Chapter 7: The Voice on the Recording
The words echoed in the archive room.
Someone inside Sterling Global.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The company that was supposed to protect me suddenly felt like another place where someone could reach me.
I looked at Ethan.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Because we both understood the same thing.
The enemy was no longer outside the walls.
Sophie slowly lowered her phone.
“I didn’t know,” she whispered.
Ethan’s expression remained calm.
“Who has access to your father’s information?””
Sophie shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You just said someone inside Sterling Global contacted you.””
“No.””
She looked at him.
“I said the message came from someone who works there.””
The distinction mattered.
Someone inside the company.
Not necessarily someone Ethan trusted.
I looked at the notebook in my hands.
My father had spent years trying to uncover the truth.
And every step closer seemed to reveal another person hiding something.
“Where is the recording?”” I asked.
Sophie looked at me.
“My grandfather kept it.””
“Where?””
“In a safety deposit box.””
“Then we go get it.””
Ethan nodded.
But before we could leave, one of his security agents entered.
“Mr. Sterling.””
Ethan turned.
“What happened?””
The agent lowered his voice.
“We found something unusual.””
“What?””
“The archive room camera was disabled fifteen minutes before we arrived.””
Everyone went silent.
I looked around the dusty room.
Someone had known we were coming.
Someone had prepared.
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Who had access?””
The agent hesitated.
“Only three people.””
“Names.””
The agent opened his tablet.
“Two Sterling Global employees.””
A pause.
“And one Westbridge administrator.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
The agent looked at me.
“Dean Harold Whitmore.””
I recognized the name.
Westbridge’s dean.
The man who had personally approved Veronica’s scholarship committee.
The man who had called my complaints “student conflicts.””
The same man who had ignored everything.
Ethan immediately took out his phone.
“Cancel all access to the archive system.””
The agent nodded.
But before he could leave, another message appeared on Sophie’s phone.
This time, it wasn’t a threat.
It was a video.
A short video file.
Nobody wanted to open it.
But we all knew we had to.
Sophie pressed play.
The screen showed a dark room.
A man sitting at a desk.
My breath stopped.
Because I recognized him.
My father.
Older than the photographs.
Tired.
But alive.
His voice filled the room.
“If Amelia is watching this, then I failed to protect her.””
My eyes burned.
I had spent years wondering if my father remembered me.
Now I was hearing his voice.
“I need you to understand something, Amelia.””
The recording continued.
“Everything people told you about my disappearance is incomplete.””
My hands trembled.
“My partnership with Richard Hale was not destroyed because of money.””
A pause.
“It was destroyed because Richard discovered something I found.””
Ethan leaned closer.
My father continued.
“There is a network of people using university donations and business investments to control decisions behind closed doors.””
I stared at the screen.
“Richard was only one piece.””
My heart sank.
“Someone else helped him.””
The video glitched.
Then my father said the sentence that changed everything.
“The person you should fear most is not the person hurting you.””
A pause.
“It is the person pretending to save you.””
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
I slowly looked at Ethan.
Not because I believed he was guilty.
Because my father’s warning made everyone a possibility.
Even him.
Ethan noticed my expression.
And for the first time, he looked hurt.
“Amelia.””
I looked away.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.””
He nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice cracked.
“You knew my father. You knew all of this. Everyone knew something except me.””
Ethan accepted the anger.
“You’re right.””
That surprised me.
“I should have found you sooner.””
The honesty made it harder.
Before I could answer, the archive door suddenly slammed open.
A security officer rushed in.
“Mr. Sterling.””
“What now?””
The officer looked terrified.
“Richard Hale is here.””
My body froze.
“What?””
“He came to the building.””
Ethan’s face changed.
“Why?””
May you like
The officer swallowed.
“He said he wants to speak with Amelia.””
