Chapter 9 - Rebecca’s Voice
Daniel had not heard Rebecca’s voice in eight months.
He thought he was ready.
He wasn’t.
Detective Pike played the recovered audio in a small interview room.
Static.
A chair scraping.
Then Rebecca.
Weak but unmistakably herself.
“If you’re recording this, Vanessa, make sure you record the important part.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Across from him, Evelyn remained perfectly still.
Vanessa’s voice answered.
“You’re paranoid.”
“No. I’m dying. There’s a difference.”
Daniel’s throat tightened.
Rebecca continued.
“I reviewed Blue Lantern.”
Silence.
Then Vanessa said, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You approved invoices to a shell company connected to your brother.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
Rebecca had known.
Months before Daniel did.
“I’m giving you forty-eight hours to return the money,” Rebecca said. “Then I tell Daniel.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“You won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s barely functioning already.”
“He’ll function when he has to.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
Then came ten seconds of silence.
Rebecca spoke again.
“If you go near the adoption, I will ruin you.”
Daniel gripped the arms of his chair.
Vanessa’s voice became sharper.
“What adoption?”
“Don’t insult me.”
Another pause.
“You checked the agency invoices,” Rebecca said. “You opened my legal files. You know exactly what Daniel and I planned.”
Vanessa replied, “A child complicates succession.”
Rebecca’s answer was immediate.
“Ava is not a succession problem.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Ava.
Rebecca had already known the baby who would eventually become their daughter.
The agency had matched them before Rebecca died, though placement had been delayed because of her illness.
Rebecca said, “She is our daughter.”
Vanessa’s voice lowered.
“Not yet.”
The recording ended.
Daniel covered his face.
Evelyn touched his shoulder.
He whispered, “Rebecca knew.”
“Yes.”
“She tried to protect Ava before Ava even came home.”
Detective Pike said, “There’s another file.”
The second recording was shorter.
Rebecca speaking alone.
“If Daniel ever hears this, it means I waited too long.”
Daniel looked up.
“I found unauthorized payments. Vanessa knows I found them. I’m moving my Mercer shares into the adoption trust immediately. Evelyn understands why.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You knew?”
“Not about the theft.”
“But the trust?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Rebecca instructed me not to burden you unless Vanessa challenged the estate.”
Daniel stood.
“You let me marry her.”
Evelyn flinched.
“I didn’t know you were going to marry Vanessa until after you did.”
“You knew Rebecca didn’t trust her.”
“I knew Rebecca wanted the trust insulated from company management.”
“She recorded a warning.”
“A recording I had never heard.”
Daniel paced.
Anger searched for somewhere to land.
Evelyn let him burn through it.
Finally she said, “You’re angry at me because being angry at Rebecca feels disloyal.”
He stopped.
“You’re angry that she kept something from you. You’re angry that you didn’t listen when Maria warned you. You’re angry that grief made you vulnerable. And you are furious that Vanessa used it.”
Daniel sank back into the chair.
Detective Pike quietly stopped the recorder.
“There’s one more issue.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Aaron’s laptop contains messages with someone identified only as MK.”
“Martin Kessler.”
“Probably. They discuss Blue Lantern and the Ashbourne transaction.”
“Good.”
“But someone else appears repeatedly.”
“Who?”
“Initials CM.”
Christopher Mercer.
Daniel stared.
“No.”
Pike turned the laptop toward him.
A message appeared.
CM: Daniel will never approve Ashbourne at that valuation.
Aaron: He won’t be approving anything.
CM: Don’t underestimate him.
Aaron: Then help Vanessa make the board understand he’s unstable.
Daniel read the date.
Four months earlier.
Before his wedding.
Before the medications.
Before the stable.
Christopher had lied again.
Daniel whispered, “He said Vanessa recruited him three months ago.”
Evelyn said nothing.
Daniel continued reading.
Another message.
CM: I want my twenty percent when this is done.
Daniel’s stomach clenched.
Christopher had not been manipulated into betrayal.
May you like
He had negotiated his price.
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