Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Recording
My father stood frozen in the doorway.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The only sound was my mother’s voice still playing softly from the phone.
Karen reacted first.
She rushed toward me.
“Give me that phone.””
I stepped backward.
“No.””
Her expression changed instantly.
The sweet stepmother mask disappeared.
“Emily, don’t be dramatic,” Karen snapped.
“You have no idea what you’re listening to.””
My father looked between us.
“Karen, what is that recording?””
She turned toward him quickly.
“Nothing. It’s an old video. Emily is upset and trying to create problems.””
I stared at her.
Five years.
Five years of watching her manipulate every situation.
But this time, she was scared.
And my father noticed.
“Why are you scared of an old video?”” he asked.
Karen forced a laugh.
“Scared? I’m not scared.””
Her fingers shook.
My father saw it.
I saw it.
Everyone saw it.
I held the phone tightly and pressed play again.
My mother’s voice filled the air.
“James, if you’re watching this, it means Emily finally needed to show you.””
My father’s face changed when he heard his name.
He stepped closer.
“Your mother recorded this for me?””
I nodded.
“I didn’t know it existed until tonight.””
Karen’s voice became sharp.
“James, don’t listen to this. She was sick. She wasn’t thinking clearly.””
My father looked at her.
“My wife was sick, and you’re saying she wasn’t thinking clearly?””
Karen immediately softened.
“That’s not what I meant.””
But I knew that trick.
Everyone knew that trick.
Say something cruel.
Then pretend you didn’t mean it.
My mother’s video continued.
“I discovered Karen was hiding financial documents from me. She said they were mistakes, but I found withdrawals from our accounts.””
My father went completely still.
Karen’s face turned pale.
“That’s a lie.””
The words came out too quickly.
My father looked at her.
“Did you withdraw money from our accounts?””
“No.””
“You answered very fast.””
“Because I’m innocent.””
I looked at Karen.
“Then why are you afraid?””
She turned toward me.
“You have always been a difficult child.””
My jaw tightened.
“I’m eighteen.””
“You’re still acting like a child.””
My father stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Karen looked shocked.
It was the first time he had defended me.
My mother’s voice continued.
“James, I need you to check the safe in my office. There is something there you need to see.””
My father looked at me.
“The safe?””
I nodded.
“I don’t know what she means.””
Karen suddenly moved toward the stairs.
My father noticed.
“Where are you going?””
She stopped.
“To get some air.””
“You were just outside.””
Silence.
That was when I knew something was wrong.
Karen wasn’t thinking about leaving.
She was thinking about finding something.
Something she didn’t want us to find first.
My father walked past her toward my mother’s old office.
“James, wait.””
Karen grabbed his arm.
He looked down at her hand.
Slowly, she let go.
“I just think we should talk before we start accusing people.””
My father’s expression hardened.
“Five years ago, I trusted you completely.””
Karen swallowed.
“And now?””
He looked at the phone in my hand.
“Now I don’t know what to believe.””
We entered my mother’s office together.
The room still smelled like her perfume.
Lavender.
Soft.
Familiar.
I had avoided this room since she died because every object inside reminded me of what I lost.
My father walked toward the bookshelf.
Behind a row of old books was a small metal safe.
He stared at it.
“How did I never know this was here?””
Karen stood in the doorway.
Watching.
Waiting.
My father tried the combination.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then I remembered something.
A memory from when I was younger.
My mother sitting on the floor with me, laughing.
“If you ever forget something important, Emily, remember the day we made our secret promise.””
I looked at the safe.
The combination wasn’t a number.
It was a date.
My mother’s birthday.
I whispered it.
My father entered the numbers.
The safe opened.
Inside was a folder.
A small flash drive.
And a handwritten letter.
My father picked up the letter.
His hands started shaking.
“James,” he read aloud.
“If you found this, then my fears were correct.””
Karen took one step forward.
“Don’t.””
Everyone looked at her.
She immediately stopped.
My father opened the folder.
The first document inside made his face go completely white.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He just handed me the paper.
At the top was a bank statement.
And underneath it was a signature.
Karen’s signature.
But it wasn’t the money that made my stomach drop.
It was the date.
The withdrawal happened two days after my mother entered the hospital.
The same week everyone believed my mother was too sick to know what was happening.
My father looked at Karen.
“Why did you take this money?””
Karen’s eyes filled with tears.
“I can explain.””
Then the phone in my father’s pocket rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
May you like
Because the caller was someone none of us expected.
It was the police.
