Chapter 11: The Voice On The Recording
The house was silent.
Mason stood in front of me holding the small recorder.
A child’s attempt at protection.
A child who had been forced to become a witness.
I looked at him.
“You recorded your own mother?””
He nodded.
“I know it was wrong.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
I looked at the device.
“Explain.””
Mason sat down.
“After Lily started crying about food, I knew something was wrong.””
He looked at the floor.
“Mom always changed when you weren’t around.””
“How long?””
“A long time.””
I closed my eyes.
The answer hurt.
Because every day I thought my family was normal.
Every day my daughter was living something I couldn’t see.
“Play it.””
Mason looked nervous.
“Dad…”
“Play it.””
He pressed the button.
At first, there was only silence.
Then Vanessa’s voice.
“Stop crying.””
My body went cold.
It was her.
Lily’s voice followed.
“But I’m hungry.””
A pause.
Then Vanessa said:
“You always want something.””
I felt my hands tighten.
The recording continued.
“I gave you dinner.””
Lily whispered:
“I only had some rice.””
Vanessa’s voice became colder.
“You need to learn.””
Then came a sound.
Not a hit.
Not violence.
But something worse.
The sound of a child crying alone.
Mason stopped the recording.
Nobody spoke.
I looked at him.
“How many recordings are there?””
“Three.””
“Play the next one.””
He hesitated.
Then pressed play.
This time, Vanessa was talking to someone.
A man.
“Michael trusts me.””
The unknown voice asked:
“And the girl?””
Vanessa answered:
“She won’t matter once I’m gone.””
My heart stopped.
Gone?
I looked at Mason.
He looked terrified.
The recording continued.
“I just need the right moment.””
The man said:
“What about your son?””
Vanessa replied:
“Mason will do what I tell him.””
The recording ended.
I couldn’t breathe.
For days, I thought the worst thing Vanessa had done was hurt Lily.
But this was different.
This was planning.
This was intention.
I looked at Mason.
“Who was the man?””
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man’s voice.
“Michael?””
I froze.
“Who is this?””
The man paused.
“You heard the recording.””
My eyes moved toward Mason.
“How do you know?””
“Because Vanessa doesn’t know I kept copies.””
My heart raced.
“Who are you?””
“My name is Eric.””
The voice became quieter.
“I used to work with Vanessa.””
I stood.
“What do you mean used to?””
“She knows I have information about what she did.””
I looked at the recorder.
“What information?””
Silence.
Then he said:
“The truth about why Vanessa married you.””
I gripped the phone.
“What are you talking about?””
Eric answered:
“She didn’t choose you because she loved you.””
The room felt smaller.
“Then why?””
May you like
His voice dropped.
“She chose you because of Lily.””
