Chapter 13 - The Last RecordingNoah was found two hours later.
He was hiding inside an old maintenance room beneath the property.
He was scared.
Hungry.
But alive.
I held him for ten minutes without saying anything.
He kept whispering:
“Daddy came.”
I stroked his hair.
“I came.”
“No.”
He looked up.
“The other Daddy.”
My blood ran cold.
“Evan?”
Noah nodded.
“He came before.”
“Before what?”
“Before Mommy died.”
“What did he say?”
Noah hugged the teddy bear.
“He said Mommy was going to sleep.”
I closed my eyes.
Then Noah said something else.
“He looked like you.”
I knew.
But the final mystery remained.
Lily's last recording.
We found it inside the USB.
A hidden file required a four-digit password.
Noah's birthday.
The screen opened.
Lily appeared.
Her face was bruised.
She looked terrified.
“Ethan, I don't know how much time I have.”
She stared at the camera.
“You need to know the full truth.”
I listened.
“Your father did betray us.”
“He built the network.”
“He lied to you.”
“But he did not order my murder.”
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying.
Lily continued.
“Gabriel did.”
“Evan helped him.”
“But the person who gave Gabriel the final instruction…”
Lily stopped.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“…was me.”
I froze.
“What?”
She explained.
She had created a false message.
She wanted Gabriel to believe someone else had ordered her death.
She knew she couldn't escape.
So she created a trail that would eventually lead back to the truth.
“You may hate me,” she said.
“But I had one goal.”
“Keep Noah alive.”
She touched the teddy bear.
“I hid the USB here because no adult would think a child would carry evidence.”
Her voice broke.
“Ethan, there is one person you must never trust.”
The screen glitched.
Lily whispered:
“My sister.”
Vanessa.
But Vanessa wasn't Lily's sister.
At least not as far as I knew.
I looked at her.
She went pale.
“That's impossible.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Who are you?”
Vanessa began crying.
“My name isn't Vanessa.”
The room went silent.
“My real name is Rebecca.”
“Rebecca who?”
She looked at Noah.
“Rebecca Cole.”
My heart stopped.
“My father's daughter.”
My brain struggled to keep up.
“My half-sister?”
She nodded.
“I was sent away as a child.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had an affair.”
I stared.
“Your mother knew.”
“Lily knew.”
“Yes.”
“She married you knowing who I was.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Because she needed someone inside the house she could trust.”
I stepped backward.
“So you were helping her?”
“At first.”
“Then why betray her?”
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“Because Gabriel found me.”
The door opened.
Detective Harper entered.
He looked at the screen.
Then at Rebecca.
Then at me.
“It's not over.”
“What?”
He handed me a file.
“Gabriel's body was never recovered.”
I stared.
“You said Rebecca killed him.”
“She thought she did.”
The detective opened the file.
Inside was a photograph.
Gabriel.
Alive.
Taken yesterday.
Then another.
A photograph of our house.
And finally, one line:
BRING THE LEDGER TO THE PLACE WHERE LILY DIED.
Rebecca whispered:
“He wants Noah.”
I looked at my son.
And for the first time, Noah spoke before anyone else.
“Daddy…”
“What?”
He pointed toward the backyard.
May you like
“There is somebody in the cage.”
We ran.
