Chapter 6: The Voice That Wasn’t Mine
The sound of my own voice destroyed me.
Not Andrew’s voice.
Not a stranger’s.
Mine.
Shaking.
Broken.
Terrified.
*“I pushed him.””*
The sentence echoed through the terrace.
Again.
And again.
And again.
For a moment, I couldn’t feel my hands.
I couldn’t feel the cold air.
I couldn’t feel Ethan standing beside me.
All I could hear was the recording.
A version of myself trapped in a moment I had spent years trying to forget.
Andrew watched my reaction carefully.
He wanted this.
Not just to hurt me.
To watch me fall apart.
“You see?”” he said quietly.
Ethan didn’t look away from the phone.
“Play it again.””
Andrew smiled.
“Why?””
“Because I want to hear it clearly.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Ethan…”
He turned toward me.
And the expression on his face nearly broke my heart.
Because there was no disgust.
No suspicion.
Only determination.
“Let me hear it.””
Andrew pressed play.
The audio started again.
Rain.
Heavy breathing.
My voice.
“I pushed him.””
Then silence.
Ethan listened.
Not like someone hearing a confession.
Like someone searching for a flaw.
When the recording ended, Andrew crossed his arms.
“Well?””
Ethan looked at him.
“You edited it.””
The smile disappeared.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“That’s a serious accusation.””
“It’s an obvious one.””
Andrew laughed.
“You heard her admit it.””
“No.””
Ethan shook his head.
“I heard a sentence without context.””
Andrew stepped closer.
“You’re defending her?””
“I’m questioning you.””
“You always assume you’re the smartest person in the room.””
Ethan’s expression didn’t change.
“No.””
A pause.
“I assume there is more to every story.””
Andrew stared at him.
“That’s why people like you lose.””
“Do they?””
“Yes.””
Andrew’s voice became colder.
“Because people like you believe everyone deserves a second chance.””
He looked at me.
“But some people don’t.””
My chest tightened.
Ethan noticed.
Of course he did.
He always noticed.
“Lena,” he said.
I looked at him.
“Tell me what happened after Marcus fell.””
I swallowed.
The memory returned.
The flashing lights.
The screaming.
The blood.
The sound of Andrew telling me to stay quiet.
“I don’t remember everything.””
Andrew smiled.
“Convenient.””
I flinched.
Ethan’s eyes moved to him.
“Stop.””
Andrew ignored him.
“Tell him the truth, Lena.””
I closed my eyes.
“I remember Marcus on the ground.””
My voice trembled.
“I remember calling emergency services.””
“What else?””
“I remember Andrew arriving.””
Ethan looked at Andrew.
“You weren’t there before?””
“No.””
Andrew answered too quickly.
I noticed.
Ethan noticed.
“Then why does Lena say you arrived?””
Andrew’s face hardened.
“Because she was traumatized.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Both men looked at me.
“I remember.””
My voice became steadier.
“I remember Andrew walking out of the stairwell.””
The terrace went silent.
Andrew’s expression changed.
“What?””
“You were already there.””
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
I looked directly at him.
“You told me Marcus was gone.””
Andrew stared.
“You said you saw him fall.””
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“When did he tell you that?””
I looked at him.
“After.””
“After what?””
“After Marcus died.””
The pieces started connecting.
Not just for Ethan.
For me.
For years, I had accepted Andrew’s version because I was too afraid to question it.
But now, standing there with Ethan beside me, I finally heard how strange it sounded.
Andrew knew details before anyone told me.
He knew where Marcus had fallen.
He knew what Marcus was holding.
He knew what the police would find.
Because he had been there.
“You lied to me,” I whispered.
Andrew’s expression became cold.
“You’re confused.””
“No.””
My hands stopped shaking.
“I’m remembering.””
His eyes darkened.
That was the first time I saw it.
The fear.
Not because I was accusing him.
Because I was no longer afraid.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Where is the original recording?””
Andrew said nothing.
“Because that audio file came from somewhere.””
No answer.
Ethan continued.
“And if you had nothing to hide, you wouldn’t have kept it secret for three years.””
Andrew smiled.
“You think you have enough?””
“I think I have enough to ask questions.””
“You don’t.””
Andrew looked at me.
“Because she still hasn’t told you the whole truth.””
I froze.
Ethan looked at me.
“What does that mean?””
Andrew walked closer.
“She didn’t tell you Marcus wasn’t just her friend.””
I felt my heart drop.
“Andrew.””
“She loved him.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because they were a lie.
But they were close enough to the truth to hurt.
Ethan looked at me.
I hated that moment.
I hated that he had to hear another piece of my life from someone else.
“Is that true?””
I looked at him.
“No.””
Then I stopped.
Because the truth was complicated.
“I cared about Marcus.””
Ethan waited.
“He was my friend.””
A pause.
“He was the person who helped me when I was struggling after my mother died.””
Andrew smiled.
“Exactly.””
I ignored him.
“Marcus mattered to me.””
Ethan nodded slowly.
“But you weren’t together.””
“No.””
The answer came immediately.
“Never.””
Something in Ethan’s face relaxed.
Just slightly.
Andrew noticed.
And he hated it.
“You’re unbelievable.””
He looked at Ethan.
“You’re trusting a woman who has lied to you since the day you met her.””
The words hurt.
Because they were partly true.
I had lied.
Not because I wanted to deceive Ethan.
Because I was terrified.
“I didn’t lie about everything.””
Andrew laughed.
“You hid your engagement problems.””
“I hid my injuries because I was scared.””
“You hid Marcus.””
“Because you threatened me.””
The silence that followed was different.
Heavy.
Andrew looked at me.
And for once, he didn’t have an immediate response.
Ethan noticed.
“Threatened you with what?””
I looked at Andrew.
Then at Ethan.
“The recording.””
Ethan’s face changed.
“He used it to control you?””
I nodded.
“He said if I left him, he would release it.””
Andrew smiled.
“And why wouldn’t I?””
Ethan turned slowly.
“Because it’s fake.””
The words surprised all of us.
Andrew laughed.
“You don’t know that.””
“I do.””
Ethan pulled out his phone.
“Because I already sent the audio file to someone.””
Andrew’s expression changed.
“What?””
“A forensic analyst.””
The room went completely still.
Ethan continued.
“Before you walked out here, I forwarded every file I received tonight.””
Andrew stepped forward.
“You had no right.””
Ethan smiled.
“You’re worried.””
Andrew stopped.
And there it was.
The confirmation.
Ethan had been right.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Andrew said.
“No.””
Ethan looked at him.
“I know exactly what I’m doing.””
Andrew’s phone suddenly rang.
He looked down.
His face changed.
Not anger.
Panic.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A pause.
Then another.
“What do you mean the files are gone?””
Ethan and I exchanged a look.
Andrew turned away.
But we heard enough.
“The backup server was accessed?””
Silence.
“Who accessed it?””
Another pause.
Then Andrew looked directly at Ethan.
The fear in his eyes was unmistakable.
“You.””
Ethan didn’t deny it.
Andrew slowly lowered the phone.
“What did you do?””
Ethan stepped closer.
“I looked.””
“At what?””
“At everything you thought nobody would find.””
Andrew stared.
Then he smiled.
But this time, the smile was different.
Desperate.
“You have no idea what you just uncovered.””
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Then tell me.””
Andrew looked at me.
Then at Ethan.
And the next words changed everything.
“Ask Lena why Marcus called her that night.””
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that call.
I had spent three years trying to forget it.
Andrew continued.
“Ask her what Marcus was going to reveal before he died.””
I couldn’t speak.
Ethan looked at me.
“What was he going to reveal?””
The answer was buried in the darkest part of my memory.
The truth I had never told anyone.
Not even myself.
Because Marcus wasn’t only investigating Andrew Vaughn.
He was investigating me.
May you like
And the file he left behind had one name written on it.
Mine.
