For several seconds, nobody moved.
Elaine's voice came through the laptop speaker softly, weakened by illness but unmistakably hers.
“Daniel, if this recording reaches you, then I was right to be afraid.”
Chloe covered her mouth.
I turned the volume higher.
Elaine continued.
“I need you to understand that your father did not betray me in the way you may believe.”
I looked at Chloe.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen.
“He made mistakes. He lied. He protected the wrong people. But he was not the person taking the money.”
The recording crackled.
Then Elaine said something that made my blood run cold.
“The person taking the money was Harper.”
Chloe closed her eyes.
I stopped the recording.
Neither of us spoke.
Madison whispered, “Keep playing.”
I pressed play.
Elaine continued.
“Harper did not begin alone. She was being guided by someone who understood how your family worked.”
A pause.
“That person knew Daniel would always defend his sister.”
I stared at the screen.
“They knew your mother would protect Harper from consequences.”
Chloe looked at me.
“And they knew your father would try to fix everything quietly.”
Elaine coughed.
“I discovered the transfers after noticing irregularities in my medical account. At first I believed it was an administrative error. Then I found payments connected to a company controlled by Evan.”
The recording paused.
“He was using Harper's access to your father's files.”
My hands tightened.
“Harper knew.”
Another pause.
“But she did not understand the full extent of what she was doing.”
That complicated everything.
Elaine was not describing Harper as an innocent victim.
She was describing someone manipulated into committing crimes she barely understood.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“The person directing them is not Evan.”
Chloe leaned toward the laptop.
“Who?”
Elaine's recording answered.
“I believe it is Lucas.”
I stopped breathing.
Madison stared at me.
“No.”
The recording continued.
“Lucas has been close to your father for years. He knows the business. He knows the accounts. He knows how to make missing money look like accounting errors.”
Chloe looked at me.
“But Lucas gave us the letter.”
I nodded.
“Maybe he wanted us to find it.”
Madison whispered, “That means he wanted you looking in the wrong direction.”
The recording continued.
“I confronted Lucas.”
Elaine's voice shook.
“He told me I was confused because of my medication.”
Chloe's eyes filled.
“He threatened me.”
The audio became quieter.
“I told your father.”
A long pause.
“He didn't believe me at first.”
Then Elaine's voice became clearer.
“When he finally did, it was too late.”
I looked at the date on the recording.
It had been made six weeks before Elaine died.
I stopped it again.
“Dad knew.”
Chloe nodded.
“He knew Lucas was dangerous.”
Madison looked frightened.
“Then why did Lucas meet us?”
I didn't have an answer.
My phone buzzed.
A text from Lucas.
We need to talk.
I stared at it.
Another message followed.
Come alone.
Chloe shook her head.
“No.”
“He might know we have the recording.”
“Exactly.”
I called him.
He answered immediately.
“Daniel.”
“What did you do?”
Silence.
Then:
“You found the recording.”
“How?”
“Because Elaine hid it where only Chloe would think to look.”
“You gave us the letter.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To get you away from your mother.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Your mother wasn't the person Elaine feared most.”
“Then why did she say your name?”
Lucas exhaled.
“Because Elaine changed her mind.”
I stared.
“Changed her mind about what?”
“She realized I was trying to protect her.”
The room went silent.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I expected you to find the second recording.”
My heart stopped.
“There are two?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In your father's lake house.”
I looked at Chloe.
Lucas continued.
“Under the floorboard beneath the desk.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I put it there.”
Then the call ended.
We drove to the lake house.
The front door was unlocked.
That was wrong.
Dad never left it unlocked.
I entered first.
The house smelled faintly of smoke.
Chloe stayed close behind me.
The dining room was empty.
The folder was gone.
So was Dad.
I went straight to the study.
The desk stood against the far wall.
I pulled it away.
The floorboard underneath had been disturbed.
Chloe knelt beside me.
There was a small metal box beneath it.
Inside was a second recording.
And a photograph.
The photograph showed Lucas.
But he wasn't alone.
Standing beside him was my mother.
The date was three years before Chloe and I met.
I stared at the image.
“They knew each other.”
Chloe whispered, “Maybe they were working together.”
The recording began.
Lucas's voice came first.
“You said the money was already moved.”
Mom answered.
“It was.”
I felt sick.
Then Dad's voice entered.
“What have you two done?”
The recording continued.
Mom said, “It was supposed to be temporary.”
Dad replied, “You stole from the business.”
Mom began crying.
“I was trying to protect Harper.”
Lucas interrupted.
“And now you have.”
I stopped the recording.
Chloe looked at me.
“Your mother and Lucas were working together.”
I shook my head.
“Maybe.”
“That's what the recording says.”
“But why?”
We played the rest.
Mom admitted she had helped move money after discovering Harper's involvement.
She had not planned to keep it.
She wanted to replace what Harper had taken before Dad discovered the theft.
Lucas had promised to help.
But Lucas had his own plan.
He began moving larger amounts.
Mom realized too late.
By then, she was trapped.
If she confessed, Harper would be exposed.
If she stayed silent, Lucas could continue.
Dad eventually discovered the truth.
But instead of reporting Harper, he covered the losses himself.
Because she was his daughter.
The recording ended.
Chloe sat on the floor.
“So everyone protected Harper.”
I couldn't answer.
My phone rang.
Dad.
I answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“I'm at the hospital.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“Lucas found me.”
“Is he there?”
“No.”
Dad's voice was weak.
“He came to the lake house after you left.”
“Where are you?”
“St. Mary's.”
We drove there.
Dad was sitting in a hospital bed with a bandage above his eyebrow.
“What happened?”
“Lucas wanted the recordings.”
“Did he get them?”
“No.”
“Why did he attack you?”
Dad looked at Chloe.
“Because Elaine was right.”
“About Lucas?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Lucas tell us he was protecting her?”
Dad's expression changed.
“Because he was.”
That confused me.
Dad continued.
“Lucas did steal money.”
“But he wasn't the person who threatened Elaine?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Dad looked at me.
“Your mother.”
Chloe stood completely still.
Dad whispered:
“Your mother threatened Elaine because she believed Elaine was destroying our family.”
I stared at him.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It doesn't have to.”
“What happened?”
“Your mother confronted Elaine.”
“When?”
“The night Elaine came to our house.”
The night Mom had mentioned.
Dad looked at Chloe.
“She told Elaine to stop talking to me.”
Chloe's eyes filled.
“What did my mother say?”
Dad hesitated.
“She said if Elaine didn't stay away, she would make sure Daniel blamed her for everything.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because your mother believed Elaine had become too important to you.”
Chloe whispered, “But I wasn't even with Daniel then.”
“No,” Dad said.
“That makes no sense.”
Dad looked at me.
“She wasn't afraid of you choosing Elaine.”
He paused.
“She was afraid of you choosing Chloe.”
I felt the room tilt.
Dad continued.
“Your mother knew Elaine believed you would marry Chloe someday.”
Chloe looked confused.
“How could she know that?”
Dad lowered his eyes.
“Because Elaine told her.”
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Then Dad reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a small envelope.
“Your mother doesn't know I kept this.”
He handed it to Chloe.
Inside was a letter.
Elaine's final letter.
The last line read:
If Daniel ever learns the truth, tell him not to protect Harper this time. She knows more than she admits, but she is not the person who started this.
Chloe looked at me.
And then my phone rang.
Harper.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: Harper Finally Called Me From an Unknown Number, and Her First Confession Made Me Question Whether She Had Been the Villain at All
Five Days Before the Wedding, One Cruel Joke Turned a Family Celebration Into Something None of Us Could Take Back
Part 7 of 20
