Chapter 5: My Father’s Voice Came From The Man We Buried Four Years Ago
Chapter 5: My Father’s Voice Came From The Man We Buried Four Years Ago
I couldn’t move.
The voice on the phone was unmistakable.
My father’s voice.
The same deep tone.
The same slight rasp at the end of certain words.
The same pause before saying my name.
“Daniel.”
I had heard that voice thousands of times growing up.
And now it had come from a phone call outside an abandoned farmhouse.
The accountant stared at me.
“What did he say?”
I slowly lowered the phone.
“He told me to come outside.”
The accountant shook his head.
“Don’t.”
“That’s my father.”
“No.”
“You heard him.”
“I heard a voice.”
“You know it’s him.”
The accountant looked toward the window.
“I know exactly who it is.”
Outside, my mother stood beside the black SUV.
Brandon was next to her.
And behind them stood the older man from the photograph.
My father’s brother.
The man everyone had told me was dead.
Then the farmhouse lights suddenly came on.
The accountant grabbed my arm.
“Back door.”
We moved through the kitchen.
But before we reached it, the door opened.
My mother stepped inside.
She wasn’t crying.
She wasn’t frightened.
She looked calm.
Almost relieved.
“Daniel.”
I stopped.
“Mom.”
She looked at me for several seconds.
Then she said:
“You shouldn’t have come.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You disappeared.”
“I had to.”
“You knew Dad was alive.”
Her face changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
“You knew.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
The answer hit harder than I expected.
“How long?”
“Four years.”
I stared at her.
“Four years?”
She nodded.
“You watched me bury a stranger.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your father made me promise.”
“To lie to me?”
“To keep you alive.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t explain Brandon.”
She looked toward my brother.
Brandon wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“What did you do?”
He finally looked at me.
“I didn’t know the whole story.”
“You stole from me.”
“I thought I was helping.”
“You had an affair with my wife.”
His face tightened.
“I know.”
“You called me a loser.”
“I was angry.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You were confident.”
Brandon looked away.
My mother interrupted.
“Enough.”
I turned toward her.
“Where is Lauren?”
She didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
“She is safe.”
“Where?”
“She went to the place your father prepared.”
I stared at her.
“What place?”
“The house in Kentucky.”
I remembered the hidden property listed in the files.
My father’s secret property.
“Why is Lauren there?”
“Because she knows something.”
“What?”
My mother took a breath.
“She knows who contacted Brandon.”
I looked at my brother.
He finally spoke.
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who?”
He hesitated.
My mother answered.
“Your uncle.”
I turned toward the older man.
He hadn’t said a word.
He simply watched me.
I studied his face.
There was something unsettlingly familiar about him.
Not because I’d seen his photograph.
Because his eyes looked like my father’s.
Same shape.
Same expression.
Same cold patience.
“Why did you pretend to be dead?”
He smiled faintly.
“Because your father needed someone the world would believe had disappeared.”
“You aren’t my father.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But I knew him better than anyone.”
“Then where is he?”
The man looked at my mother.
She closed her eyes.
He answered:
“Closer than you think.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
The farmhouse suddenly became silent.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone entered through the front door.
I turned.
And saw him.
An older man.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Walking slowly into the room.
My knees nearly gave out.
It was my father.
Not a photograph.
Not a recording.
Not a voice.
Him.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably him.
I couldn’t speak.
He stopped several feet away.
“Daniel.”
I stared at him.
“Dad?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“I know.”
“You’re dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“You let me bury you.”
He lowered his head.
“I had no other choice.”
I felt anger explode through me.
“You always had a choice!”
My voice echoed through the farmhouse.
“You could have told me!”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
He looked at my mother.
Then at Brandon.
Finally, he looked at me.
“From the person who wanted you to inherit everything.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Your company.”
“What about it?”
“It was never just a business.”
He walked toward the table.
“The company was built around information.”
“What information?”
“Government contracts. Infrastructure projects. Private acquisitions.”
I stared at him.
“And someone wanted access.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
He looked toward my uncle.
My uncle smiled.
“I did.”
Silence.
My father continued.
“Your uncle believed the company belonged to him.”
“Why?”
“Because he helped build it.”
My uncle laughed.
“I built half of it.”
“You tried to destroy the other half.”
“I tried to take what was mine.”
My father shook his head.
“You manipulated Brandon.”
My brother looked down.
“You manipulated Lauren.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“And you used my death to make everyone believe the danger was gone.”
My uncle smiled.
“Your son was never supposed to find out.”
I stared at him.
“Then why did you let me?”
He looked at me.
“I didn’t.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
He pointed toward the accountant.
“He did.”
I turned.
The accountant was holding a small device.
He looked at me.
“I’ve been working for your father.”
I felt betrayed all over again.
“Then why tell me?”
“Because your father was wrong.”
My father looked at him.
The accountant continued.
“You can’t protect Daniel by keeping him ignorant anymore.”
He placed the device on the table.
“We recovered the missing financial records.”
I stepped closer.
“What’s on it?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That your uncle wasn’t working alone.”
I looked at my uncle.
His expression finally changed.
The accountant pressed a button.
A recording began playing.
A familiar female voice filled the room.
Lauren.
I froze.
Her voice was shaky.
“I did what you asked.”
Then another voice answered.
My uncle.
“Did Daniel suspect anything?”
Lauren replied:
“No.”
My chest tightened.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“He still thinks Brandon was the one who planned the affair.”
I looked at Brandon.
He closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
My uncle said:
“Good. Let him blame his brother.”
Lauren whispered:
“And when he leaves?”
“Then Daniel will finally be alone.”
I felt sick.
The recording stopped.
I looked at my father.
“You knew?”
He nodded.
“For months.”
“Then why didn’t you stop them?”
“Because we needed the entire network exposed.”
I shook my head.
“You used me.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I failed you.”
That answer silenced me.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Lauren.
Daniel, I’m sorry.
Another message appeared.
There is something I never told you about the baby.
I stared at the screen.
My heart began pounding.
Then the final message arrived.
Brandon isn’t the only person who could be the father.
I slowly looked up.
Everyone in the room had gone silent.
Even my father looked shocked.
I typed:
What are you talking about?
The reply came seconds later.
Come to Kentucky.
Then:
The DNA results are waiting for you.
I stared at the message.
For the first time since I discovered the affair, I realized the biggest secret might not be who Lauren betrayed me with.
It might be who the baby actually belonged to.
And if Lauren was telling the truth, everything I thought I knew about my family’s betrayal was about to change again.
