Chapter 4: The Phone That Should Be Dead
The ringing stopped.
For one second, nobody moved.
The silence afterward was worse.
Marcus stood beside the coffee table, staring at the phone screen like it was a ghost standing in front of him.
His mother’s name was still there.
The contact photo was an old family picture.
A picture from a time before the mansion.
Before Vanessa.
Before secrets.
Before everything became complicated.
“No,” Marcus whispered.
His voice sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
“No. That’s not possible.””
Vanessa finally moved.
She reached for the phone.
Marcus grabbed it first.
“Don’t.””
Her hand stopped in midair.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
“No.””
The firmness in his voice surprised everyone.
Even me.
My son had spent years avoiding conflict. He believed patience could fix almost anything.
But some truths don’t disappear because you ignore them.
They wait.
Marcus looked at the screen again.
The call history showed something impossible.
Three missed calls.
All from the same number.
All from the same name.
Mom.
His breathing became uneven.
“Dad…”
I stepped closer.
“Answer it.””
Vanessa’s eyes snapped toward me.
“No.””
The word came out too quickly.
Marcus looked at her.
“Why?””
She swallowed.
“I just think this is cruel.””
“Cruel?””
“Yes.””
She pointed at the phone.
“Someone is pretending to be her. Someone is playing with us.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Then why are you scared?””
“I’m not.””
“You are.””
Her face tightened.
“Marcus, you’re letting him manipulate you.””
I looked at the woman who had spent years controlling every room she entered.
Now she was the one losing control.
Marcus pressed the call button.
The phone rang.
Everyone froze.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then someone answered.
A woman’s voice came through the speaker.
“Marcus?””
His entire body went still.
The phone nearly slipped from his hand.
Noah looked up.
“Dad?””
Marcus couldn’t speak.
I could.
But I didn’t.
Because some moments belong to the person who waited their whole life for them.
The voice came again.
“Marcus, are you there?””
A tear formed in my son’s eye.
Not because he was weak.
Because he knew that voice.
“You…”
His voice cracked.
“Who is this?””
The woman on the phone was quiet.
Then she said something only a mother would know.
“Your first baseball glove was blue. You hated it because you wanted a red one. You cried in the backyard for twenty minutes until your father convinced you that blue meant you were different.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
The room disappeared.
I watched my son remember.
Memories nobody could fake.
Memories buried too deep.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No.””
It was barely a whisper.
Marcus opened his eyes.
“Mom?””
The voice on the phone trembled.
“Yes.””
He covered his mouth.
“No…”
The woman spoke softly.
“I know this is confusing.””
“Where have you been?””
The question came out instantly.
Years of pain packed into four words.
There was silence.
Then:
“Trying to survive.””
Vanessa suddenly moved.
She grabbed Marcus’s arm.
“Hang up.””
Marcus turned toward her.
Slowly.
“What did you say?””
“I said hang up.””
“Why?””
She released his arm.
“Because this isn’t real.””
The voice on the phone heard her.
“Vanessa?””
The color disappeared from Vanessa’s face.
Marcus noticed.
“You know her.””
Nobody answered.
The woman on the phone spoke again.
“Marcus, I need you to listen carefully.””
Marcus stepped away from Vanessa.
“What is happening?””
“Your father found the document, didn’t he?””
My heart stopped.
Marcus looked at me.
“How does she know?””
The voice became quieter.
“Because I knew one day Arthur would have to tell you.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“This is impossible.””
The woman continued.
“Marcus, you cannot trust everything you have been told about my death.””
The room became colder.
Marcus looked at the document.
Then at Vanessa.
Then at me.
“My death?””
The woman sighed.
“I was supposed to tell you years ago.””
“Tell me what?””
The phone went silent.
Everyone waited.
Then the voice returned.
“Your mother didn’t die by accident.””
Marcus froze.
Noah held onto my hand tighter.
Vanessa looked toward the door.
And I knew.
She wasn’t shocked.
She wasn’t confused.
She was afraid because she already knew.
Marcus saw it too.
“Vanessa…”
She didn’t answer.
“Vanessa, what did she mean?””
The phone suddenly crackled.
Then the woman said:
“Marcus, before you do anything else, look inside your father’s gift box.””
Marcus looked down.
The empty box sat on the table.
“I already did.””
“No.””
The woman’s voice became urgent.
“You didn’t.””
Marcus frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“There is another document.””
I felt my chest tighten.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
The woman continued:
“The one that proves why Vanessa needed this house.””
The call ended.
Instantly.
Marcus stared at the phone.
Then he turned toward the gift box.
Vanessa whispered one sentence.
A sentence that confirmed everything.
“Arthur…”
I looked at her.
May you like
She looked terrified.
“Where did you get that?””
