Chapter 11 - HER MOTHER’S VOICE
They listened in Nora’s office.
Sophia chose to be there.
Ruby sat beside her. Santiago sat across the table, unable to stop staring at the small speaker.
The recording began with rustling.
A zipper.
Then Elena Moretti’s voice.
“I copied the transfers, Vincent.”
Santiago closed his eyes.
Seven years had reduced his mother’s voice to fragments in his memory.
Now she sounded close enough to touch.
Vincent answered.
“You don’t understand what you copied.”
“I understand whose accounts you used.”
A drawer slammed.
Elena spoke again.
“I’m taking Sophia somewhere safe. Santiago can decide what he does when he sees this.”
“You think your son is innocent?”
“No. I think he still has a choice.”
Santiago lowered his head.
On the recording, footsteps moved across a hard floor.
Vincent’s voice grew louder.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
A scrape.
Something struck the wall.
Then Elena said one word.
“Vincent.”
A crash followed.
Sophia grabbed Ruby’s hand.
Nora stopped the recording.
“We can finish later.”
Sophia shook her head.
She pointed toward the speaker.
The next sound was breathing.
Then Vincent’s voice, quieter now.
“Adrian. I need you at the house.”
A pause.
“The girl saw.”
The recording ended.
No one moved.
Santiago stared at the table until the grain blurred.
His mother had been trying to get his sister away.
His uncle had called Hale before calling for help.
For seven years, Santiago had paid that man to care for the only witness.
Nora spoke carefully.
“This is important evidence. Investigators still need to establish the full sequence and corroborate it.”
Santiago nodded without looking up.
Sophia typed.
The device spoke into the quiet room.
“She was coming back for me.”
Ruby turned toward her.
“She had already packed your things,” Santiago said.
Sophia covered her face.
He moved closer but stopped short of touching her.
“Can I sit here?”
She nodded.
He sat beside her while she cried.
Outside, Nora’s phone kept vibrating.
She stepped into the hall.
When she returned, her expression had changed.
“The investigators found files attached to an unsent email on your mother’s phone.”
“What files?”
“Financial records.”
Santiago looked up.
“Vincent’s?”
“Family company records. Some accounts are in your name.”
He stared at her.
Nora set the phone down.
“If we move forward, they won’t investigate only your uncle.”
May you like
Sophia looked at her brother.
This time, Santiago knew exactly what his silence would mean.
