Chapter 13 - The Voice on the Tape
The voice belonged to a woman.
Older.
Shaking.
But unmistakably familiar.
“Natalie, if you are hearing this, I need you to understand one thing.”
Natalie stood frozen.
“I never abandoned you.”
Her knees weakened.
“I was told you were safe.”
The recording continued.
“Your father believed I was dead. Cynthia believed I was gone. Your grandmother knew the truth.”
Natalie covered her mouth.
“Your mother is alive.”
The tape crackled.
“She has been hiding because someone has spent years searching for her.”
Natalie whispered,
“No.”
The voice continued.
“I cannot tell you where I am. If they discover you know, they will come for you.”
A pause.
Then:
“The house in Westlake is not simply a home.”
Natalie looked around.
“It contains the evidence that can expose everything.”
The tape clicked.
Silence.
Natalie searched for another recording.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something beneath the chair.
A small metal plate.
317.
The same number as the gate.
She removed it.
Inside was a photograph.
A woman standing outside a hospital.
Natalie recognized her immediately.
Her mother.
Alive.
But standing beside her was another person.
Natalie's father.
And Cynthia.
Natalie stared at the photograph.
If her mother had survived, why had Daniel spent eighteen years telling her she was dead?
Then her phone rang.
Daniel.
Natalie answered.
“Dad.”
He was crying.
“She contacted you, didn't she?”
Natalie said nothing.
Daniel whispered,
“Then they know.”
“Who?”
“I don't have much time.”
“Dad, tell me everything.”
“I can't.”
“You owe me the truth.”
“I know.”
A loud sound came through the phone.
Daniel gasped.
Then the call ended.
Natalie immediately called back.
No answer.
She looked toward the driveway.
A black SUV was approaching.
May you like
Cynthia had arrived.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
