Chapter 2: The Voice On The Recording
“Stop the recording.””
Lauren’s voice was sharper than I had ever heard it.
Ethan immediately backed away.
I stepped between them.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“Why don’t you want me to hear the rest?””
Her mouth opened.
Closed.
A tiny hesitation.
But it was enough.
Lauren had always been good with words. She could calm angry customers at her job, smooth over arguments with neighbors, and convince people she was right even when she wasn’t.
But standing there in the hallway, with her own voice coming from Ethan’s phone, she looked different.
Cornered.
“Because he edited it,” she said.
Ethan looked stunned.
“What?””
“You can’t trust a recording from someone who wants to hurt me.””
I stared at my son.
Then at my wife.
“Did you say those things?””
Lauren looked away.
“Not like that.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means he twisted a conversation.””
Ethan laughed softly.
There was no anger in it.
Only pain.
“That’s what you always say.””
Lauren turned toward him.
“Be quiet.””
I felt something shift inside me.
Not because she raised her voice.
Because Ethan didn’t look angry.
He looked defeated.
Like he had heard those words too many times.
“Ethan,” I said, “tell me everything.””
Lauren immediately interrupted.
“No.””
I turned.
“No?””
“He’s upset. He’s not thinking clearly.””
“He’s sixteen.””
“Exactly.””
I looked at her.
“That means he’s old enough to tell me what happened.””
The silence that followed was heavy.
Ethan sat down on the bottom stair.
He placed his hands together, trying to stop them from shaking.
“About three months ago, she started going through my room.””
Lauren rolled her eyes.
“I was checking on him.””
“You read my journal.””
My eyes moved toward Lauren.
“You did?””
“It was inappropriate.””
“It was private.””
“You wrote terrible things about this family.””
Ethan looked at me.
“I wrote that I was scared.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
I sat beside him.
“Scared of what?””
He swallowed.
“Her.””
Lauren immediately shook her head.
“This is ridiculous.””
But I didn’t look at her.
I looked at my son.
“What happened?””
Ethan stared at his phone.
Then he said quietly:
“She started telling me that nobody would believe me if I talked.””
My stomach turned.
“What?””
“She said you were always going to choose her.””
Lauren stepped forward.
“That is not what I said.””
Ethan looked up.
“Yes, it is.””
“No.””
“You said, ‘Your father built this family with me. He’s not going to throw it away because his teenage son is angry.’”
Lauren’s face went pale.
I didn’t say anything.
Because I remembered something.
A conversation from a month earlier.
Ethan had asked to spend the weekend at my sister’s house.
Lauren told me he was just being rebellious.
I believed her.
I thought my son was going through a phase.
Now I wondered if I had missed something.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”” I asked him.
His eyes filled with tears.
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Every time I started talking, she would already explain what happened.””
I looked at Lauren.
She said nothing.
Ethan continued.
“She made me sound crazy before I even opened my mouth.””
“That’s a lie,” Lauren said.
But her voice wasn’t as confident.
I stood up.
“Where’s Lily?””
Lauren blinked.
“What?””
“Where is Lily?””
“She’s upstairs.””
I walked toward the staircase.
“Dad.””
I stopped.
Ethan’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Please don’t tell her I said anything.””
I turned around.
“Why?””
He looked terrified.
“Because she’ll make me regret it.””
Before I could answer, a small voice came from upstairs.
“Mom?””
Everyone looked up.
Lily stood at the top of the stairs holding her stuffed rabbit.
Her eyes moved between us.
“Are Ethan and Mom fighting again?””
Again.
That one word stayed in my mind.
Again.
I slowly walked upstairs.
“Lily, what do you mean again?””
She hugged her rabbit tighter.
Then she looked at Lauren.
Lauren immediately said:
“Go back to your room, sweetheart.””
But Lily didn’t move.
She looked at me.
May you like
And then she whispered something that made my entire body go cold.
“Dad… Ethan isn’t the only one Mom told not to talk.””
