Chapter 6: The Voice Waiting in My Father’s Office
The phone kept ringing.
One sound.
Then another.
Then another.
A simple noise.
But inside that garage, it felt like a warning.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
That office had been locked for twelve years.
No one should have been inside.
Bear slowly stepped forward.
“Stay here.””
I immediately shook my head.
“No.””
He turned.
“Eli.””
“I’m coming.””
“This could be dangerous.””
I looked at him.
“So could knowing nothing.””
For a moment, Bear just stared at me.
Maybe he wanted to argue.
Maybe he wanted to tell me I was still a child.
But he didn’t.
Because he knew something.
I had spent my entire life waiting outside locked doors.
Waiting for answers.
Waiting for people to return.
Waiting for someone to choose me.
I wasn’t waiting anymore.
Bear nodded once.
“Stay behind me.””
I followed.
Daniel walked beside us.
His face was tense.
“You shouldn’t be here.””
I looked at him.
“Funny.””
“What?””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Daniel didn’t respond.
Because he knew.
The three of us reached the office door.
The phone continued ringing.
The sound came from inside.
Bear placed his hand on the doorknob.
Then stopped.
He looked at me.
“Ready?””
No.
I wasn’t.
I was terrified.
But I nodded anyway.
Bear opened the door.
The room was dark.
Dust floated through the sunlight coming from the cracked window.
An old desk sat in the center.
A chair was pushed back.
Papers covered the floor.
But nobody was there.
The phone sat on the desk.
Still ringing.
Bear walked inside carefully.
Daniel followed.
I stepped in last.
And then I saw it.
The thing sitting beside the phone.
A small recorder.
The same kind as the one from the box.
Except this one was new.
A red light blinked.
Someone had left it here.
Waiting for us.
Bear picked it up.
“Don’t.””
Daniel’s voice was sharp.
Everyone looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel stared at the recorder.
“That might not be for us.””
Bear frowned.
“Then who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was when I noticed something.
A piece of paper taped underneath the recorder.
My name was written on it.
*ELI.*
My stomach tightened.
I reached for it.
Bear grabbed my wrist gently.
“Wait.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because whoever left this wanted you to find it.””
“That’s the point.””
His eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“Everything has been about keeping me away from the truth.””
I looked at the paper.
“Maybe this time I need to know.””
Bear slowly released my wrist.
I picked up the note.
There were only three words.
*PRESS PLAY, SON.*
My fingers went cold.
Son.
Not Eli.
Not kid.
Son.
A word I hadn’t heard in years.
I pressed the button.
Static.
Then silence.
Then a voice.
Not my father.
Someone else.
A man.
“You always were stubborn, Marcus.””
The room became colder.
The voice continued.
“You thought hiding the evidence would save everyone.””
A pause.
“But you made one mistake.””
The recording crackled.
“You trusted people.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked away.
My heart started pounding.
The voice continued.
“And now your son has it.””
Bear’s expression changed.
The man knew.
He knew I had the hard drive.
“You should have taught him to run.””
A quiet laugh.
“Instead, you taught him to fix things.””
The recording stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Then Bear looked at Daniel.
“What does he mean?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Bear’s voice became harder.
“Daniel.””
Still nothing.
I looked between them.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I didn’t know.””
Bear stepped closer.
“Didn’t know what?””
“That Marcus had hidden the evidence with his son.””
My chest tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel looked at me.
“He didn’t hide it in a building.””
A pause.
“He hid it where nobody would think to look.””
I looked down at the hard drive in my hand.
“No.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
My fingers tightened.
“He hid it with me?””
Daniel looked away.
“Not exactly.””
“What does that mean?””
Before he could answer, Bear’s phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Bear looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?””
He listened.
Then his eyes moved toward me.
“No.””
A pause.
“Keep everyone inside.””
He ended the call.
“What happened?”” I asked.
Bear didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me more.
“Bear.””
He looked at me.
“One of the riders found something outside.””
“What?””
His jaw tightened.
“A vehicle.””
“Whose?””
He hesitated.
Then:
“Your father’s.””
I froze.
“That’s impossible.””
“Eli—”
“My father’s car was destroyed.””
Everyone said it.
The police.
The records.
The people at the foster home.
Everyone.
“Are you sure?””
Bear nodded.
“We’re sure.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked terrified.
“What?””
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel.””
His voice came out quietly.
“Marcus didn’t die in an accident.””
The words hit harder than anything else.
I stared at him.
“What?””
Daniel looked broken.
“I was there.””
The garage became silent.
“I saw what happened.””
My breathing changed.
“You said you tried to stop it.””
“I did.””
“Then tell me.””
Daniel looked at Bear.
Then at me.
“He was supposed to meet me that night.””
I waited.
“He had the evidence.””
“What evidence?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Proof that people inside the company were selling information.””
“Information about what?””
“About children.””
The room went completely still.
I felt sick.
“What?””
Daniel looked down.
“They were moving records. Changing files. Making people disappear into the system.””
My face went numb.
“The foster system?””
Daniel nodded.
I couldn’t speak.
Because suddenly my entire life felt different.
The homes.
The paperwork.
The missing records.
The people who never explained anything.
My father wasn’t just fighting for me.
He was fighting against something that had controlled my entire childhood.
Bear stepped forward.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?””
Daniel looked at him.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Afraid?””
“Yes.””
His voice cracked.
“You don’t know what it’s like to realize powerful people can erase someone’s entire existence.””
I looked away.
Because I did know.
I knew exactly what that felt like.
A person disappearing.
A name becoming a file.
A child becoming a number.
Then Bear’s phone rang again.
This time, he answered immediately.
“What?””
His expression changed.
“Where?””
A pause.
“Don’t touch anything.””
He ended the call.
“What now?”” I asked.
Bear looked at me.
“The vehicle.””
“What about it?””
His eyes were serious.
“It wasn’t abandoned.””
I felt a chill.
“Then who was driving?””
Bear didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to.
Someone else did.
A voice came from the office doorway.
A voice none of us recognized.
“Me.””
Everyone turned.
A man stood there.
Older.
Wearing a dark jacket.
No weapon.
No fear.
Just a calm expression.
Like he had been waiting.
Bear stepped in front of me.
“Who are you?””
The man looked directly at me.
Not Bear.
Not Daniel.
Me.
“My name is Adrian.””
Daniel’s face went pale.
“No.””
Adrian smiled slightly.
“Hello, Daniel.””
Bear looked between them.
“You know him?””
Daniel couldn’t speak.
Adrian took one step forward.
“I knew Marcus.””
My hands tightened around the hard drive.
“You’re the person who followed him.””
Adrian smiled.
“Your father always said you were smart.””
I felt my blood run cold.
“You knew me?””
“Before today?””
He nodded.
“Of course.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“Why?””
Adrian looked at the key in my hand.
Then at the hard drive.
Then back at me.
“Because, Eli…”
He smiled.
“Your father didn’t hide the truth from the world.””
A pause.
“He hid it from me.””
Nobody moved.
Then Adrian said the one thing that made my entire understanding of my father collapse:
“And now that you found it…”
He looked toward the door.
“…you need to know the reason Marcus was really trying to disappear.””
A motorcycle engine suddenly roared outside.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Bear looked toward the window.
His face changed.
“Everyone down.””
I heard the sound of tires on gravel.
Not one vehicle.
Many.
Adrian didn’t look surprised.
He just smiled.
Because he knew exactly who was coming.
May you like
And then he whispered:
“They finally found you.””
