Chapter 9: The Last Recording
Gloria reached the cabinet first.
The metal box was gone.
Ethan searched the floor.
Nothing.
Sophia stood frozen.
“Marcus took it.””
Gloria shook her head.
“No.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Then who did?””
Gloria pointed at the security monitor.
“The camera.””
The hallway feed was still running.
Ethan stared at it.
“Someone entered while we were watching Marcus.””
“Exactly.””
Sophia whispered,
“Then Marcus wasn't alone.””
The room fell silent.
Ethan walked toward the monitor.
“Can we rewind?””
Gloria tried.
The footage jumped.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Then stopped.
A notification appeared.
*CORRUPTED FILE.*
Ethan slammed his fist against the cabinet.
“Who has access to this system?””
Gloria looked at him.
“Only me.””
Sophia shook her head.
“Marcus does.””
Gloria turned.
“I never gave him access.””
Sophia pulled out her phone.
“He didn't need you to.””
Ethan looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
Sophia opened an application.
“Marcus showed me how.””
She tapped the screen.
A list of connected devices appeared.
Ethan stared.
“How many?””
“Three.””
“Whose?””
Sophia pointed.
“Mine.””
Then another.
“Marcus's.””
Then the third.
She stopped.
Ethan frowned.
“Whose is that?””
Sophia whispered,
“Your father's old account.””
Gloria's face went blank.
“That account was closed.””
“It isn't.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“Can you access it?””
Sophia hesitated.
“I can try.””
“Do it.””
She entered a password.
Denied.
Again.
Denied.
Then she looked at Gloria.
“Your father's birthday.””
Gloria gave it to her.
Sophia entered it.
The screen unlocked.
Ethan stared.
“That's impossible.””
A folder appeared.
*ARCHIVE — PRIVATE.*
Sophia opened it.
Inside were dozens of audio recordings.
Gloria covered her mouth.
Ethan whispered,
“Dad recorded all of this?””
Sophia clicked the first file.
Static.
Then his father's voice.
“If you're hearing this, something went wrong.””
Ethan closed his eyes.
His father's voice continued.
“Gloria, I need you to understand one thing.””
The recording crackled.
“Do not trust Marcus.””
Gloria began crying.
Ethan looked at her.
“Mom.””
She shook her head.
“I didn't know.””
The recording continued.
“He has been asking questions about the trust. He believes the money belongs to Ethan only if the authorization remains unchanged.””
Ethan's eyes widened.
“What authorization?””
His father's voice answered.
“The authorization Gloria signed.””
Gloria whispered,
“Oh God.””
The recording continued.
“I created a safeguard.””
A pause.
“If Marcus tries to use Ethan's signature, the transfer will trigger an automatic review.””
Ethan leaned closer.
“What transfer?””
His father's voice continued.
“And if the review occurs, the system will reveal the person who initiated it.””
Sophia stopped the recording.
Ethan stared at her.
“Why did you stop?””
Sophia looked frightened.
“There are people outside.””
Ethan listened.
Nothing.
Then came a faint sound.
A car door closing.
Gloria walked toward the window.
Ethan caught her arm.
“Stay back.””
He looked through the curtains.
A black sedan sat at the curb.
No one was visible.
Sophia's phone buzzed.
She looked down.
A new message.
*PLAY THE SECOND RECORDING.*
Ethan looked at her.
“Do it.””
Sophia opened the second file.
This recording was different.
Her father's voice sounded weaker.
“If Marcus is listening, he already knows about the second beneficiary.””
Ethan froze.
Sophia stared at Gloria.
Gloria stared at the floor.
His father's voice continued.
“The beneficiary is not a person.””
Ethan's expression changed.
“What?””
Sophia whispered,
“Not a person?””
The recording continued.
“It is a condition.””
A long silence.
Then:
“Ethan receives everything only if he protects Gloria.””
Ethan stopped breathing.
Gloria looked up.
His father's voice continued.
“If Gloria dies before the trust is transferred, the money does not go to Ethan.””
Ethan's face went pale.
“Where does it go?””
The recording crackled.
Then his father's final words came through.
“It goes to the person who can prove who killed her.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Sophia slowly lowered the phone.
Ethan looked at his mother.
“They're trying to kill you.””
Gloria shook her head.
“No.””
“Mom.””
“They're trying to make it look like you did.””
Ethan stared at her.
The realization hit him all at once.
The staged attack.
The forged signature.
The fake evidence.
The security footage.
Someone wasn't simply stealing the trust.
Someone was building a story.
A story where Ethan became the villain.
Sophia whispered,
“And I helped build it.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Then help tear it down.””
She nodded through her tears.
“I will.””
Gloria walked back to the coffee table.
“There has to be another recording.””
Sophia opened the archive.
“There are twelve.””
Ethan looked at her.
“How many have we heard?””
“Two.””
“Play the third.””
Sophia pressed the file.
Static filled the room.
Then Gloria heard her husband's voice.
“If Ethan ever discovers the first two recordings, there is one thing I need him to know.””
The audio paused.
Then came the words:
“Your mother didn't sign the authorization.””
Gloria's eyes widened.
Ethan slowly turned toward her.
His father continued.
“Someone signed it using her name.””
Gloria whispered,
“No.””
The recording went on.
“And I know exactly who.””
A loud knock struck the front door.
Everyone jumped.
The audio continued playing.
May you like
His father's voice became almost a whisper.
“The person who forged Gloria's signature is—”
