Chapter 12: The Last Recording
The basement erupted into chaos.
Everyone moved at once.
Officer Reed rushed toward the stairs.
Laura searched the hidden room.
Daniel stood frozen.
And I looked at my father.
Because one thought kept repeating in my head.
Voss had taken the evidence.
Again.
“How did he disappear?”” I asked.
My father looked toward the empty doorway.
“He planned every exit.””
Daniel slammed his fist against the wall.
“He always does.””
I looked at him.
“You knew this could happen?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
“Daniel.””
He looked at me.
“I knew my father never loses.””
The words were quiet.
But they carried years of fear.
Laura came out of the hidden room holding something.
“Wait.””
Everyone turned.
She held a small recorder.
Not the broken one.
Another one.
“I found this behind the wall.””
My father’s face changed.
“No.””
“What?””
He stepped closer.
“That’s the original.””
I took it from Laura.
“Original of what?””
My father looked at me.
“The last conversation I had with Voss.””
My hands tightened around the device.
“Before you disappeared?””
He nodded.
I pressed play.
Static.
Then voices.
My father.
And Voss.
“You can’t hide forever.””
Voss laughed.
“You underestimate how much people want comfort over truth.””
My father answered:
“My daughter knows.””
A pause.
Then Voss said:
“She doesn’t remember.””
My blood went cold.
My father’s voice became angry.
“She will.””
Voss laughed again.
“No.””
A pause.
“She’ll remember the night she helped us.””
The recorder clicked.
Everyone looked at me.
My father looked devastated.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
I stepped away.
“You knew.””
My father closed his eyes.
“I knew you were manipulated.””
The recording continued.
Voss’s voice:
“She trusts you. She trusts her mother. She’ll believe anything.””
My father responded:
“You’re wrong.””
Voss laughed.
“She already opened the safe.””
The room went silent.
I looked at my hands.
A memory came back.
Sixteen years old.
My father’s office.
A locked drawer.
A password.
My fingers typing it.
I had opened something.
Something I wasn’t supposed to.
I whispered:
“I did open the safe.””
Nobody spoke.
My father nodded sadly.
“Yes.””
“What was inside?””
He looked at me.
“The evidence against Voss.””
My stomach dropped.
“And I gave it to him.””
“No.””
My father grabbed my shoulders.
“You were tricked.””
“But I did it.””
“You were sixteen.””
I looked at the recorder.
The final part played.
My younger voice.
“Dad, I gave Daniel the files.””
A pause.
My father sounded terrified.
“Megan, listen to me. You have to forget this.””
My younger voice cried.
“I’m sorry.””
Then Voss spoke.
“Good girl.””
The recording ended.
I couldn’t breathe.
Because I remembered now.
The missing piece.
The reason my father disappeared.
The reason Daniel had been protecting the secret.
The reason the parrot knew my name.
My father looked at me.
“I erased your memory because I wanted you to have a normal life.””
Daniel whispered:
“But someone else brought it back.””
A phone suddenly rang.
Everyone froze.
It wasn’t mine.
It wasn’t Reed’s.
It was inside the parrot’s cage.
A tiny hidden phone.
I picked it up.
A voice answered immediately.
Voss.
“You finally remembered.””
I gripped the phone.
“Where are you?””
He laughed softly.
“Somewhere your father never found.””
A pause.
Then he said:
“But you’re going to.””
My heart raced.
“Why?””
His answer was quiet.
“Because the person you’re looking for has been standing beside you the entire night.””
The call ended.
Everyone looked around.
Then the parrot slowly turned toward one person.
May you like
And whispered:
“Reed.””
