Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT HIS FATHER DIED
Michael drove straight to the old family house.
The place where his father died.
The place where every secret seemed to begin.
Sophia sat beside him.
Quiet.
Broken.
For years, Michael thought she was the problem.
Now he realized she was just another person trapped in someone else’s game.
“You should have told me.”
Sophia stared out the window.
“I was afraid.”
“Afraid of Daniel?”
She nodded.
“He knows how to ruin people.”
“How?”
Sophia looked at him.
“Because he knows their weaknesses.”
Michael tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“What is mine?”
Sophia was silent.
Then:
“Your need to believe people are good.”
The answer hurt.
Because it was true.
Inside the old house, everything felt frozen in time.
Michael walked into his father’s office.
The same room where the folder had been hidden.
The same room where Sophia had searched.
“What are we looking for?”
Sophia looked around.
“Something your father left behind.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
Michael frowned.
“A recording of what?”
“The night he died.”
They searched through old cabinets.
Old boxes.
Old documents.
Then Sophia stopped.
“What?”
She pointed at the wall.
“There.”
Behind an old painting was a small hidden compartment.
Michael opened it.
Inside was a small audio recorder.
His hands shook.
His father had hidden it.
Waiting for someone to find it.
Michael pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then his father’s voice.
“If you are hearing this…”
A pause.
“Then I am already gone.”
Michael stopped breathing.
His father continued.
“I made mistakes.”
“I hurt people.”
“But my death was not an accident.”
Sophia covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“The person responsible is someone close to me.”
Michael looked at Sophia.
Someone close.
Someone inside the family.
Then his father said the words that changed everything.
“The person who killed me is not Sophia.”
Michael froze.
The room went silent.
Because everyone had suspected Sophia.
Everyone had blamed Sophia.
But his father knew the truth.
Then the recording continued.
“You must find Daniel.”
Michael looked at Sophia.
Her face had lost all color.
The name.
Daniel.
His father knew him.
His father had been afraid of him.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
The house became completely dark.
Sophia whispered:
“Michael…”
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was inside.
Michael grabbed the recorder.
“Stay behind me.”
The footsteps stopped.
Then a man spoke from the darkness.
“You always were your father’s favorite mistake.”
Michael froze.
Because he knew that voice.
May you like
The same voice from the camera.
Daniel.
