Chapter 2: The Voice on the Recording
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Caleb had been at our house countless times. He had eaten at our table, watched football with me in the living room, and helped Maya build the first version of the Beacon.
He was the closest thing she had to a second father.
When Vanessa and I needed someone to pick her up from school, Caleb was the person we called. When I traveled for work, he checked on her. When she won her first science competition, he had bought her a miniature trophy engraved with the words Future Engineer.
I had trusted him with my family.
And now my daughter was telling me he had helped destroy the one thing she loved most.
“Are you sure it was Uncle Caleb?”” I asked.
Maya nodded.
“He wore the blue jacket you gave him. The one with the company logo.””
My mind raced through the possibilities.
Perhaps he had come to discuss business. Maybe there was a misunderstanding. Maybe he had tried to stop Vanessa and failed.
But the last sentence Maya had spoken kept returning to me.
They had to finish before you came home.
“Did you hear anything else?””
Maya twisted the edge of her sweatshirt.
“They talked about a drive.””
“What kind of drive?””
“I don't know. A computer drive, I think.””
“Did you see it?””
She hesitated.
Then she pointed toward a small cabinet beside the workbench.
“They put something in that drawer.””
I opened it.
Inside were several rolls of wire, spare batteries, a box of screws, and an old instruction manual for the Beacon.
Nothing else.
“Was it in here?””
“No. They took it.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
I looked at the memory card again.
“Let's see what you recorded.””
Maya nodded, but her hands were shaking.
I carried my laptop to the workbench and inserted the card into a reader. The computer recognized it almost immediately.
A list of files appeared.
Hundreds of images. Test recordings. Sensor logs.
Temperature readings. A collection of folders labeled by date.
And one folder marked:
*EMERGENCY_BACKUP_10-28*
I clicked it.
There were three video files.
The first showed Maya's workshop from a low angle. The camera was mounted near the rover's front sensor, so the view was tilted slightly upward.
The timestamp read 10:42 p.m.
Vanessa entered the room.
She was wearing the cream-colored robe I had bought her in London.
She looked around before opening the cabinet.
Then she removed a small silver device from her handbag.
I leaned toward the screen.
“What is that?””
Maya shook her head.
“I've never seen it before.””
Vanessa set the device on the workbench and connected it to something near the computer.
A few moments later, Caleb entered.
He wasn't wearing his usual friendly expression.
He looked tired and angry.
“Is it done?”” he asked.
Vanessa glanced toward the door.
“Keep your voice down.””
Caleb walked to the workbench.
“You told me he was coming back Friday.””
“He changed his flight.””
“When?””
“This afternoon.””
“Then we have a problem.””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“You're the one who insisted on doing it tonight.””
“I insisted because the board meeting is tomorrow.””
My heart began beating harder.
The board meeting.
I had scheduled that meeting two weeks earlier to finalize the expansion of Northstar Systems, the robotics company Caleb and I had founded together.
What did Vanessa have to do with it?
Caleb leaned closer to the laptop.
“Did you get the files?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not yet. The drive is encrypted.””
“You said you could access Marcus's office.””
“I can. But he changed the password.””
“Then get the new one.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You think I haven't tried?””
Caleb ran a hand over his face.
“We don't have another week.””
The recording continued.
Vanessa looked toward the rover.
“It's the girl's machine. It has the camera and the wireless module.””
Caleb frowned.
“Why would she put a wireless module in a toy?””
“Because she's been copying everything she sees in her father's office.””
I felt something tighten in my chest.
“That's not true,” Maya whispered.
I didn't answer.
On the recording, Caleb picked up a small sensor from the table and inspected it.
“Can it transfer the files?””
“I think so,” Vanessa said.
“But I'm not risking another attempt. The last time, it triggered a security alert.””
Caleb dropped the sensor.
“Then you need to destroy it.””
Vanessa stared at him.
“I was already planning to.””
I paused the recording.
My hands were cold.
Maya looked at me.
“Dad, I didn't copy anything from your office.””
“I know.””
“But they said I did.””
“I heard them.””
She looked down.
“Mom said I was stealing your work. She said the Beacon wasn't really mine.””
I turned toward her.
“That's ridiculous.””
“She told Uncle Caleb that I had been using your company files.””
I glanced at the computer.
“Did they mention a specific file?””
Maya shook her head.
I pressed play again.
Caleb was now standing beside Vanessa.
“Once the transfer is complete, we can make it look like Marcus moved the research himself.””
Vanessa gave a nervous laugh.
“And what happens when someone asks why?””
Caleb replied without hesitation.
“Because his daughter had access to everything. She can be the weak link.””
My chair scraped backward.
I stopped breathing for a moment.
They were talking about framing me.
Not only stealing company files.
Framing me.
And they were using my daughter as part of the plan.
On the screen, Vanessa turned toward Caleb.
“I don't want Maya involved.””
He stared at her.
“You already involved her when you put the hardware in her machine.””
“I didn't know she'd keep recording.””
“Then find the card.””
My hand tightened around the edge of the laptop.
Vanessa shook her head.
“She never checks that compartment.””
Caleb stepped closer.
“Don't underestimate her. She's Marcus's daughter.””
A strange silence followed.
Then Vanessa said something that made my entire body go still.
“Marcus is the reason we have to do this.””
Caleb lowered his voice.
“Don't start with that again.””
“You know what I sacrificed.””
“You married him. Nobody forced you.””
Vanessa slapped the workbench.
“I gave up everything to build a life with him, and now I'm supposed to watch him hand the company to his precious employees?””
Caleb leaned against the table.
“You're getting paid.””
“Not enough.””
“Then don't ruin this.””
Vanessa turned away.
“I want the money we agreed on. All of it. And I want my name on the new company.””
Caleb stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said, “You don't understand what happens if Marcus finds out who really owns the original designs.””
The recording ended.
I sat motionless.
The original designs.
I knew exactly what he meant.
Four years earlier, Caleb and I had developed a compact emergency-navigation system for search-and-rescue robots. It was the foundation of our company's most valuable patent portfolio.
I had designed the first version. Caleb had written much of the software.
We had argued over ownership, but eventually agreed that the company would hold the rights.
At least, that was what I believed.
Maya touched my arm.
“Dad?””
I turned the screen away from her.
“Let's take a breath.””
“Are you angry with me?””
The question hurt more than anything I'd heard on the recording.
“No. Never.””
“But Mom said I ruined everything.””
I pulled her into my arms.
“Listen to me. You didn't ruin anything.””
She buried her face against my shoulder.
For a while, neither of us moved.
Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
“Are you still playing with that thing?””
I closed the laptop halfway.
“Come here.””
She stopped.
“Why?””
“I want you to watch something.””
Her eyes moved toward the computer.
“Marcus, I'm tired. I have an early meeting.””
“So do I.””
She looked at Maya.
“Why don't you go upstairs?””
“No,” I said.
Vanessa exhaled sharply.
“Fine. What's this about?””
I turned the laptop around.
The final frame of the recording showed her standing beside Caleb in our workshop.
Her own face stared back at her.
For the first time that evening, she didn't look irritated.
She looked terrified.
“Where did you get that?”” she whispered.
Maya moved closer to me.
“You said the camera was broken,” I replied.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
“That's not what it looks like.””
“Then tell me what it looks like.””
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
I stood.
“Why was Caleb here?””
“He came to talk.””
“About what?””
“Work.””
“Why were you connecting a device to my daughter's machine?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
She glanced at Maya again.
“Not in front of her.””
I felt something harden inside me.
“You didn't seem concerned about having her in the room when you destroyed eight months of her work.””
Vanessa flinched.
Then she stepped toward me.
“Marcus, please. You're making a mistake.””
“Which part?””
“The recording. You can't trust it. The camera could have picked up pieces of conversations without context.””
“Then give me the context.””
She had no answer.
I lifted the memory card from the reader.
“I'm taking this.””
Vanessa reached for it.
I moved my hand away.
“Don't.””
Her face twisted.
“You have no idea what you're getting into.””
“Maybe you should tell me.””
She lowered her voice.
“Caleb is dangerous when he feels cornered.””
I stared at her.
“You're warning me about my own brother?””
“I'm warning you about what he knows.””
“What does he know?””
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the laptop.
Then toward the hallway.
And finally back to me.
“Ask him why the patent was never registered under your name.””
I felt the room tilt.
“The patent belongs to Northstar.””
“No, Marcus.””
She shook her head slowly.
“It doesn't.””
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything except the faint hum of the laptop fan.
“What are you talking about?””
Vanessa looked as if she wanted to take the words back.
Then she said, “Caleb didn't just steal files from your office. He has the legal documents.””
I stared at her.
“Which documents?””
May you like
She swallowed.
“The ones proving that your signature transferred the original invention rights to him.””
