Chapter 9: The Last Recording of My Father
Thomas arrived at the mansion twenty-five minutes later.
He carried a small black case and a document from the bank.
Sophie had disappeared upstairs.
Marcus was stationed outside the study.
I locked the door.
"Show me.""
Thomas opened the case.
Inside was a sealed envelope, a small digital recorder, and several photographs.
The envelope bore my father's handwriting.
*Alexander. Open this only when you know who betrayed you.*
I sat down.
Thomas placed the recorder beside it.
"According to the bank, Margaret deposited these items almost six years ago. Daniel accessed the box yesterday using an authorization document.""
"How did he get access?""
"Your father's original estate attorney appears to have issued a secondary authorization.""
"Was it legitimate?""
"That's what we're investigating.""
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
My dear Alexander,
If this letter has reached you, then I have failed to protect you from something I should have confronted years ago.
I owe you an explanation.
Daniel was never supposed to inherit control of Bennett Holdings. He was supposed to learn how to run it alongside you.
But somewhere along the way, he became convinced that everything I gave you was something I had taken from him.
I paused.
Thomas remained silent.
I continued.
I discovered that he had been moving company money through several offshore accounts. When I confronted him, he told me he was protecting the family from financial collapse.
I knew he was lying.
I also discovered that someone else had been helping him.
The next line was underlined twice.
Someone inside our home.
I looked at Thomas.
"Who?""
He shook his head.
"Keep reading.""
I suspected Sophie, but I could not prove it. Daniel had introduced her to me as someone who understood business and would eventually become a valuable partner to you.
I should have been more careful.
My hands began to shake.
There is something I never told you about the night of the accident.
I stopped.
The room seemed to close around me.
I continued.
I was not the intended victim.
My breath caught.
Daniel and Sophie were arranging an incident involving your vehicle. I learned about it shortly before leaving the restaurant.
I changed cars at the last minute.
I believed that would protect you.
I looked up.
Thomas was staring at the letter.
"Your father knew.""
I continued reading.
But I made one mistake. I trusted the wrong person with the information.
If you are reading this, I fear that mistake cost me my life.
The letter ended with a final sentence.
The person who gave them the information was not Sophie. It was someone who has been standing beside you for years.
There was no signature.
Just my father's initials.
I sat back.
"Who?""
Thomas shook his head.
"We need the recording.""
I picked up the digital recorder.
It was an older model, with a small display and a single play button.
I pressed it.
Static filled the room.
Then my father's voice emerged.
"Margaret, I don't have much time.""
I froze.
It was him.
His voice.
The same deep, steady voice I remembered from childhood.
"Daniel has found out about the policy. He knows I'm changing the will.""
A second voice answered.
Margaret.
"What are you going to do?""
"I'm going to confront him.""
"Please don't. Not alone.""
"I can't keep pretending I don't know.""
There was a pause.
Then my father spoke again.
"I found the original transfer records. He has been using the company to pay someone.""
"Who?""
My father lowered his voice.
"Someone I never thought would betray me.""
A chair moved.
Then another voice entered the recording.
A man's voice.
Familiar.
"You're making a mistake.""
My heart stopped.
Thomas leaned closer.
The man continued.
"You're going to destroy this family over money.""
My father replied.
"This isn't about money anymore.""
The man laughed.
"Then what is it about?""
"Your brother.""
Silence.
Then the man's voice changed.
"Don't bring Alexander into this.""
I felt my blood turn cold.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it every day for most of my life.
Daniel.
But there was something else.
A second voice.
A woman.
"Daniel, we need to leave.""
Sophie.
My father's voice became louder.
"You two are going nowhere until you tell me what happened to the missing money.""
Daniel answered.
"You don't understand what you've started.""
Then came a sound.
A chair scraping violently across the floor.
My father shouted.
"Get away from me!""
The recording ended.
I sat motionless.
Thomas rewound it.
"There's more.""
He pressed play.
A few seconds of static.
Then a different recording began.
This time, my father's voice sounded exhausted.
"If anything happens to me, I want Alexander to know that I tried.""
A pause.
"Daniel isn't working alone.""
I leaned forward.
My father's next words were barely audible.
"The person helping him has access to the medical records, the company accounts, and the family trust.""
Thomas looked at me.
"That narrows it down.""
My father continued.
"She has been in this family longer than Sophie.""
I felt something tighten in my chest.
A woman.
Someone who had been around before my marriage.
Someone who had known my father.
Then he said a name.
"Margaret knows who she is.""
The recording ended.
I stared at the device.
"Why didn't Margaret tell me?""
Thomas checked the time on the recorder.
"Maybe she was protecting someone.""
"Who?""
Before he could answer, three loud knocks struck the study door.
Marcus's voice came through.
"Mr. Bennett, we have a situation.""
I stood.
"What is it?""
"Mrs. Bennett has left the property.""
"Where?""
"She took her car. But that's not the problem.""
I opened the door.
Marcus looked pale.
"Your brother just arrived.""
"Daniel?""
"Yes, sir.""
"Where is he?""
Marcus glanced toward the front entrance.
"He's downstairs with two men.""
I stepped into the hallway.
Then I heard Daniel's voice.
Calm.
Confident.
Almost cheerful.
"Alexander! Come down here. We need to talk.""
I started toward the staircase.
Thomas caught my arm.
"Wait.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He held up his phone.
A message had just arrived from Margaret.
*I know who was helping Daniel and Sophie.*
Another message appeared.
*It was your father's lawyer.*
Then a third.
*But he's dead, Alexander. And someone has been using his identity for six years.*
I stared at the screen.
Before I could process the words, Daniel called from downstairs.
"Alexander! I brought someone you need to meet.""
I looked over the railing.
A man stood beside my brother.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Wearing an expensive black suit.
I recognized him immediately.
It was the attorney who had handled my father's estate.
The man whose funeral I had attended four years earlier.
The man whose death certificate I had personally signed as a witness.
Daniel looked up and smiled.
"Surprise, brother.""
The dead man raised his eyes toward me.
"Hello, Alexander.""
And then he said something that made me understand why my father had been so afraid.
"Your father didn't die in that accident. He survived the crash.""
My hand tightened around the railing.
May you like
The man continued.
"We just made sure he never came home.""
