Chapter 4 - THE VOICE ON THE BABY MONITORThe police searched every room.
Windows locked.
Doors locked.
No one inside.
But the footprint was fresh.
And the piece of paper wasn't there when we entered.
Officer Reed bagged it as evidence.
I stood in Lily's bedroom, staring at her bed.
The small night-light was still glowing.
A stuffed rabbit rested against the pillow.
Then I noticed the baby monitor.
We had bought it years ago.
Lily was eight now, so we hardly used it.
But the device still had power.
I picked it up.
The screen was on.
Static flickered.
Then a faint audio recording began.
A woman's voice.
Claire.
I recognized it immediately.
“Again.”
A child's voice answered.
Lily.
“I didn't do anything.”
“You have to say it correctly.”
“I don't remember.”
“Then I'll remind you.”
I nearly dropped the monitor.
Officer Reed froze.
The recording continued.
“Your father gets angry when you spill things.”
“No.”
“Say it.”
“I don't want to.”
“Say it.”
Silence.
Then Lily started crying.
I shut my eyes.
My entire body shook.
The recording ended.
Officer Reed stared at the device.
“That's not live.”
“No.”
He checked the monitor.
An old memory card was inserted.
There were dozens of files.
Weeks of recordings.
Some were only minutes long.
Others lasted an hour.
We listened to several.
Claire repeatedly coached Lily.
Telling her what to say.
Telling her what to remember.
Telling her that her father couldn't be trusted.
But then something changed.
One recording had been made after midnight.
Claire was speaking to a man.
Not Nolan.
Another voice.
Lower.
Older.
“She's still resisting.”
“She'll learn.”
“I don't like hurting her.”
“You don't have to like it.”
“What happens if Ethan finds out?”
“He won't.”
“And Lily?”
“Children forget.”
Claire started crying.
The man said:
“Not this one.”
The recording ended.
We searched the remaining files.
Then found one that made the entire case different.
The conversation took place six months earlier.
The man's voice said:
“You married him for access.”
Claire replied:
“I married him because I loved him.”
The man laughed.
“Then why did you sign the papers?”
Silence.
“What papers?”
“The transfer documents.”
Claire whispered:
“That's over.”
“No. It isn't.”
I looked at Reed.
“Transfer documents?”
He nodded.
We kept listening.
The man continued:
“Ethan's company doesn't legally belong entirely to him. His father created a trust. When Lily turns eighteen, part of the voting rights transfer to her.”
My heart stopped.
Our family business.
Mercer Systems.
My father had built it from nothing.
After his death, I became CEO.
I knew there were complicated trusts.
I knew Lily had a protected share.
But I had never considered it a weapon.
The man continued:
“She is the leverage.”
Claire whispered:
“You promised no one would touch her.”
“No one is touching her.”
“But she's hurt.”
“Then stop making mistakes.”
The recording ended.
I stared at Reed.
“My daughter was leverage.”
He didn't answer.
Then the baby monitor beeped.
A new audio file appeared.
Created only six minutes earlier.
Impossible.
We opened it.
A man's voice said:
“Ethan.”
I froze.
“You've opened the red box.”
Reed stood immediately.
The voice continued.
“Good.”
A pause.
“Now you know enough to make a choice.”
I felt my mouth go dry.
“What choice?” I whispered, even though the speaker couldn't hear me.
The recording answered anyway.
“You can protect Lily.”
Pause.
“Or you can protect your company.”
The file ended.
A text message appeared on my phone.
MEET ME ALONE. TOMORROW. 10 P.M.
Below it was an address.
A warehouse by the river.
Officer Reed took the phone.
“You're not going.”
I didn't answer.
He looked at me.
“Ethan, this is no longer just a family matter.”
I looked at Lily's photograph taped to her wall.
She was smiling in it.
Missing front teeth.
Pink backpack.
Sunlight on her face.
The only thing I knew for certain was that somebody had decided her safety had a price.
And they had just told me the price.
My company.
My daughter.
May you like
One of them was supposed to lose.
But I had no intention of giving them either.
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