Chapter 5 - The Voice From The Past
"Elena is awake."
The words remained on my father's phone screen.
Five seconds passed.
Nobody moved.
Not Brooke.
Not Linda.
Not even my father.
Because everyone in that room understood something I didn't.
Those three words were not a warning.
They were a threat.
I looked at my father.
"Who is Elena?"
The question left my mouth before I could stop it.
My father stared at me.
Confusion crossed his face for a moment.
Then fear returned.
"Don't do this."
I frowned.
"Do what?"
"Dig into things you don't understand."
The old Richard Vale appeared again.
The man who always spoke like he knew better.
The man who believed information belonged to him.
But this time, his voice was different.
There was no confidence.
Only panic.
The officer stepped closer.
"Mr. Vale, I asked you a question earlier."
My father looked at him.
The officer pointed toward the phone.
"Who sent that message?"
My father didn't answer.
The officer extended his hand.
"Phone."
My father's fingers tightened around it.
For a moment, I thought he would refuse.
Then he slowly handed it over.
The officer looked at the message.
No number.
No contact name.
Just a hidden sender.
He checked the details.
His expression changed.
"This came through an encrypted service."
My stomach tightened.
"Meaning?"
The officer looked at me.
"Meaning whoever sent this didn't want to be identified."
Brooke suddenly spoke.
"She shouldn't have seen it."
Everyone turned toward her.
Her face was pale.
"What did you say?" I asked.
Brooke looked away.
"I said she shouldn't have seen it."
"Why?"
No answer.
The officer stepped toward her.
"Brooke."
She swallowed.
"What?"
"How do you know this message is connected to Elena?"
Her mouth opened.
Then closed.
A mistake.
Another one.
The same mistake my father had made.
The same mistake everyone made when they thought they still controlled the room.
They forgot someone was finally listening.
I looked at Brooke.
"You know something."
She didn't respond.
"You knew about my mother's letter."
Silence.
"You knew about the hidden room."
Silence.
"You knew about this message."
Her eyes filled with tears.
But I couldn't tell if they were real.
Because I had spent years learning that people could cry and still hurt you.
"I was scared," she whispered.
I almost laughed.
Scared.
That word sounded strange coming from her.
"You were scared?"
I looked at my bruised arms.
"My entire life, I was the one who was supposed to be scared."
Brooke lowered her head.
And for the first time, she didn't have an excuse.
The officer moved toward the desk again.
"We need to understand what happened here."
He opened the folder with my mother's letter.
Then he looked at the photograph.
The one showing my mother beside the unknown person.
"Do you recognize this man?"
I looked at the picture.
"No."
My father suddenly stepped forward.
"That's not important."
The officer turned.
"Why?"
"Because it has nothing to do with tonight."
I stared at him.
"You're wrong."
Everyone looked at me.
I held the photo.
"It has everything to do with tonight."
I pointed at the date.
"This was taken two days before my mother died."
My father's face changed.
The officer noticed.
"You knew about this photo?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
The officer stared.
My father looked away.
I felt something inside me break.
Not because I was surprised.
Because a part of me had still been hoping.
Hoping there was an explanation.
Hoping my father was just weak.
Not cruel.
But every new piece of evidence destroyed that hope.
The officer took the photo.
"Elena, your mother left this for you for a reason."
I looked at the letter again.
The last sentence on the page kept replaying in my head.
If Richard finds this, Elena will be next.
Next.
Not hurt.
Not in danger.
Next.
Like someone had already planned what would happen to me.
A cold feeling moved through my body.
"Officer."
He looked at me.
"What if my mother wasn't warning me about my father?"
The room became silent.
"What if she was warning me about someone else?"
Nobody answered.
Then Linda suddenly stood.
"Enough."
Her voice was sharp.
Everyone looked at her.
She realized too late that she had revealed emotion.
"What?"
The officer watched her carefully.
"You seem very interested in stopping this investigation."
Linda forced a smile.
"I am interested in protecting my family."
I looked at her.
"No."
She froze.
"You are interested in protecting yourself."
Her expression changed.
Because I was right.
The officer turned back to the hidden room.
"We need to search everything."
My father immediately said:
"No."
The officer looked at him.
"Why?"
My father didn't answer.
Again.
That was becoming his favorite response.
The officer walked toward the filing cabinet.
He pulled open the bottom drawer.
Inside was a small metal box.
Different from everything else.
Old.
Rusty.
Locked.
My heart started beating faster.
The officer picked it up.
"Do you know what this is?"
Nobody spoke.
He looked at my father.
Then Brooke.
Then Linda.
Nobody moved.
The officer placed the box on the desk.
"This belongs to Elena's mother."
My hands became cold.
"How do you know?"
He pointed at the side.
There was a small engraving.
A name.
My mother's name.
Sarah Carter.
I touched the metal.
The last time I had seen something with my mother's name was on her grave.
The officer searched the desk.
"Does anyone have a key?"
Silence.
Then Brooke whispered:
"My father does."
Everyone looked at Richard.
He looked at Brooke like he wanted to stop her.
But it was too late.
The officer turned.
"Mr. Vale?"
My father reached into his pocket.
Slowly.
His hand came out holding a small key.
My chest tightened.
He had it all along.
The officer unlocked the box.
Inside were documents.
A flash drive.
And a handwritten note.
The officer picked up the note.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he looked at me.
"Elena..."
I knew that tone.
Something was wrong.
"What?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He handed me the note.
The handwriting was my mother's.
But the first line wasn't addressed to me.
It was addressed to someone else.
Richard.
If you are reading this, then you already know I discovered what you did.
My hands began shaking.
The room disappeared again.
My father stepped forward.
"Don't read that."
The officer blocked him.
"Stay back."
I continued.
Richard, you told me Elena would never find out.
You were wrong.
Because I made sure someone else would know.
I looked at the officer.
Someone else.
Another person.
Another witness.
Then the flash drive beside the note suddenly lit up.
A small blue light blinked.
The officer picked it up.
"It just activated."
Everyone froze.
The computer on the desk turned on by itself.
The screen flickered.
A video file appeared.
Created fourteen years ago.
The title was simple.
One sentence.
"Elena, if you are watching this, your mother failed to tell you the truth."
And then the video began playing.
A woman's voice filled the room.
May you like
My mother's voice.
"Elena... if you can hear this, it means they found you..."
