were under pressure after Emily disappeared.””
I almost laughed.
“Of course he does.””
The detective studied my reaction.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?””
A pause.
His expression changed.
“Are you sure?””
He looked at me.
Then left the room.
Minutes passed.
When he returned, he looked different.
More serious.
“What happened?”” I asked.
He placed his phone on the table.
“We received new information.””
I waited.
“The hidden room wasn’t built eighteen months ago.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“It was constructed years earlier.””
My stomach tightened.
“By who?””
Detective Harris looked at the report.
“Your father.””
I felt the room disappear.
“My father?””
He nodded.
“Records show your father had the hidden space created during the mansion renovation.””
I remembered my father.
A quiet man.
A careful man.
He always told me one thing.
“Some secrets protect families. Others destroy them.””
At the time, I thought it was just something old people said.
Now I wondered what he knew.
Detective Harris continued.
“We also found something else.””
He placed a small storage device on the table.
“A recording.””
I looked at it.
“Where was it found?””
“Inside the hidden room.””
My hands tightened.
“Play it.””
The detective hesitated.
Then pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice.
My father’s voice.
My entire body froze.
“If you are hearing this, then something happened to Emily.””
I couldn’t breathe.
The recording continued.
“I discovered Daniel was involved with people who were stealing from the company.””
I closed my eyes.
My father knew.
Years ago.
“They will try to make Michael believe he is responsible.””
My heart stopped.
“They will use his loyalty against him.””
Detective Harris looked at me.
The recording continued.
“Emily is the only person who can expose the truth.””
Then my father’s voice became quieter.
“But if Emily disappears, it means they already found out.””
The recording ended.
I sat there.
Unable to speak.
Detective Harris watched me.
“Your father left this before he died.””
I looked up.
“Why didn’t anyone find it?””
“Because someone sealed the room.””
I thought about Vanessa.
Richard.
Daniel.
Everyone who knew.
Everyone who lied.
Then I remembered something.
“Detective.””
“Yes?””
“When did my father record that?””
He checked the file.
“Six years ago.””
Six years.
Before Emily disappeared.
Before Vanessa entered our lives.
Before any of this happened.
Which meant one thing.
This wasn’t about Emily.
Not originally.
It started long before.
The detective stood.
“We need to return to your house.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His expression became serious.
“Because we found another message from your father.””
My heartbeat increased.
“Where?””
May you like
He looked at the door.
“Hidden behind the same wall.””
