Chapter 5 - The Voice Inside the Walls
The security speaker went silent.
David stared at the camera.
“Daniel is dead.”
Theresa’s face had lost all color.
Valerie held Ethan against her chest and moved toward the hallway.
David blocked her.
“Wait.”
“My son needs help.”
“That voice knew your full name.”
“So?”
“So this house may be compromised.”
“You compromised it when you blocked every phone.”
Theresa rushed toward the camera and struck it with the metal lamp.
The lens cracked.
The green light remained on.
“Turn it off,” she told David.
“I don’t know how.”
“You installed the system.”
“I installed the visible system.”
Valerie stopped.
“What does that mean?”
David looked at the wall.
“Your father arranged the original security architecture before we moved in. I replaced the cameras, but some of the wiring was sealed behind the walls.”
The speaker crackled again.
“Valerie, there is a secondary device in the kitchen. Lower drawer beside the pantry.”
Theresa struck the camera again.
“Who are you?” Valerie asked.
No answer came.
“Are you Daniel?”
Static filled the room.
Then the voice said, “Get Ethan to a hospital. Trust no member of the Mercer family.”
The speaker switched off.
Theresa grabbed Valerie’s arm.
“You are not going anywhere.”
David pulled his mother away.
“She is taking Ethan to the hospital.”
“And the authorization?”
“To hell with the authorization!”
Theresa slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
“You weak little fool,” she hissed. “Eight years of planning, and now you’re frightened because a speaker used your brother’s name?”
David’s cheek reddened.
Valerie moved past them.
She descended the stairs carefully, one hand on the railing. Blood had begun to soak through her gown again. Ethan’s breaths were shallow and irregular.
Behind her, David and Theresa continued arguing.
“You said this would be clean,” David said.
“It would have been if you had married a woman with less of her father’s stubbornness.”
“I married her because you told me the trust contained Daniel’s evidence.”
“It does.”
“Then why haven’t we found it?”
“Because she hasn’t signed.”
Valerie reached the kitchen.
The lower drawer beside the pantry looked ordinary.
She opened it.
Kitchen towels.
Nothing else.
She pushed them aside and felt along the back panel.
Her fingers touched a recessed button.
The panel released.
Inside was a black case containing the hidden phone, a charger, a small key, and a sealed envelope.
Valerie took the envelope first.
For Valerie, if the Mercer family turns against you.
Her father’s handwriting.
She wanted to open it, but Ethan released a fragile gasp.
The hospital came first.
Valerie turned on the phone.
Full signal.
She began dialing emergency services.
David entered the kitchen and took the phone from her.
“Give it back.”
“Wait.”
“What are you doing?”
He examined the screen.
“It’s registered to Vaughn Security.”
“My father’s old company.”
“The company was dissolved.”
“Apparently not.”
Theresa entered carrying her handbag and the unsigned authorization.
“Destroy the phone.”
David did not move.
Theresa reached for it.
He pulled it away.
Valerie saw the first genuine conflict in his eyes.
His mother had controlled him for years. Perhaps his entire life. But the possibility that Daniel was alive had broken something open.
“Call an ambulance,” Valerie said.
David looked at Ethan.
His son’s lips were pale.
He handed Valerie the phone.
Theresa seized his wrist.
“Think carefully.”
“He’s my child.”
“He is Charles Vaughn’s blood.”
“He is my blood too.”
“Then start acting like a Mercer.”
David pulled free.
Valerie dialed.
Before she could press the final number, Theresa slammed her handbag against Valerie’s hand.
The phone flew across the kitchen.
Valerie stumbled.
A sharp pain tore through her abdomen.
Blood ran down her leg.
David stared.
“Valerie?”
She collapsed against the counter.
Ethan cried once, then coughed.
David moved toward them.
Theresa stepped in front of him.
“She is manipulating you.”
“She’s hemorrhaging.”
“She was already bleeding.”
“She needs a doctor.”
“She needs to sign.”
David looked at his mother as though he had never seen her before.
“You pushed her down the stairs.”
Theresa’s mouth tightened.
“You were supposed to be stronger than Daniel.”
David shoved her aside.
He helped Valerie sit against the cabinet.
“Where are the car keys?”
“Your mother took them.”
David turned.
Theresa backed toward the hallway.
“The roads are unsafe,” she said.
“The storm ended hours ago.”
“You leave this house now, and everything is over.”
“It’s already over.”
Theresa’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you think Valerie will forgive you? Do you think the police will believe you suddenly became a loving husband?”
David looked at Valerie.
She answered for him.
“No.”
His face tightened.
Theresa smiled.
“There. We still have one chance. She signs. We transfer control. We leave the country. Daniel’s records disappear with the trust.”
Valerie understood.
The vacation was not a vacation.
Saint Aurelia had no extradition treaty for certain financial crimes. David and Theresa planned to flee once the trust assets were transferred.
“What happened to Daniel?” Valerie asked.
Theresa’s gaze moved to her.
“He asked the wrong questions.”
“Did you kill him?”
Theresa smiled faintly.
“I saved this family.”
David whispered, “What did you do?”
The security phone on the floor lit up.
A recording icon flashed.
Every word was being captured.
Theresa noticed.
She lunged for it.
Valerie grabbed her ankle.
Theresa fell forward, striking the floor.
David reached the phone first.
He looked at the recording timer.
Then at his mother.
“How long has it been recording?”
May you like
The phone answered in Daniel’s voice.
“Long enough.”
