Chapter 5: The Call
The ringing continued.
One sharp tone after another.
Nobody moved.
Daniel stared toward the mansion.
Vanessa whispered, “That's not mine.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You sure?””
“Yes.””
The phone kept ringing.
I could hear my own breathing.
Then Daniel said, “Don't answer it.””
That was the worst thing he could have said.
I turned toward the house.
“Why?””
“Maya.””
“Why shouldn't I answer?””
“Because whoever is calling already knows you're alive.””
Marcus stepped beside me.
“We're answering it.””
Daniel grabbed his arm.
Marcus immediately shoved him back.
“Don't touch me.””
Daniel stumbled half a step.
His calm expression vanished.
“You don't understand what you're doing.””
Marcus pointed toward the house.
“Then explain.””
Daniel said nothing.
I walked toward the glass doors.
“Maya,” Marcus said.
“I need answers.””
“I know.””
“Then come with me.””
He followed.
Behind us, Vanessa remained beside the pool.
She looked trapped.
I stopped at the doorway.
The ringing was coming from somewhere deeper inside.
The mansion suddenly felt enormous.
Dark hallways stretched beyond the bright poolside room.
I looked at Marcus.
“Stay close.””
“I will.””
We entered.
The phone stopped ringing.
Silence.
Then another sound.
A notification.
Somewhere upstairs.
Marcus looked toward the staircase.
“You heard that?””
I nodded.
We moved toward it.
Behind us, Vanessa shouted.
“Maya!””
I turned.
She was standing in the doorway.
“Don't go upstairs.””
“Why?””
Her eyes flicked toward Daniel.
“Because that's where he keeps it.””
Daniel appeared behind her.
“Vanessa.””
She flinched.
Marcus noticed.
“Keeps what?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I can't.””
“You're going to tell me.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Enough.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
He stopped.
I had never spoken to him like that before.
But I wasn't the frightened girl from five minutes ago.
Not anymore.
I climbed the stairs.
Marcus followed.
The phone rang again.
This time, it came from behind a closed door.
I reached for the handle.
Daniel shouted from below.
“Don't open that door!””
I turned.
“Why?””
He didn't answer.
I opened it.
The room was my father's study.
I hadn't been inside since his funeral.
Everything looked untouched.
His dark wooden desk.
His leather chair.
The old brass lamp.
Even the framed photograph of my parents remained on the shelf.
My throat tightened.
Marcus entered behind me.
“There.””
A phone sat on the desk.
It was ringing.
I walked toward it.
The screen showed one word:
*DAD.*
I stopped breathing.
Marcus whispered, “That's impossible.””
I picked it up.
My hands were shaking.
The call ended.
Immediately, another came in.
*DAD.*
I answered.
“Hello?””
Static.
Then a man's voice.
“Maya.””
I nearly dropped the phone.
It was my father's voice.
I knew it.
Every crack in it.
Every pause.
Every little breath between words.
“Dad?””
Marcus stared at me.
The voice continued.
“If you're hearing this, something went wrong.””
My knees weakened.
I grabbed the edge of the desk.
“Where are you?””
“This is a recording.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
My father had recorded it.
“If Daniel is there,” the voice said, “do not trust him.””
Marcus looked toward the doorway.
Daniel was standing there.
His face was white.
The recording continued.
“And Vanessa…”
I looked at my sister.
She had followed us upstairs.
Her eyes were wet.
My father's voice softened.
“If Vanessa helped him, she did it because she was threatened.””
Vanessa broke down.
“I didn't know,” she whispered.
Daniel turned sharply.
“Be quiet.””
My father's recording continued.
“The ledger is not in the house.””
Daniel's expression changed.
I watched him carefully.
“It was never about the property,” my father said.
“It's about the person who ordered everything.””
The recording crackled.
Then came the final sentence.
“Maya, the person who wanted me dead is the person you call every—”
The recording cut off.
I stared at the phone.
“No.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Every what?””
The screen went black.
Then a new notification appeared.
*Recording deleted.*
I looked at Daniel.
He wasn't looking at me.
He was looking at Vanessa.
And Vanessa was looking at him with pure hatred.
“You promised me,” she said.
Daniel's voice was low.
“I promised to protect you.””
“You lied.””
“I protected you.””
“You made me push her.””
Daniel said nothing.
I stepped toward Vanessa.
“From what?””
She looked at me.
Her lips trembled.
“From the person who hired him.””
“Who?””
Vanessa swallowed.
Then she pointed toward the photograph on my father's desk.
Not at my father.
Not at my mother.
At the person standing beside them.
A family friend.
A man I had known my entire life.
May you like
She whispered his name.
And Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
