Chapter 6 - The Recording
My mother’s voice filled the room.
Weak.
Tired.
But unmistakably hers.
“Margaret, I know about Samantha.”
I closed my eyes.
Margaret’s recorded voice answered.
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know she and Ethan have been involved for years.”
Ethan stopped struggling.
Everyone listened.
My mother continued.
“I know he married Claire because of the trust.”
“That is absurd.”
“I have bank records.”
Silence.
Then Margaret laughed.
“You think your daughter is some prize?”
My hands curled into fists.
“She is worth ten of your son.”
Margaret’s voice sharpened.
“You don’t understand what Ethan sacrificed.”
“He sacrificed nothing. He found a kind woman and used her.”
A chair scraped on the recording.
My mother coughed.
“Tomorrow I’m meeting my attorney. Ethan will never touch Claire’s inheritance.”
Margaret said, “You won’t destroy my son’s future.”
“It was never his.”
Then came a strange sound.
Glass against wood.
My mother said, “What are you doing?”
Margaret replied softly.
“Helping you calm down.”
The recording became muffled.
My mother coughed again.
Then louder.
“Get away from me.”
Something fell.
Linda’s voice could be heard in the distance.
“Mrs. Mercer?”
Margaret whispered something too quiet to understand.
Then the recording stopped.
I stared at the device.
My entire body went numb.
Daniel’s face had become stone.
Linda was crying.
“I came back into the room and Margaret was gone.”
“What happened to my mother?”
“She was dizzy.”
“Did you call an ambulance?”
“She refused at first.”
“Why?”
“She said Margaret had threatened you.”
My stomach dropped.
“Me?”
Linda nodded.
“She said if your mother made trouble, Ethan would leave you and make sure you never saw a penny of the family assets.”
I looked at Ethan.
He stared at the floor.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew your mother threatened mine.”
“I didn’t know about this recording.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
He looked at me.
“I knew they argued.”
“Did you know why?”
“Yes.”
The word cut deeper than shouting ever could.
“You let me believe my mother liked you.”
“She did at first.”
“And when she found out the truth?”
He looked away.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When? After you got control of everything?”
“No.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“You’re done speaking to her.”
Ethan snapped, “You don’t get to decide.”
Daniel moved closer.
“For four years, you isolated my niece, lied about my sister, forged financial documents, and possibly assisted in drugging a pregnant woman.”
“I didn’t drug her.”
“We’ll let police decide.”
Ethan looked at me desperately.
“Claire, please.”
I felt nothing.
That scared me more than anger.
“Leave.”
“Don’t do this.”
“You watched your mother pour ice water on me.”
“I froze.”
“You had six years to unfreeze.”
He flinched.
Security escorted him away.
Thirty minutes later, police arrived.
Linda gave them the recording.
Daniel gave them financial documents.
The hospital gave them my toxicology results.
Everything moved quickly after that.
Too quickly.
By evening, Margaret had been brought in for questioning.
Samantha had retained an attorney.
Ethan had not been arrested.
Not yet.
Dr. Foster ordered me to stay overnight.
Daniel refused to leave.
Around midnight, I woke to the sound of my phone vibrating.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then a message appeared.
You are looking at the wrong crime.
I sat up.
Another message followed.
Your mother survived Margaret’s drink.
My heart stopped.
Then who killed her?
A third message.
ASK DANIEL WHERE HE WAS THE NIGHT SHE DIED.
I looked toward the chair beside my bed.
May you like
Daniel was asleep.
For the first time since he arrived, I felt afraid of him.
