Chapter 12: The Voice From The Past
The room remained silent as Thomas held the phone.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
For twenty-five years, the truth had been buried.
Now it was calling them.
“Play it,” Emily said.
Thomas looked at her.
“Are you sure?””
She nodded.
“I’ve spent my whole life not knowing.””
Her voice shook.
“But I need to know.””
Thomas pressed the audio file.
Static filled the room.
Then her father’s voice returned.
“If you are hearing this second part, then someone found what I tried to hide.””
Emily closed her eyes.
She could almost imagine him sitting beside her.
The same calm voice.
The same gentle tone.
“My daughter, if you ever learn the truth, remember this: do not let anger become your inheritance.””
A tear fell from Emily’s face.
The recording continued.
“Robert Hale was not alone.””
Richard looked down.
Thomas became tense.
“There was someone else inside the company.””
A pause.
“Someone I trusted.””
Everyone looked around.
Then Michael’s voice continued.
“I discovered the betrayal too late.””
The audio crackled.
Emily leaned closer.
“Who was it?””
Her father’s voice became quieter.
“The person responsible was…”
The recording suddenly cut.
Everyone froze.
“What happened?”” Daniel asked.
Thomas checked the file.
“It’s damaged.””
Emily stared.
“No.””
Her voice became desperate.
“No, there has to be more.””
Margaret shook her head.
“Your father recorded it on an old device.””
Richard looked furious.
“This is ridiculous.””
Emily turned toward him.
“Why?””
He looked at her.
“Because you’re all chasing ghosts.””
She studied his face.
“You seem nervous.””
Richard laughed.
“I’m not.””
But he was.
Everyone could see it.
Thomas noticed too.
“Richard.””
The younger man looked at him.
“What?””
“You know more than you’re saying.””
Richard’s expression hardened.
“You think I’m protecting someone?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
That silence was enough.
Richard stood.
“I’m done being blamed for things my father did.””
He walked toward the door.
Emily stopped him.
“Richard.””
He turned.
“If your father was innocent, why did he spend his life hiding?””
Richard stared at her.
“Because people like your father destroyed him.””
Emily shook her head.
“No.””
She held up the recording.
“My father spent his final moments trying to protect people.””
Richard’s face changed.
For a moment, he looked like a lost child.
Then the anger returned.
“You never knew him.””
Emily stepped closer.
“You’re right.””
Her voice softened.
“But I know what he believed.””
She looked at Thomas.
“And I know what this company was built on.””
Richard left.
But Emily knew it wasn’t over.
That night, Thomas received another message.
This time, there was no audio.
Only a photograph.
He opened it.
Then immediately called Emily.
When she arrived, he showed her the image.
Her blood ran cold.
It was a picture of her father.
Taken the night he died.
But in the background was a car.
And standing beside it was someone.
Someone who should not have been there.
Someone everyone believed was innocent.
Emily looked closer.
“Is that…”
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
She looked at him.
“How is this possible?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
Because the person in the photograph was the one person nobody suspected.
The one person who had spent twenty-five years helping Thomas build the company.
The one person who had comforted Emily after her father’s death.
The one person who claimed to have searched for the truth.
Daniel.
Emily stepped back.
“No.””
Thomas looked devastated.
“I don’t understand.””
The phone rang.
Unknown number.
Thomas answered.
A voice spoke.
Calm.
Older.
Familiar.
“Thomas.””
Everyone froze.
Thomas’s face turned pale.
“Who is this?””
The voice replied:
“You spent twenty-five years protecting a lie.””
Emily grabbed the phone.
“Who are you?””
A pause.
Then the voice said:
“The person who was there the night your father died.””
Emily’s heart stopped.
The voice continued.
“And the person who knows the truth about Daniel.””
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Thomas looked at Emily.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
May you like
Because the past they had been chasing was not buried.
It had been watching them the entire time.
