Chapter 6: The Person Behind Victoria
The recording stopped.
Not because it ended.
Because the flash drive suddenly went dark.
The silence afterward was unbearable.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Thomas Coleman’s final words remained hanging in the room like smoke.
Victoria was not working alone.
Richard stared at the device.
Then at his wife.
Then back at the device.
His entire world had just been rearranged.
“Who?”” he whispered.
No one answered.
Victoria looked like she was trying to decide between running and fighting.
For once, she looked human.
Not polished.
Not controlled.
Just afraid.
Richard noticed.
“Who was he talking about?””
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
The answer came too quickly.
Everyone heard it.
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“You’re sure?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you say you could explain?””
She froze.
Because she knew.
She had said too much.
I watched her carefully.
Victoria was not someone who made careless mistakes.
If she slipped, it meant she was under pressure.
Real pressure.
“I meant I can explain why he would accuse me,” she said.
Richard laughed once.
A painful sound.
“You think that’s what matters right now?””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Richard, listen to me.””
“No.””
His voice stopped her.
“No more.””
She stared.
“I have spent years trusting you.””
“And I love you.””
“Do you?””
The question hit harder than anger.
Victoria’s face changed.
Just for a second.
Then she recovered.
“I have done everything for this family.””
Eleanor looked at her.
“No.””
Victoria turned.
“You don’t get to rewrite everything now.””
“I’m not rewriting anything.””
“You are.””
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
“You’re finally hearing it.””
Victoria’s jaw tightened.
“You’ve always hated me.””
The room went quiet.
Eleanor looked genuinely hurt.
“Hated you?””
“Yes.””
Victoria pointed toward her.
“You never accepted me.””
“That isn’t true.””
“You always thought I wasn’t good enough for Richard.””
Eleanor looked down.
And for a moment, I wondered if Victoria had found the one thing that could still hurt her.
Maybe this wasn’t just about money.
Maybe this was about years of resentment.
But then Eleanor spoke.
“I wanted my son to be loved.””
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“And you decided I wasn’t capable of that.””
“No.””
Eleanor looked at her.
“I decided you were capable of much more than what you chose to become.””
Nobody spoke.
Even Victoria had no answer.
Richard walked back to the desk.
He picked up the flash drive.
“Can this be recovered?””
I looked at it.
“I don’t know.””
“You work with computers?””
“A little.””
Not enough to be useful.
Not enough to fix whatever had just happened.
But enough to understand something.
“The recording didn’t stop randomly.””
Richard looked at me.
“What do you mean?””
“It was interrupted.””
“By what?””
I examined the device.
“There’s a security feature.””
Victoria immediately said:
“How would you know that?””
Everyone looked at her.
She realized her mistake.
Again.
Richard stepped closer.
“Why are you asking her that?””
Victoria looked away.
“I’m just saying it’s strange.””
“No.””
Richard shook his head.
“You’re nervous.””
“I’m upset.””
“You’re nervous.””
The certainty in his voice was new.
And it scared her.
I looked at the flash drive again.
“Someone might have accessed it before.””
Eleanor whispered:
“Someone knew.””
Richard turned.
“What?””
“Someone knew about the drawer.””
She looked toward the hallway.
“Someone knew about the letter.””
Her voice trembled.
“Someone knew everything.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Because the message on my phone suddenly made sense.
The person who sent it wasn’t guessing.
They were watching.
They knew Eleanor had talked.
They knew I was investigating.
They knew about Thomas’s secrets.
Richard grabbed his phone.
“I’m calling the police.””
Victoria immediately reacted.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stopped.
Then softened.
“I mean… maybe we should think before doing that.””
Richard stared.
“Why?””
“Because accusations like this can destroy people.””
“You’re worried about reputations?””
“I’m worried about the truth.””
The irony was almost unbearable.
Richard walked away from her.
He called.
While he spoke quietly in the corner, Eleanor reached for me.
“Listen.””
I leaned closer.
Her voice was barely audible.
“There is something else.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“Thomas left another message.””
My heart skipped.
“What message?””
“He told me not to trust anyone who came after him.””
I frowned.
“Anyone?””
She nodded.
“Anyone who wanted the house.””
My stomach tightened.
“Did anyone come after him?””
Eleanor looked toward Victoria.
Then away.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“Someone from Richard’s work.””
That surprised me.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
Richard ended his call.
“The police are sending someone.””
Victoria looked furious.
“Richard, are you serious?””
“Yes.””
“You’re going to let strangers come into this house and investigate your wife?””
He stared at her.
“I’m going to let someone investigate what happened to my father.””
The sentence hurt.
I could see it.
Because the investigation was no longer about suspicion.
It was about betrayal.
Victoria grabbed her purse.
“Fine.””
Richard looked at her.
“Where are you going?””
“Home.””
“This is your home.””
She paused.
Then smiled sadly.
“Not anymore, apparently.””
She walked toward the door.
But before she reached it, Eleanor spoke.
“Victoria.””
She stopped.
“What?””
Eleanor’s voice was quiet.
“Did you love my son?””
The question surprised everyone.
Especially Victoria.
For a moment, the anger disappeared.
“I did.””
Past tense.
Richard noticed.
“You did?””
Victoria looked at him.
Then away.
“I don’t know anymore.””
And then she left.
The front door closed.
A few seconds later, the sound of her car engine faded into the night.
Richard remained standing there.
Lost.
I didn’t know what to say.
There was no sentence big enough for that kind of betrayal.
Eventually, he sat beside his mother.
“I’m sorry.””
Eleanor touched his hand.
“You didn’t know.””
“I should have.””
“No.””
“I brought her into this house.””
His voice broke.
“I trusted her.””
Eleanor squeezed his hand.
“That’s not a crime.””
I stepped away quietly.
I needed air.
The house suddenly felt unfamiliar.
The same rooms.
The same walls.
But everything had changed.
I walked downstairs toward the kitchen.
That was when I saw it.
The back door was open.
Only slightly.
Enough for someone to slip through.
I stopped.
The lock was broken.
My heart started pounding.
Someone had been inside.
Recently.
I moved carefully toward the door.
Outside, the garden was dark.
Empty.
Then I noticed something on the ground.
A small piece of paper.
Folded once.
I picked it up.
My hands shook when I opened it.
Three words.
Written in black ink.
*Ask about Daniel.*
My father.
Again.
I looked around the empty garden.
Someone had been here.
Someone wanted me to find that message.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke at first.
Only breathing.
Then a voice whispered:
“You’re looking in the wrong place.””
I froze.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“Your father didn’t disappear because he found Victoria.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
The voice continued.
“He disappeared because he found the person controlling her.””
The call ended.
I stood there in the darkness.
Unable to move.
Because suddenly the question had changed.
It was no longer:
What did Victoria do?
It was:
May you like
Who was powerful enough to make Victoria do it?
And why did that person know my father’s name?
