Chapter 5: The Voice Behind The Betrayal
The recording stopped.
But the voice remained.
It echoed in my mind.
A voice I knew.
A voice I had trusted.
A voice that had sat at our dinner table, laughed with my father, and held my hand when I was younger.
The ballroom felt smaller.
The air felt heavier.
My father stood completely still.
Nobody dared speak.
Not even Brielle, who had been watching everything from the side of the room under security supervision.
The recording device sat in my father’s hand.
His fingers tightened around it.
“Play it again.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Mr. Carter—”
“Play it again.””
This time, his voice wasn’t loud.
It was worse.
It was the voice of someone trying to understand how their world had just collapsed.
Marcus pressed the button.
Static.
Then the voice returned.
“Isaiah Carter will lose everything.””
A second voice answered.
David Holloway.
“You’re sure this will work?””
The first voice replied.
“By the time he realizes what’s happening, it will already be too late.””
My stomach twisted.
My father closed his eyes for a moment.
Then the recording ended again.
No one moved.
Finally, Marcus whispered:
“Mr. Carter…”
My father opened his eyes.
“Who else has heard this?””
Ethan raised his hand slightly.
“I have.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Anyone else?””
Ethan shook his head.
“No.””
My father turned toward security.
“Lock every exit.””
The order immediately changed the atmosphere.
Guests started whispering louder.
Some looked frightened.
Others looked angry.
The gala that had started as an elegant charity event had become something else entirely.
A crime scene.
A battlefield.
A place where everyone was wondering the same thing.
Who could be trusted?
My father looked at Ethan.
“Where did you get this?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Three months ago, I noticed unusual activity in the foundation accounts.””
Marcus frowned.
“You were an accountant. Why didn’t you report it?””
“I tried.””
His answer was immediate.
Too immediate.
“I reported it to my supervisor.””
“And?””
“He told me to forget what I saw.””
My father’s expression darkened.
“Who?””
Ethan looked at him.
“David.””
Silence.
My father looked down.
For years, David had been the man who handled problems before they reached him.
The person who protected him from chaos.
Now he was the chaos.
“What did you find?”” my father asked.
Ethan hesitated.
“Transfers.””
“We know about the transfers.””
“No.””
Ethan shook his head.
“You know about the money.””
He stepped closer.
“You don’t know what the money was for.””
Everyone listened.
“The foundation wasn’t just being drained.””
He looked at my father.
“It was being used to buy information.””
My father frowned.
“What information?””
“Your company’s private financial records.””
A cold silence followed.
Marcus looked shocked.
“That’s impossible.””
Ethan looked at him.
“Is it?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
My father’s face became unreadable.
“What kind of records?””
“Acquisitions. Contracts. Internal negotiations.””
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Everything someone would need to attack your company from the inside.””
My father looked toward the stage.
The enormous banner behind him displayed the Carter Foundation logo.
A symbol of generosity.
A symbol of trust.
Now it looked like a target.
I stepped closer.
“Dad.””
He looked at me.
“What?””
“Who was the person on the recording?””
He didn’t answer.
And somehow, I already knew.
Because I had seen his reaction.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“Dad.””
He looked away.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“Mr. Carter…”
My father finally said the name.
“Victoria.””
The room went silent again.
My heart sank.
Victoria Lane.
My father’s sister.
My aunt.
The woman who had brought me birthday presents every year.
The woman who used to tell me I was the daughter she never had.
The woman who hugged me tonight when I arrived at the gala.
“No,” I whispered.
My father looked at me.
“Brianna…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
I remembered her.
Her kindness.
Her patience.
The way she always defended my father.
The way she cried when I graduated.
My mind struggled to connect that person with the voice from the recording.
“She wouldn’t do that.””
My father’s expression softened.
Because he understood.
Not because he agreed.
Because he knew what betrayal felt like.
“I know.””
Those two words hurt more than anything.
Because he wasn’t defending her.
He was grieving.
Brielle suddenly laughed from across the room.
Everyone looked at her.
The sound was empty.
“You really are shocked.””
My father turned.
“Be quiet.””
But Brielle shook her head.
“You think David was the mastermind?””
Her eyes moved around the room.
“You think Victoria is the only one who wanted this?””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Brielle smiled.
“No.””
She looked at my father.
“You built an empire, Isaiah. Did you really think everyone around you loved you?””
My father stared at her.
“You’re in no position to talk.””
“Maybe not.””
Her smile faded.
“But I know one thing.””
She looked at me.
“You were never supposed to be here tonight.””
A strange feeling moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
Brielle didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at Ethan.
And Ethan looked terrified.
My father noticed.
“What aren’t you telling us?””
Ethan stayed silent.
My father stepped closer.
“Ethan.””
The man looked down.
“I was told not to involve her.””
My blood ran cold.
“Involve who?””
Ethan looked at me.
“Your daughter.””
Everyone turned.
My father’s voice changed.
“Explain.””
Ethan swallowed.
“David knew about Brianna before tonight.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He knew she was working here.””
My father looked at him.
“How?””
“I don’t know.””
“That’s not good enough.””
Ethan looked desperate.
“I only know what I heard.””
“What did you hear?””
Ethan took a breath.
“David said…”
He stopped.
My father waited.
“Say it.””
Ethan looked at me.
“David said the daughter was the weakness.””
My body went cold.
My father immediately moved closer to me.
“What else?””
“He said once Isaiah lost control of the company, Brianna would disappear too.””
The room erupted.
Marcus immediately called security.
My father’s face had changed.
The calm billionaire disappeared.
The protective father appeared.
“Where is Victoria?””
Nobody answered.
Marcus checked his phone.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
He looked at my father.
“She left.””
My father stared at him.
“When?””
“Five minutes ago.””
My father looked toward the entrance.
Five minutes.
That meant she had been there.
She had heard everything.
She knew Ethan was exposed.
She knew the recording existed.
“Find her.””
Security immediately moved.
But before they reached the doors, my father’s phone rang.
Everyone looked.
He answered.
“Hello?””
At first, there was only silence.
Then a woman’s voice.
A voice I recognized immediately.
A voice that made my entire body freeze.
My aunt.
Victoria.
“Isaiah.””
My father’s expression changed.
“Where are you?””
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she said:
“I’m sorry.””
My father’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Victoria, what did you do?””
A pause.
Then her voice became quieter.
“Something I should have done twenty years ago.””
My father looked at me.
“Where is Brianna?””
The silence on the other end lasted too long.
Then Victoria whispered:
“That’s exactly why I’m calling.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Her voice trembled.
“Isaiah…”
A sound came through the phone.
A car engine.
Then a door closing.
And finally, Victoria said the words that changed everything.
“Your daughter is not the only person they’ve been hiding from you.””
The call ended.
My father stared at the phone.
May you like
And for the first time in my entire life…
I saw fear in his eyes.
