Chapter 10: The Recording My Father Tried to Bury
Maya called Dr. Nathaniel Carter back seventeen times.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
By midnight, the flash drive sat between her and Brielle on the kitchen table, while their father's forged document lay beside it like a threat neither of them could ignore.
Brielle kept pacing.
“He knew Evelyn was coming,” she said.
“He knew she'd contact Nathaniel. How?””
Maya stared at the dark computer screen.
“Maybe he has someone watching us.””
“That's ridiculous.””
“Is it? He showed up at the greenhouse before we could leave. He knew about the documents. And now Nathaniel calls us minutes after Evelyn leaves.””
Brielle stopped pacing.
“You think Dad has been monitoring our phones?””
“I think we should assume he knows more than he's telling us.””
Maya inserted the flash drive.
A single audio file appeared on the screen.
*ELENA_FINAL_INTERVIEW.wav*
The file was dated four years earlier, two days before Elena died.
Maya's fingers hovered over the mouse.
“Are you ready?””
Brielle sat beside her.
“No,” she whispered.
“Play it anyway.””
The recording began with a rustle of fabric and the distant beeping of hospital equipment.
Then Elena's voice emerged, weak but unmistakable.
“Nathaniel, please. I need you to listen to me.””
A man's voice answered.
“I'm listening, Elena.””
“Richard has taken the letters again. He says Sophie doesn't want to see me, but I know that's not true. I received her message. She wants to meet.””
Maya pressed a hand against her mouth.
Her mother had sounded exhausted, but determined.
Nathaniel spoke again.
“You shouldn't be making travel plans right now. Your heart condition is serious.””
“I know what the doctors have told me.””
“Then you understand why you need to rest.””
“I understand why Richard wants me to rest. That's different.””
A silence followed.
Then Elena continued.
“He's been changing things. My medication. My appointments.
He tells me I'm confused whenever I ask questions. Yesterday, he said the cardiologist had approved a new prescription, but the pharmacy had no record of it.””
Maya turned toward Brielle.
Her sister had gone completely still.
On the recording, Nathaniel exhaled.
“I need you to tell me exactly what happened.””
Elena described the medication order, the missing letters, and the forged consent form she had discovered in Richard's study.
Then she said something that made Maya's stomach tighten.
“I'm afraid of my husband.””
The words were quiet.
Not dramatic.
Not angry.
Just frightened.
Brielle began to cry silently.
Nathaniel's voice became sharper.
“Have you told the attending physician?””
“Richard says he has already spoken to him. He says the doctor believes I'm becoming paranoid.””
“That's not an answer.””
“I know.””
Elena paused.
Then she said, “If anything happens to me, I need you to make sure my daughters find Sophie.””
Maya leaned toward the speaker.
“Your daughters,” she whispered.
Her mother had meant all three girls in the family she was trying to build.
The recording continued.
Nathaniel asked whether Elena had somewhere safe to go.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Sophie has agreed to meet me tomorrow. I have arranged a car. Maya and Brielle will come with me.””
Maya felt her eyes fill.
She remembered that morning.
Elena had kissed her forehead at breakfast and promised to listen to her practice after dinner.
Maya had been annoyed because her mother seemed distracted.
She hadn't known that Elena was preparing to leave her husband.
She hadn't known that the promise to listen to her music might have been her mother's attempt to say goodbye without frightening her.
Nathaniel's voice broke into her thoughts.
“Does Richard know about the meeting?””
“No. If he finds out, he'll stop us.””
“Then you need to leave now.””
“I can't. Maya has a concert rehearsal tomorrow. I promised I'd attend.””
Maya closed her eyes.
Even then, her mother had been thinking about her music.
The recording ended with the sound of a door opening.
A man's voice entered the room.
Richard.
“What are you doing here?””
Nathaniel answered calmly.
“Checking on Elena.””
“She's my wife. I can take care of her.””
“I'd prefer to speak with her attending physician before any further medication changes.””
The silence that followed was chilling.
Then Richard said, “You are not her doctor.””
“No, but I am a physician, and I have serious concerns about the orders being issued in her name.””
Richard's voice dropped.
“You have no idea what you're getting involved in.””
“I know Elena is frightened.””
“She's ill.””
“She believes you're withholding information from her.””
“She's confused.””
“And the letters?””
A sharp noise followed, as though someone had struck a table.
Richard spoke through clenched teeth.
“You will not interfere in my marriage.””
Nathaniel replied, “Then stop giving me reasons to.””
The recording crackled.
Elena spoke again, more urgently this time.
“Nathaniel, please. Don't fight with him. I just need to leave tomorrow.””
Then Richard said the words that made both sisters recoil.
“You are not going anywhere.””
The recording ended abruptly.
For several seconds, Maya couldn't move.
Brielle wiped her cheeks.
“He knew she was planning to leave.””
Maya nodded.
“And he stopped her.””
“Do you think he killed her?””
“I don't know.””
Maya looked at the file again.
The recording proved Richard had interfered in Elena's affairs. It proved Elena feared him and believed her medication was being mishandled.
But it didn't prove what had happened during her final hours.
They needed Nathaniel.
Maya opened the laptop's browser and searched for his name alongside the medical transport company listed in the old photograph. Several articles appeared, including one about a physician who had resigned from a private hospital following a dispute over patient safety.
The article was four years old.
The physician was Nathaniel Carter.
His resignation statement had been brief.
I cannot continue working in an institution where commercial relationships are permitted to influence clinical decisions.
Maya read the sentence twice.
“Dad had business interests in the hospital,” she said.
Brielle nodded slowly.
“He was on the hospital foundation board.””
Maya searched further.
An old financial report revealed that Carter Holdings had funded a major expansion at the hospital shortly before Elena's death.
The same report listed a company called Meridian Care Services as a contracted provider.
Maya clicked the name.
The company had dissolved the following year.
Its registered director was Richard Carter.
Brielle covered her mouth.
“He owned the company managing the private care contracts.””
“And Nathaniel resigned after challenging the hospital.””
Maya leaned back.
Their father hadn't simply been a wealthy husband making difficult decisions. He had possessed influence over the institution where his wife received treatment.
Still, they couldn't know whether that influence had affected Elena's care.
They needed the original medical records, the complete medication history, and a clear explanation from the people who had been present.
Maya called the hospital's patient advocacy office and requested information about the process for obtaining historical records. She was told that the request would require proof of legal authority and might take several weeks.
Weeks they couldn't afford if Richard was already trying to destroy evidence.
Then Brielle noticed something in the recording's metadata.
“Look at this.””
The file had been created at 9:42 p.m. on the night Elena died.
But the conversation itself referred to the following day's planned meeting.
Maya frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.””
Brielle checked the file properties.
“Maybe the recording was copied later.””
She opened the folder containing the audio file.
A second file appeared, hidden beneath the first.
*TRANSFER_LOG.txt*
Maya opened it.
The document contained a list of timestamps and initials. Most were meaningless, but one entry stood out.
*22:16 — E.C. — PRIVATE TRANSFER AUTHORIZED*
Brielle stared at the screen.
“Private transfer?””
Maya scrolled down.
A second entry appeared.
*22:31 — R.C. — ARRIVAL CONFIRMED*
Then a third.
*23:04 — PATIENT LOCATION UPDATED — EAST WING*
Maya's pulse quickened.
Their mother had died shortly before midnight.
The file suggested that someone had arranged a private transfer and updated Elena's location in the hospital shortly before her death.
But who had authorized it?
Maya copied the timestamps into her notebook.
Then she heard a key turning in the front door.
Brielle stood abruptly.
“Dad.””
Footsteps crossed the hallway.
Richard entered the kitchen, removed his coat, and placed his briefcase on the counter.
His gaze landed on the laptop.
He stopped.
“What are you doing?””
Maya closed the folder.
“Homework.””
Richard looked at Brielle.
“At midnight?””
Brielle folded her arms.
“We're adults, Dad. We don't need permission to use a computer.””
His expression hardened.
“Give me the flash drive.””
Neither sister moved.
Richard set his briefcase down.
“I know Evelyn came here. I know Nathaniel contacted you. Whatever they told you, it is based on incomplete information.””
Maya stared at him.
“How do you know about the recording?””
Richard's silence was answer enough.
Brielle took a step toward him.
“Were you at the hospital the night Mom died?””
“Yes.””
“Did you change her medication?””
“No.””
“Did you stop her from leaving?””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“I stopped her from making a dangerous decision while she was seriously ill.””
Maya felt her stomach turn.
“She was trying to meet Sophie.””
“She was too sick to travel.””
“She was our mother. She deserved to decide.””
Richard looked at Maya, and his expression softened for a brief, unsettling moment.
“I loved your mother.””
“Then tell us what happened that night.””
He looked at the laptop.
Then at the flash drive.
Finally, he said, “Your mother didn't die in the room where you were told she died.””
Maya felt the air leave her lungs.
“What?””
Richard's eyes flickered toward the hallway.
“She was moved to another unit shortly before midnight. I was told it was necessary because of a complication.””
“Which unit?””
He shook his head.
“I don't remember.””
Brielle stared at him.
“You expect us to believe you don't remember where your wife died?””
Richard's voice dropped.
“I remember that when I arrived, she was already gone.””
Maya gripped the edge of the table.
“Who moved her?””
Richard didn't answer.
Then he reached into his briefcase and removed a sealed envelope.
“I was going to give you this when you were older.””
Maya stared at the envelope.
Her mother's name was written across the front.
Beneath it was a date.
The day after Elena died.
Richard placed it on the table.
“This was delivered to my office after the funeral. I never opened it.””
Brielle laughed in disbelief.
“Why not?””
Richard looked at the envelope as though it contained something dangerous.
“Because I recognized the handwriting.””
Maya reached for it.
Her father caught her wrist.
“Before you open it, you need to understand one thing.””
May you like
His voice trembled.
“If this letter says what I think it says, everything you believe about your mother's final night will change.””
