Chapter 14: The Final Recording
Everything stopped.
Rebecca stood several feet away.
Her face was filled with regret.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Regret.
“Put it down,” Michael said.
She looked at him.
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” I said.
“I think we’re starting to.””
Her hand tightened.
Ethan stepped behind me.
I immediately moved in front of him.
Rebecca saw.
And her expression broke.
“Rachel did that too.””
“What?””
“Protected him.””
She looked at Ethan.
“She always protected him.””
“Then why are you here?””
Rebecca lowered the weapon slightly.
“Because Daniel is coming.””
Michael frowned.
“He knows where we are?””
“Yes.””
My phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
*You should have listened to Rebecca.*
Daniel.
Then another.
*She always makes things worse.*
Rebecca looked at the phone.
“He’s nearby.””
I stared at her.
“Why should I believe you?””
“Because I have spent seven years trying to undo what I helped create.””
That answer surprised me.
She looked at the ground.
“Daniel used me.””
Michael crossed his arms.
“You helped him.””
“Yes.””
Her voice cracked.
“I did.””
The honesty stopped me.
“I was desperate. I thought I was helping my sister. I didn’t know how far he would go.””
“You knew enough.””
“I know.””
She looked at Ethan.
“That is why I disappeared.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Rebecca started crying.
“Because Rachel made me promise.””
“Promise what?””
“That if anything happened to her, I would protect you.””
The words hurt.
Because everyone had been protecting Ethan.
Everyone except telling him the truth.
Rebecca held out a small device.
“The recording is inside.””
I took it.
“What is this?””
“Rachel’s final evidence.””
We inserted it into Michael’s laptop.
A video appeared.
Rachel.
Again.
But this time, she wasn’t alone.
Daniel was standing across from her.
The recording date was the night she died.
My hands shook.
Rachel’s voice came first.
“You need to leave my family alone.””
Daniel laughed.
“You still think you have power.””
“I have evidence.””
“You have nothing.””
Rachel lifted a folder.
“I copied everything.””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“You don’t understand.””
“No.””
Rachel stepped back.
“I understand exactly what you did.””
The video continued.
Daniel admitted everything.
The stolen accounts.
The fake companies.
The threats.
Then Rachel said something that made everyone freeze.
“You think Ethan belongs to you because of blood.””
Daniel smiled.
“He does.””
“No.””
Rachel’s voice was firm.
“He belongs to the person who stayed.””
Daniel moved closer.
“Then let’s see how long your husband stays when he knows everything.””
The video suddenly shook.
A loud crash.
Then Rachel screamed.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“You heard it.””
My voice was cold.
“You killed her.””
“No.””
He sounded amused.
“She made choices.””
“You threatened her.””
“She betrayed me.””
I looked at Ethan.
My son.
“You are never coming near him.””
Daniel laughed.
“You still don’t understand.””
“Understand what?””
“He’s the reason everything happened.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“The evidence Rachel hid wasn’t about me.””
A pause.
“It was about him.””
I looked at Rebecca.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel said:
“Ask Rachel why she changed Ethan’s name before she died.””
The call ended.
I immediately opened the documents again.
Michael searched.
Then he froze.
“What?””
He turned the laptop toward me.
A legal document.
A name change request.
Approved.
Ethan’s original birth name:
Ethan Daniel Parker.
My hands went numb.
Then Rebecca whispered:
“There’s one more thing.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She pointed toward the driveway.
Headlights appeared.
A car stopped.
May you like
Daniel stepped out.
And he was not alone.
