Chapter 6 - The Recording My Father Left Behind
The study door was open.
Nobody had touched it.
Nobody had been near it.
But it was moving.
Slowly.
Like someone on the other side had just pushed it.
Daniel stepped in front of me immediately.
"Stay behind me."
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to tell him I wasn't the same woman who had walked into this house days earlier believing my biggest problem was a cold relationship with my mother-in-law.
But I didn't.
Because the truth was, for the first time in my life, I had no idea who was dangerous.
The door stopped moving.
A second passed.
Then another.
Daniel raised the flashlight.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Richard grabbed his phone.
The screen had no signal.
The power was still out.
The entire house felt trapped in time.
Then my mother whispered something.
"He's back."
I turned toward her.
"Who?"
She looked at the doorway.
"The man who made your father disappear."
My blood ran cold.
"You said my father died."
She didn't look at me.
"I said that's what everyone was supposed to believe."
Before I could ask anything else, Daniel pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
The study looked exactly the same.
The desk.
The bookshelves.
The old furniture.
Nothing moved.
Nothing was missing.
Except one thing.
The laptop.
The laptop that had been playing my father's recording.
It was gone.
I stepped inside.
"Someone took it."
Richard walked toward the desk.
"No."
He pointed down.
A small piece of paper was lying underneath.
I picked it up.
Only three words were written.
"Come alone, Mariana."
My hands went cold.
Daniel immediately took the paper from me.
"No."
My mother looked terrified.
"This is what he wanted."
I stared at her.
"Who?"
She looked at the note.
Then at me.
"Your father."
The room went silent.
Daniel shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
My mother slowly walked to the desk.
"It does."
She looked at me.
"Your father knew that if anyone found the recordings, they would come after everyone connected to him."
I looked at the note.
"He wants me to meet him?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
My mother didn't answer.
Because she knew.
And that scared me.
I turned toward Richard.
"You knew my father was alive?"
His face changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
"You knew."
Richard looked down.
"I knew there was a possibility."
Daniel stared at him.
"My entire life, you lied to me."
Richard looked at his son.
"I was trying to protect you."
"No."
Daniel stepped closer.
"You were protecting yourself."
Richard didn't fight back.
Because he knew Daniel was right.
I walked toward the table.
The flash drive was still there.
The tiny blue light was blinking.
"Maybe the recording isn't finished."
Daniel looked at it.
"How do we access it?"
Richard answered quietly.
"There is another file."
Everyone looked at him.
"You knew?"
Richard nodded.
"Your father created a backup system."
My mother looked shocked.
"He never told me."
"He couldn't."
Richard took a deep breath.
"He didn't trust anyone."
I looked at the flash drive.
"Except me."
Nobody answered.
Because that was the truth.
My father had hidden everything for twenty years.
Waiting for me.
I connected the flash drive to the laptop Daniel had brought from downstairs.
The screen turned on.
A password box appeared.
One attempt.
Then the files would be locked.
I stared at it.
"What is the password?"
Richard shook his head.
"I don't know."
My mother looked at me.
Then suddenly, she whispered:
"Yes, you do."
I frowned.
"What?"
She stepped closer.
"Your father always said the password would be something only you remembered."
I searched my memory.
Something only I remembered.
Something from childhood.
A phrase.
A place.
A moment.
Then I remembered.
I typed six words.
The password worked.
The files appeared.
There were hundreds.
Documents.
Videos.
Photos.
Names.
Dates.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"What is all this?"
I clicked the first video.
My father's face appeared again.
This time he looked older.
Exhausted.
Like someone who had been running for years.
"Mariana, if you found this file, then you already know your mother survived."
I looked at my mother.
She covered her mouth.
My father continued.
"But you don't know the most important part."
The video paused.
Then continued.
"Your mother did not disappear because of Richard."
Everyone looked at him.
Richard froze.
My father looked directly into the camera.
"She disappeared because of Elena."
The room became silent.
Elena, who had been standing near the doorway, suddenly stopped breathing.
Daniel turned toward her.
"Mom?"
My father continued.
"Elena knew about the insurance policy. She knew about the investigation. She knew exactly what I discovered."
I looked at Elena.
She looked broken.
"No..."
The word escaped her.
My father continued.
"She was not working alone."
My stomach tightened.
The screen showed a folder.
A list of payments.
Names.
Dates.
Transfers.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Elena Whitmore.
But there was another name.
A name that made Richard step backward.
Because he knew it.
Daniel looked at him.
"Dad?"
Richard whispered:
"No."
I stared at the screen.
"Who is it?"
Nobody answered.
Then Elena suddenly moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
She grabbed the laptop.
Daniel reacted immediately.
"Mom!"
She pulled the device away.
Her calm expression was gone.
The woman who had spent years pretending to be innocent finally looked exactly like what she was.
Desperate.
"Elena."
My voice was low.
"What are you hiding?"
She looked at me.
"I was trying to fix everything."
"You tried to kill me."
"No."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was trying to stop them from killing you."
Nobody spoke.
The sentence made no sense.
Then she whispered:
"You don't understand who your father was dealing with."
Richard stepped forward.
"Elena, stop."
She looked at him.
"You knew."
Richard froze.
"You knew they were coming back."
Daniel looked between them.
"Who is coming back?"
Elena didn't answer.
Instead, she slowly turned the laptop screen toward us.
The video had changed.
A new file was playing.
A live feed.
A camera inside the house.
And on the screen was the front entrance.
Everyone stared.
Because the camera showed something impossible.
Someone was standing outside.
Watching the house.
My mother stepped closer.
Her face turned pale.
"No."
I looked at her.
"Who is that?"
She didn't answer.
Because the person on the screen lifted his face toward the camera.
And smiled.
My father.
Alive.
Standing outside the house.
Then the front door camera suddenly sent a notification.
A message appeared on the screen.
"Mariana, I know you're watching."
May you like
And underneath it was a second line.
"Your mother has been lying to you about why I disappeared."
