Chapter 6: The Daughter’s Voice
Richard did not move after the call ended.
The phone remained pressed against his ear.
The screen had already gone dark.
But the girl’s voice was still there.
The same man who killed my father.
Every person in the room watched him.
Margaret.
Victoria.
Daniel.
They all knew something had changed.
Richard slowly lowered the phone.
“She called.””
Nobody spoke.
Victoria was the first to move.
“Who?””
Richard looked at the photograph of Amelia on the desk.
His voice was barely audible.
“Amelia.””
Margaret covered her mouth.
A broken sound escaped her.
After all these years.
After all the lies.
The little girl they thought was lost had found her father.
But Richard felt no relief.
Only fear.
Because Amelia had not called to say she was safe.
She had called because she was in danger.
“Where is she?”” Daniel asked.
Richard looked at him.
“She doesn’t know.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“What do you mean?””
“She said she didn’t know where she was.””
A heavy silence followed.
Then Richard added:
“She said the man who took her knows where Noah is.””
Daniel went pale.
“No.””
Richard stepped forward.
“You know who it is.””
Daniel looked away.
“Daniel.””
The old lawyer closed his eyes.
“There was one person.””
“Who?””
Daniel hesitated.
Richard slammed his hand against the desk.
“Who?””
Daniel finally looked at him.
“Thomas Reed.””
Margaret gasped.
Richard frowned.
“Who is Thomas Reed?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Your father’s security director.””
Victoria shook her head.
“He died.””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That’s what everyone was told.””
Richard stared.
“Everyone?””
Daniel walked toward the window.
“Charles knew that controlling information was more powerful than controlling people. Thomas handled the things Charles wanted hidden.””
“Like Elena.””
“Yes.””
“Like Amelia.””
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.””
Richard’s anger rose.
“How is this possible?””
Daniel turned.
“Because Thomas wasn’t just working for Charles.””
A pause.
“He was working for himself.””
Within an hour, Richard had his security team searching every record connected to Thomas Reed.
The name appeared everywhere.
Private security contracts.
Vale Foundation documents.
Old property records.
But every trail ended suddenly.
Like someone had erased his existence.
Richard sat in his office staring at the computer screen.
Noah sat nearby drawing on a piece of paper.
Richard noticed the boy kept looking at him.
“What?””
Noah quickly looked down.
“Nothing.””
Richard smiled slightly.
“You’re not very good at pretending.””
The boy hesitated.
Then asked:
“Was that my sister?””
Richard froze.
He had forgotten Noah had heard.
“Yes.””
Noah looked at the drawing in his hands.
“She’s real?””
Richard nodded.
“Yes.””
Noah smiled faintly.
“I always thought my mom made her up.””
Richard leaned forward.
“Why?””
“Because sometimes she talked about her when she was sleeping.””
His fingers tightened around the pencil.
“She would say Amelia’s name.””
Richard felt pain in his chest.
“She loved her.””
“I know.””
Noah looked up.
“She loved me too.””
Richard nodded.
“She did.””
The boy studied him.
“Are you sad?””
Richard was surprised.
“Yes.””
“Because you didn’t know us?””
Richard looked away.
“That’s part of it.””
“What’s the other part?””
Richard looked back.
Noah was waiting.
The boy deserved honesty.
“I’m sad because your mom went through everything alone.””
Noah was quiet.
Then:
“She was brave.””
Richard smiled sadly.
“Yes.””
“She said brave people can be scared.””
Richard looked at him.
“She was right.””
Noah nodded.
“My mom was scared a lot.””
Richard’s heart tightened.
“But she still protected you.””
The boy looked at the drawing.
“Will you find her?””
Richard answered immediately.
“Yes.””
Not maybe.
Not I’ll try.
Yes.
That evening, Richard received a message from his security team.
They had found something.
An old property registered under a fake company.
A remote cabin outside the city.
Owned through a chain of shell companies.
The last known activity?
Three days ago.
Richard grabbed his coat.
“I’m going.””
Victoria stood.
“I’m coming.””
Richard looked at her.
“I don’t trust you.””
“I know.””
“Then why would I bring you?””
“Because I know Charles better than anyone.””
Richard stared.
She continued.
“And because I owe Elena.””
That stopped him.
Before he could answer, Margaret spoke.
“Take her.””
Everyone looked at her.
Richard frowned.
“Mom.””
Margaret shook her head.
“Your father kept secrets because he knew people were afraid to challenge him.””
She looked at Victoria.
“But she stayed alive because she challenged him.””
Victoria looked surprised.
Margaret continued:
“She was the only one who tried to fix what he did.””
Richard was silent.
Then he nodded once.
“Fine.””
The cabin was hidden deep in the woods.
The road became narrower with every mile.
Rain began falling against the windshield.
Richard sat in the passenger seat.
Victoria drove.
For the first hour, neither spoke.
Finally, Richard broke the silence.
“Why didn’t you leave me?””
Victoria kept her eyes on the road.
“What?””
“After everything.””
She was quiet.
“You mean after I lied?””
“Yes.””
Victoria took a breath.
“Because I loved you.””
Richard looked out the window.
“That doesn’t make it okay.””
“I know.””
“You should have told me.””
“I know.””
The rain grew heavier.
Victoria’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“But I also knew what Charles was capable of.””
Richard looked at her.
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
She swallowed.
“Richard, you think your father was just a cruel man.””
“He was.””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“But he was also patient.””
Richard frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means he didn’t destroy people quickly.””
She glanced at him.
“He destroyed them slowly.””
The words stayed between them.
When they reached the cabin, it was empty.
The door was unlocked.
Richard immediately knew something was wrong.
“Stay behind me.””
Victoria nodded.
They entered.
The place was small.
A bed.
A table.
An old fireplace.
Nothing else.
Until Richard saw the wall.
Photographs covered it.
Dozens.
Elena.
Noah.
Amelia.
Richard stepped closer.
His stomach turned.
Someone had been watching them.
For years.
There were pictures of Noah walking to school.
Pictures of Elena buying groceries.
Pictures of Richard leaving his company.
A record of their lives.
Richard’s anger became almost impossible to control.
“He was watching us.””
Victoria whispered:
“Not him.””
Richard turned.
“What?””
She pointed at the photographs.
“Look.””
Richard followed her finger.
Every picture had a small mark in the corner.
A symbol.
A circle with a line through it.
Daniel’s voice came through the phone.
Richard had called him from the car.
Now he answered.
“Did you find something?””
Richard sent him a picture.
There was silence.
Then Daniel whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
“What?””
“That symbol belonged to Charles.””
Richard looked around.
“What does it mean?””
Daniel’s voice became tense.
“It was the mark he used for his private operations.””
Richard stared.
“Private operations?””
“Yes.””
“Say it clearly.””
Daniel paused.
Then:
“Charles had people who followed orders even after he died.””
Richard looked at the photographs.
A dead man’s shadow still moving.
A hidden army.
Then something caught his eye.
On the table was a small recorder.
Richard picked it up.
Pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a familiar voice.
Elena.
Richard froze.
“Richard…”
His knees almost gave out.
Her voice.
After twelve years.
“Please, if you found this, it means Thomas failed.””
Richard stared at the recorder.
Victoria covered her mouth.
Elena continued.
“I don’t know how much time I have.””
A pause.
A shaky breath.
“But there is something you need to know.””
Richard leaned closer.
The entire world seemed to stop.
“Charles wasn’t trying to hide Amelia from you.””
Static cracked.
“He was trying to hide Amelia from the truth.””
Richard frowned.
“What truth?””
Elena’s voice trembled.
“The truth is…”
The recording cut.
Static.
Silence.
Richard hit the recorder.
“No.””
He pressed play again.
Nothing.
The battery had died.
Victoria looked at him.
“What did she say?””
Richard stared at the recorder.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
This time, he answered immediately.
“Amelia?””
A girl’s frightened breathing came through.
“No.””
Richard froze.
It was not Amelia.
It was a man.
An older man.
A voice filled with calm confidence.
“Hello, Richard.””
Richard’s blood went cold.
Because he knew that voice.
He had heard it in his father’s office.
At family dinners.
In old recordings.
The voice of a man who had been dead for six years.
“Charles?””
The voice laughed softly.
“No, son.””
A pause.
“You always were too slow to understand.””
Richard gripped the phone.
“That’s impossible.””
The man whispered:
“That’s exactly what I wanted everyone to believe.””
The line went silent.
Then one final sentence came through.
May you like
“Ask your mother why she buried my body.””
The call ended.
