Chapter 4: The Voice on the Recording
“Play that again.””
Richard’s voice was barely recognizable.
Martin Shaw glanced at Detective Bennett, then returned his attention to the laptop. The hallway recording rewound with a soft electronic click. On the screen, Mia stood beside the staircase, her injured hand wrapped in a white towel, her face transformed by the absence of an audience.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She wasn't frightened.
She was smiling.
“It's done,” Mia said through the laptop speakers.
“He took the bait.””
Then came the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Good. Now we need to make sure Daniel doesn't start asking questions about the reserve account.””
Richard gripped the edge of the table.
It was unmistakably Gregory Price, the chief financial officer of Hayes Construction. Gregory had worked for Richard for seventeen years. He had attended Richard's wife's funeral, helped Daniel through his first major business deal, and once stayed awake for thirty-six hours to keep the company afloat during a financial crisis.
Richard had trusted him with everything.
“Stop the recording,” Richard ordered.
Martin paused it.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Detective Bennett closed her notebook and looked at Richard.
“You recognize the voice?””
“Gregory Price.””
“Your chief financial officer?””
“Yes.””
“Could someone have imitated him?””
Richard looked at the frozen image of Mia holding her phone.
“Not that voice.””
Bennett turned toward Martin.
“Preserve the original audio and video. I want the full recording, not just the sections we've watched. Record the system time, export the metadata, and document every person who handles the files.””
Martin nodded.
“I'll create a read-only forensic copy and calculate the file hashes. The original stays on the recorder.””
“Good. Don't send anything to the family.””
Richard looked up sharply.
“Why not?””
“Because we don't know who else is involved. If Mia learns we've seen this footage, she could warn Gregory. I need them to believe their plan is still working.””
Richard pushed away from the table.
“My son thinks I tried to murder his wife.””
“I understand.””
“No, Detective. You don't.”” He pointed at the screen.
“Daniel walked out of this house believing I was capable of hurting the woman he loves. I want to call him and tell him what she's done.””
Bennett's expression softened, but her voice remained firm.
“If you contact him now, Mia may discover that we have evidence. Let me interview her first.””
“And if she gets away with it?””
“She won't be allowed to destroy evidence while we're investigating. But I need to establish exactly what happened and who was involved.””
Richard stared at the paused recording.
He had spent decades believing that the worst betrayals came from strangers who wanted what he had built.
He had never imagined that the people closest to him might be quietly dismantling his life while sitting at his dinner table.
“There's something else,” Martin said.
He opened the security dashboard and displayed a timeline of the previous evening.
“The kitchen camera recorded Mia entering at 10:31 p.m. The hallway camera picked up her phone conversation at 10:39. The confrontation began at 10:44. But look at this.””
He pointed to a second entry.
“Someone accessed the security system remotely at 10:18.””
Bennett leaned forward.
“From where?””
“The login came through a mobile device. The account belonged to the estate's maintenance administrator.””
“Who has access to that account?””
“Me, two technicians, and the administrator himself.””
“Name?””
“Peter Walsh.””
Richard frowned.
“Peter has been with us for eight years.””
“Did he access the system last night?”” Bennett asked.
Martin checked the authentication log.
“The login was valid, but the device wasn't one I've seen before. Someone may have copied his credentials.””
“Can you determine what they accessed?””
Martin studied the log.
“They opened the camera configuration page. They didn't delete anything, but they could have attempted to disable a feed.””
“Did they?””
“No. All cameras remained active.””
Bennett made a note.
“Secure the access logs. I'll have our digital forensics team examine them.””
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“Gregory had no reason to access my home security system.””
“Perhaps he did,” Bennett replied.
“We just don't know what that reason was yet.””
She closed the laptop.
“Mr. Hayes, I need you to stay here for now. Don't contact Gregory.
Don't contact Mia. And don't discuss the recording with anyone who isn't part of this investigation.””
Richard gave a bitter laugh.
“I'm not sure anyone in my family would believe me anyway.””
“Then let the evidence speak first.””
Across town, Mia was doing everything possible to make sure the evidence never reached Daniel.
She sat at the kitchen island of the apartment she shared with her husband, wearing a cream-colored sweater and a fresh bandage around her palm.
Daniel stood by the window, staring at his phone.
He had received six missed calls from Olivia and three messages from his father's office. He had answered none of them.
Mia watched him over the rim of her coffee cup.
“Are you going to call your sister?””
“Not right now.””
“She's angry with me.””
“She's angry with everyone.””
Mia lowered the cup.
“I know you don't want to hear this, Daniel, but your father has been trying to push me out of your life for years.””
Daniel turned.
“Why would he do that?””
“Because he thinks I'm a distraction. Because he thinks I don't belong in the family business.””
“He's never said that to me.””
“He wouldn't.””
She let the words settle before continuing.
“Daniel, your father controls your entire life. He decides which projects you work on, which executives get promoted, and how much money you're allowed to spend. When was the last time you made a major decision without wondering whether he'd approve?””
Daniel said nothing.
Mia moved closer.
“I'm not asking you to choose between us. I'm asking you to recognize what's happening.””
He looked down at her bandaged hand.
“Did he actually try to hurt you?””
Mia's heart skipped.
She had expected anger. She had expected loyalty. She hadn't expected the question to return so directly.
“Daniel, I told you what happened.””
“I know. But I wasn't there until the end.””
“He grabbed me.””
“Did he have the knife?””
Mia stared at him.
“What?””
“When I came into the kitchen, Dad said you had cut yourself. You told me he was trying to take the knife away. Did he ever hold it?””
She swallowed.
“He was reaching for it.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Mia set her coffee down a little too hard.
“Why are you interrogating me?””
“I'm trying to understand.””
“Your father has spent years making you feel guilty whenever you disagree with him. And now you're doing exactly what he wants.””
Daniel flinched as though she had struck a nerve.
She reached for his hand.
“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.””
He pulled away.
Mia watched him retreat toward the living room.
Her plan depended on Daniel's trust. Without it, she would lose her place in the family, her access to the company, and the one thing she valued above money itself: the power to decide what happened next.
She took out her phone and opened a private messaging app.
*Mia:* We have a problem. Daniel is asking questions.
The reply came almost immediately.
*Gregory:* Did you tell him anything?
*Mia:* No. But he isn't completely convinced.
*Gregory:* Keep him occupied. The transfer has to happen before Friday.
Mia stared at the screen.
*Mia:* What about the footage?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Finally, Gregory replied.
*Gregory:* There shouldn't be any footage.
Mia felt the blood drain from her face.
She typed quickly.
*Mia:* What does that mean?
His answer arrived.
*Gregory:* I accessed the system last night. Everything was supposed to be disabled.
Mia looked toward the apartment door.
For the first time since she had staged the confrontation, she felt genuine fear.
She had checked the visible cameras.
She had checked the hallway.
She had even waited until she thought the kitchen was empty.
But she had never considered the possibility that Richard had installed a camera where nobody would think to look.
Her fingers trembled.
*Mia:* Find out whether he has the recording.
Gregory didn't respond.
Instead, her phone rang.
She answered immediately.
“What happened?”” she whispered.
Gregory's voice was sharp.
“Listen carefully. Don't send me any more messages about the footage. Delete this conversation.””
“Why?””
“Because I just received a call from the police.””
Mia stood so abruptly that her chair scraped across the floor.
“What did they ask you?””
“They want to meet tomorrow morning.””
“Did they mention Richard?””
“No.””
“Did they mention the camera?””
“No, Mia. But that doesn't mean they don't know.””
She pressed a hand against her forehead.
“Gregory, you told me the system would be disabled.””
“And you told me you'd make sure Richard was too distracted to check it.””
“I did everything you asked!””
“Then stop panicking.””
She heard him take a slow breath.
“If they have the recording, we're both in trouble. If they don't, we still have time. The money hasn't moved yet.””
Mia closed her eyes.
“How much is left?””
“Enough to keep both of us comfortable for a long time.””
“And if Richard finds out?””
Gregory paused.
“Then we make sure he can't do anything about it.””
The call ended.
Mia lowered the phone.
Across the room, Daniel was watching her.
“Who was that?””
She looked up.
“Olivia.””
“Why did you tell her you'd call her back?””
Mia's mind raced.
“Because she keeps asking me about Dad. I don't want to talk about it anymore.””
Daniel studied her for a long moment.
Then he looked away.
“Neither do I.””
He walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
Mia remained standing in the kitchen, the phone cold in her hand.
She had spent months arranging every detail of Richard's downfall.
Now she couldn't even predict what her husband would do in the next five minutes.
And somewhere across town, Detective Bennett was preparing to interview the man whose voice had just turned a domestic accusation into a potential corporate conspiracy.
By morning, Mia would have to decide whether to protect Gregory.
Or betray him before he betrayed her.
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She didn't yet know that Gregory had already made that decision for both of them.
And that he was about to take the first step toward making sure she carried the entire crime alone.
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