Chapter 5 - The Recording That Proved My Father's Death Was Never an Accident
We listened three times.
Each time, I heard something different.
My father's final conversation.
The argument.
The gunshot.
The panic afterward.
And my mother's voice.
Crying.
Then Adrian's voice.
“We have to move.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Isabella.
“You had this for fifteen years.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you give it to me?”
“Because it wasn't enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“To prove who fired the gun.”
Vincent answered.
“We knew Vance ordered the murder.”
“But who pulled the trigger?”
Silence.
I understood.
“Someone inside the family.”
Isabella nodded.
“Someone still alive.”
My mind immediately went to Vincent.
Then Daniel.
But Daniel was in the hospital.
And Vincent had just rescued Mia.
Another possibility appeared.
“My mother?”
Isabella shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Mia tugged my sleeve.
“Uncle Luca?”
I crouched.
“What?”
She held up my pen.
“Daddy had one.”
I froze.
“What did you say?”
“Daddy had a pen.”
Adrian had my exact style of fountain pen.
I remembered seeing it years ago.
I had assumed it was coincidence.
Mia pointed at Vincent.
“He has it.”
Vincent reached slowly into his pocket.
Pulled out a fountain pen.
My heart pounded.
It looked identical.
But this one had a tiny engraving.
A crow.
Isabella's face changed.
“That belonged to Adrian.”
Vincent looked at her.
“No.”
“Where did you get it?”
“From Vance.”
Silence.
That was the clue.
Vincent had met Elijah Vance recently.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“To arrange a meeting.”
“Did he know where Mia was?”
“Yes.”
My blood turned cold.
“He wanted the child.”
Vincent nodded.
“Not because of her.”
“Then why?”
“Because Adrian left something inside her father's old accounts.”
We returned to my office.
The account records contained a hidden ledger.
But the key wasn't a number.
It was a birth date.
Mia's.
The three-year-old was the final authentication key to a digital archive.
If opened, it would expose Vance's entire network.
Names.
Accounts.
Judicial bribes.
Police payments.
Politicians.
Everything.
“Where is Adrian?”
Elena finally spoke.
“I don't know.”
Everyone looked at her.
She sighed.
“I haven't seen him in seven years.”
“Why?”
“He went into hiding after Vance found us.”
“Did he leave the archive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She looked at Mia.
“Inside something the child would never lose.”
My throat tightened.
“The necklace?”
Elena nodded.
Mia wore a small silver necklace every day.
I had never paid attention to it.
I took it gently.
There was a tiny compartment inside the pendant.
A memory chip.
My stomach turned.
“We have the archive.”
Vincent looked at me.
“No.”
“What?”
“You don't understand.”
“Explain.”
“The archive isn't the end.”
“What is?”
He looked at Mia.
“The archive contains proof of a deal.”
“What deal?”
“The deal that made your father kill someone twenty years ago.”
I stared.
“My father killed someone?”
Vincent nodded.
“Your father killed Elena's father.”
Elena gasped.
“What?”
Vincent continued.
“Her father was working for Vance.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“My father wasn't a criminal.”
“He was.”
“No!”
She broke down.
Mia began crying.
I held her.
Vincent lowered his head.
“I hated your father for years.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then why protect me?”
“Because he wasn't the monster I believed.”
“What changed?”
Vincent looked at me.
“Your father ordered me to protect his daughter.”
Elena went silent.
“Who?”
May you like
He looked at her.
“You.”
Related Stories
