Chapter 3 - The Voice Inside the Recording
The office door opened.
Sebastian didn’t turn around.
He already knew who it was.
Only one person in Bellhaven had the confidence to enter without permission.
"Thomas."
The restaurant manager stood in the doorway.
His face was pale.
His eyes moved from Sebastian to the phone still in his hand.
"You received something."
It wasn’t a question.
Sebastian slowly placed the phone on the desk.
"You know about the recording."
Thomas stopped.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Sebastian noticed.
"You knew."
Thomas swallowed.
"I don’t know what you think you heard."
Sebastian stepped closer.
The calmness in his voice was more frightening than anger.
"Someone used Lena’s voice."
Thomas looked away.
"Mr. Vale—"
"Where is she?"
Silence.
That silence gave Sebastian his answer.
His hand tightened.
"Where is Lena?"
Thomas looked terrified.
Not of Sebastian.
Of something else.
"I can’t help you."
Sebastian stared at him.
"You just made a mistake."
Thomas shook his head.
"No. You made one."
The words hung in the room.
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Thomas looked toward the hallway.
Then lowered his voice.
"You should have ignored her."
Before Sebastian could respond, Thomas walked away.
Fast.
Too fast.
Sebastian immediately grabbed his phone.
"Daniel."
The call connected instantly.
"Find Lena."
Daniel didn’t ask questions.
"What happened?"
"She’s missing."
A pause.
Then Daniel’s voice changed.
"I’ll handle it."
Sebastian ended the call.
But something bothered him.
Not the recording.
Not Thomas.
Something else.
The message had been sent to him.
Not the police.
Not management.
Him.
Someone wanted Sebastian Vale to know.
Someone wanted him involved.
Lena woke up with a headache.
The first thing she noticed was the smell.
Old wood.
Dust.
Cold air.
Not the restaurant.
Not her apartment.
She opened her eyes slowly.
The room was dark.
Her wrists weren’t tied.
That scared her more.
If someone wanted to hurt her, they would have restrained her.
But whoever brought her here didn’t need to.
They knew she wouldn’t run.
Because they knew exactly what scared her.
She pushed herself up.
Pain shot through her arm.
She looked around.
A small room.
A broken chair.
An old table.
A single window covered by wooden boards.
Her phone was gone.
The door was locked.
Then she heard footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
The lock turned.
Lena froze.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Not Marcus.
Someone older.
Someone she had never seen before.
He placed a small paper bag on the table.
"Eat."
Lena stared at him.
"Where am I?"
The man ignored the question.
"You shouldn’t have spoken to Sebastian Vale."
Her heart dropped.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at her.
"You already know."
She shook her head.
"No."
He sighed.
"You know more than you think."
Lena looked away.
"I don’t know anything."
The man studied her carefully.
Then he placed something on the table.
A photograph.
Lena looked at it.
And immediately felt sick.
It was a picture of her mother.
Years ago.
Before she died.
Lena slowly reached for it.
"Where did you get this?"
The man said nothing.
Her fingers trembled.
"My mother is dead."
"That’s what you were told."
Lena looked up.
"What?"
The man leaned against the wall.
"Your mother didn’t leave you."
The room became silent.
Every memory Lena had built her life around suddenly felt uncertain.
Her mother’s funeral.
The last letter.
The final goodbye.
All of it.
"What are you saying?"
The man looked at the photograph.
"I’m saying someone wanted you to believe she was gone."
Lena’s breathing became uneven.
"Who?"
Before he answered, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
Then he walked outside.
Leaving the door slightly open.
Lena stared at the opening.
A chance.
Maybe her only one.
She stood.
Her legs shook.
She moved toward the door.
Slowly.
Quietly.
She reached the hallway.
The building was empty.
Old.
Abandoned.
She looked left.
Then right.
A sound came from the room behind her.
The man was still on the phone.
She kept moving.
One step.
Two steps.
Then she saw something on the wall.
A symbol.
A symbol she recognized.
Because she had seen it before.
On the hidden documents inside her mother’s old belongings.
A black circle.
With a line through the center.
Her mother had drawn it repeatedly.
Lena touched the wall.
"What were you hiding?"
A voice answered behind her.
"You finally remembered."
She turned.
The man was standing there.
But he wasn’t looking at her.
He was looking at the symbol.
"You were never supposed to see that."
Lena stepped backward.
"What is it?"
The man looked at her.
"Your mother’s secret."
Sebastian spent two hours searching every place connected to Lena.
Her apartment.
Her workplace.
The streets around Bellhaven.
Nothing.
No sign.
No trace.
That worried him.
People disappeared every day.
But Lena disappearing felt different.
Because someone wanted her gone.
Daniel returned with information.
"Her apartment was searched."
Sebastian looked up.
"When?"
"Tonight."
"What was taken?"
Daniel placed a small evidence bag on the table.
Inside was a torn piece of paper.
"Nothing valuable."
Sebastian picked it up.
The paper looked old.
Handwritten.
A single sentence remained.
Protect Lena.
Sebastian stared at it.
"Who found this?"
"We don’t know."
Sebastian looked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
For years, people feared him because he always knew more than everyone else.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, someone was several steps ahead.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Again.
He answered.
This time, someone spoke.
A man’s voice.
"You should stop looking for her."
Sebastian remained silent.
"Who are you?"
A quiet laugh.
"Someone who knew Lena before you did."
Sebastian’s eyes hardened.
"Where is she?"
The voice ignored the question.
"Ask yourself something, Sebastian."
A pause.
"Why do you think she trusted you?"
The call ended.
Sebastian immediately looked at Daniel.
"Trace it."
Daniel grabbed the equipment.
Seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
"That’s impossible."
"What?"
"The call came from inside Bellhaven."
Sebastian froze.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel turned the screen toward him.
The location appeared.
Bellhaven Restaurant.
The exact building they were standing in.
But the restaurant was empty.
Everyone had left hours ago.
Sebastian grabbed his coat.
"Check every room."
Daniel followed.
They moved through the silent restaurant.
The dining hall.
The kitchen.
The private rooms.
Nothing.
Then Sebastian stopped.
A sound.
A faint sound.
Coming from below.
A basement door.
A door he had never seen before.
Daniel looked confused.
"That wasn’t on the building plans."
Sebastian reached for the handle.
It was locked.
He pulled out his key.
It didn’t work.
Then his phone vibrated.
One final message appeared.
From Lena’s number.
Sebastian looked at the screen.
Three words.
"Don’t open it."
He looked at the locked basement door.
Then at the message.
May you like
Because someone else was inside.
And they had just whispered his name from behind the door.
