Chapter 6: The Recording
The screen went black.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then my father's voice filled the study.
“If you're hearing this, Charlie, I'm probably gone.””
Mom covered her mouth.
I stared at the screen.
Dad continued.
“I don't know who will show you this recording. I only know that if you're watching it, someone has failed to keep you safe.””
My eyes burned.
I hadn't heard his voice in twelve years.
Not in a memory.
Not in a dream.
His actual voice.
The small pauses between words.
The slight rasp at the end of each sentence.
It was him.
Dad continued.
“First, understand this. Willowbrook is not merely property.””
I looked at Mom.
She was crying silently.
“It contains records that certain people would kill to possess.””
A noise came from outside.
Richard.
He was still at the front door.
Dad's voice continued.
“I trusted Richard Hale once.””
I froze.
“I no longer do.””
Mom whispered, “Oh my God.””
Dad paused.
“If Richard tells you he is helping you, he is not.””
I looked toward the door.
Richard knocked again.
“Charles.””
I ignored him.
Dad continued.
“There is one person I trust to tell you the truth.””
A photograph appeared on the screen.
Stephanie.
I stared.
“What?””
Mom stepped closer.
The recording continued.
“Her name is Stephanie.””
My heart stopped.
Mom looked at me.
“No.””
I stared at the screen.
Dad's voice continued.
“She may not know why she's been placed in your path.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What is this?”” I whispered.
Dad continued.
“Do not judge her too quickly.””
The recording ended.
Silence.
I stood frozen.
Stephanie.
The woman who had insulted my mother.
The woman who had planned to take Willowbrook.
The woman whose office contained documents with my name on them.
My father had trusted her.
Why?
The screen flashed.
A second file opened automatically.
This recording was newer.
The timestamp was only three months before Dad died.
His face appeared.
He looked thinner.
Tired.
But alert.
He leaned toward the camera.
“Charlie, if you ever meet a woman named Stephanie Ward, listen carefully.””
I stopped breathing.
“Do not tell her about this recording.””
Dad's eyes shifted toward the door behind him.
“She is being watched.””
I looked at Mom.
“Watched by who?””
The recording continued.
“I have spent months trying to determine whether she is working with them or against them.””
The video paused briefly.
Then Dad said:
“I believe she is against them.””
My knees nearly gave out.
Stephanie.
Against them?
The same Stephanie who had spent a year planning to acquire Willowbrook?
Dad continued.
“But she has made mistakes.””
He reached for a folder.
“She has been trying to get close to Charlie.””
My heart pounded.
“She believes marrying him is the only way to protect him.””
I stared at the screen.
“What?””
Dad looked directly into the camera.
“She thinks the people behind Silver Meadow intend to use Charlie as they used me.””
The screen flickered.
“She's wrong about one thing.””
Dad leaned forward.
“They don't want Willowbrook.””
He lowered his voice.
“They want Charlie.””
The recording ended.
I couldn't move.
Mom whispered, “What does that mean?””
“I don't know.””
A loud crash came from downstairs.
We both jumped.
Someone had broken the front door.
Richard.
I grabbed the flash drive.
“Stay here.””
Mom shook her head.
“No.””
“Mom.””
“I've spent twelve years being afraid of what your father knew.””
She wiped her eyes.
“I'm not hiding anymore.””
Footsteps entered the house.
Richard called from below.
“Charles!””
I locked the study door.
The footsteps climbed the stairs.
Slowly.
One floor.
Then another.
Mom stood beside me.
I held the metal key from Dad's box.
“What does this open?””
She looked at it.
“I don't know.””
The footsteps stopped outside the study.
Richard spoke calmly.
“You have something that belongs to me.””
I stepped toward the door.
“No.””
A pause.
Then Richard laughed.
“Your father said the same thing.””
My hand tightened around the key.
Richard continued.
“You think this is about your wedding.””
He knocked once.
“It isn't.””
Mom looked at me.
I whispered, “What do you mean?””
Richard answered through the door.
“Stephanie never intended to steal Willowbrook.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Then what did she intend to do?””
Silence.
Then:
“She was trying to save you.””
Mom's eyes widened.
Richard continued.
“And you just destroyed the one chance she had.””
I opened my mouth.
Before I could speak, my phone buzzed.
Emma.
One message.
Charles, I lied to you.
Another arrived.
Stephanie didn't send me to warn you.
Then a third.
She sent me to make sure you found the recording.
I stared at the screen.
Richard said from the other side of the door:
“Now you understand.””
I looked at Mom.
“Understand what?””
Richard's voice became almost a whisper.
“Your wedding wasn't the trap.””
The hallway went silent.
“It was the warning.””
I looked down at the flash drive in my hand.
Then my phone buzzed one more time.
This time, the message wasn't from Emma.
It was from Stephanie.
Charles, if you found my father's files, leave Willowbrook immediately.
A second message appeared.
Richard is not the person you should be afraid of.
Then a third.
You need to find the room beneath the barn before they do.
I looked toward the window.
The old red barn stood across the fog-covered fields.
I had spent my entire childhood playing inside it.
I knew every door.
Every beam.
Every broken floorboard.
There was no room beneath it.
At least, I had never known about one.
Behind me, Richard said quietly:
“Charles, don't go to the barn.””
I turned toward the locked door.
“How did you know what she just texted me?””
There was a long silence.
Then Richard answered:
“Because I was the one who told Stephanie to send it.””
My blood ran cold.
May you like
The door handle began to move.
And from somewhere outside, beneath the old red barn, a light suddenly flickered on.
