Chapter 6: The Voice of a Dead Man
Lucas couldn’t breathe.
The receiver felt heavy in his hand.
Impossible.
That was the only word his mind could form.
Impossible.
His father had been dead for twelve years.
He had watched the funeral.
He had watched the casket lowered into the ground.
He had stood beside the grave while people whispered about Daniel Hale’s legacy.
But now that impossible voice was speaking directly to him.
“Dad?””
The room froze.
Marcus stared at Lucas.
Emma looked terrified.
The voice on the phone remained silent for a moment.
Then:
“Yes.””
Lucas’s fingers tightened around the receiver.
“No.””
His voice shook.
“No, that’s not possible.””
A quiet breath came through the line.
“Lucas, listen to me carefully.””
Lucas looked at Emma.
Then at Marcus.
Everyone was waiting.
Everyone was afraid.
“Who is this?””
The voice answered immediately.
“You know who this is.””
Lucas closed his eyes.
Because he did.
The voice was older.
Weaker.
But it was his father.
The same deep voice that used to wake him for school.
The same voice that taught him how to shake hands.
The same voice that told him he would one day build something greater than himself.
“Where are you?””
Silence.
Then:
“Somewhere I should have never gone.””
Lucas’s heart pounded.
“Are you alive?””
Another pause.
A long one.
Then:
“Yes.””
Emma stepped forward.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
Her face had lost all color.
“That’s impossible.””
The voice on the phone became tense.
“Who is with you?””
Lucas looked at Emma.
“My sister.””
A sharp silence followed.
Then his father whispered:
“Lucas, get away from her.””
Emma’s expression changed.
Pain.
Anger.
Betrayal.
Lucas looked between them.
“You both keep telling me the other person is lying.””
His voice grew stronger.
“So one of you is.””
The phone remained silent.
Lucas continued.
“I need the truth.””
His father sighed.
“I know.””
“Then tell me.””
“I can’t explain everything over the phone.””
“Why?””
“Because they may be listening.””
Lucas looked around the office.
The old building.
The abandoned room.
The hidden secrets.
“Who?””
His father’s voice became quieter.
“The same people who destroyed our family.””
Emma shook her head.
“That’s what he always says.””
Lucas looked at her.
“What?””
Emma stepped closer.
“Ask him where he was the night my mother died.””
The voice on the phone went silent.
Lucas felt a chill.
“Dad?””
No answer.
“Where were you?””
The silence lasted too long.
Finally:
“I was trying to save her.””
Emma laughed bitterly.
A painful sound.
“You always say that.””
Lucas looked at her.
“You knew him?””
Emma’s eyes filled with anger.
“I spent my entire childhood waiting for him.””
She looked at the phone.
“Waiting for him to choose us.””
The voice on the other end softened.
“Emma…”
She froze.
Hearing him say her name seemed to hurt more than anything else.
“Don’t.””
Her voice cracked.
“Don’t say my name like you were ever my father.””
Lucas watched them both.
The situation felt impossible.
His father was alive.
His sister hated him.
And both claimed they were protecting him.
“Enough.””
His voice cut through the room.
Everyone stopped.
“I’m done listening to half-truths.””
Lucas gripped the phone.
“Dad, if you’re alive, prove it.””
Silence.
Then:
“Go to the second drawer on the left side of my desk.””
Lucas looked at the desk.
“What?””
“There is something inside.””
Marcus immediately moved.
“Sir, wait.””
Lucas raised a hand.
“No.””
He looked at the desk.
“Why?””
“Because only you would know what it is.””
Marcus carefully opened the drawer.
Inside were old papers.
Nothing unusual.
Then Marcus reached deeper.
His fingers touched something hidden beneath the wood.
“A false bottom.””
Lucas stared.
Marcus removed a thin metal box.
There was no lock.
Only a small symbol carved into the surface.
Lucas recognized it.
A symbol his father used to draw when Lucas was a child.
“What is that?””
Emma whispered.
“The Hale family mark.””
Marcus opened the box.
Inside was a small video recorder.
Old.
Outdated.
But intact.
Lucas looked at the phone.
“What is this?””
“Everything you need to know.””
The voice sounded tired.
“Play it.””
Marcus connected the device to an old monitor in the office.
The screen flickered.
Then an image appeared.
Daniel Hale.
Twelve years younger.
Sitting behind the same desk.
Lucas stopped breathing.
Seeing his father alive was different from hearing him.
The man on the screen looked exhausted.
Broken.
Not like the powerful businessman from old interviews.
Like someone who had been running out of time.
The recording began.
“If you are watching this, then I failed.””
Lucas felt his eyes burn.
His father continued.
“I need you to understand something. The person you believe betrayed you may not be the person who betrayed you.””
Lucas looked at Emma.
She looked equally confused.
The recording continued.
“I spent years trying to uncover what happened inside my own family.””
Daniel Hale looked down.
“I discovered that Richard Voss was not acting alone.””
Lucas leaned forward.
The screen showed his father placing a folder on the desk.
“He had help.””
A shadow moved in the background.
Lucas noticed.
Someone else had been in the room when the recording was made.
His father continued.
“Someone who knew my habits. Someone who knew my security systems. Someone who knew where I kept my private documents.””
He looked directly into the camera.
“Someone who had access to my home.””
Lucas felt his stomach tighten.
His home.
The same place where his mother died.
The same place where his health had been controlled.
The recording continued.
“I wanted to tell Lucas the truth.””
His father’s expression became painful.
“But I couldn’t.””
“Why?”” Lucas whispered.
As if answering him, the recording continued.
“Because the threat was already too close.””
The screen flickered.
Then his father said:
“The person closest to Lucas is the one he must fear most.””
The video stopped.
Nobody moved.
Lucas stared at the blank screen.
The sentence echoed.
The person closest to Lucas.
Vanessa.
Marcus.
Someone else.
Emma looked at him.
“You see?””
Lucas looked at her.
“See what?””
“That he was manipulating you too.””
Lucas frowned.
“What?””
Emma stepped forward.
“Your father spent his entire life controlling people with secrets.””
“He was trying to protect me.””
“Or trying to protect himself.””
The words hit hard.
Lucas didn’t want to believe them.
But he couldn’t ignore them.
Because everyone had lied.
Everyone had hidden things.
His father.
Vanessa.
Maybe even Emma.
A sudden sound came from Marcus’s phone.
He looked down.
His face changed.
“What?””
Lucas noticed immediately.
“Marcus.””
The security chief looked uncomfortable.
“I received an alert.””
“From where?””
Marcus looked at the old office.
“The building’s security system.””
Lucas frowned.
“This building has been abandoned.””
“Yes.””
“Then why is there an alert?””
Marcus turned the phone around.
On the screen was a security notification.
*Unauthorized access detected.*
Time stamp.
One minute ago.
Someone had entered the building.
Lucas looked toward the hallway.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Emma whispered:
“He knows we’re here.””
Marcus moved toward the door.
“Everyone stay back.””
Lucas watched the hallway.
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
Darkness covered the office.
A second later, the emergency lights turned on.
And standing at the end of the hallway was a man.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Wearing an expensive suit.
Lucas knew him instantly.
He had seen him at family dinners.
Company meetings.
His father’s funeral.
The man who had handled everything after Daniel Hale’s death.
Richard Voss.
Richard smiled.
“Lucas.””
Nobody spoke.
Richard looked at Emma.
Then back at Lucas.
“I see you finally found the truth.””
Lucas stared.
“You’re alive.””
Richard smiled faintly.
“So is your father.””
A cold silence followed.
Lucas’s voice dropped.
“Where is he?””
Richard stepped into the room.
“That depends.””
“On what?””
Richard looked at Emma.
Then at the phone.
Then at Lucas.
“On whether you believe the right person.””
He paused.
“Because your father isn’t the victim you think he is.””
Lucas felt his chest tighten.
Richard smiled.
“The man who destroyed your family…”
May you like
He looked directly at him.
“…was Daniel Hale himself.””
