Chapter 7: The Voice of a Dead Man
“Burn the original contract before she finds out who really caused that accident.””
The voice coming through Daniel's phone was unmistakable.
Richard Hawthorne.
Daniel's father had been dead for almost three years.
Yet someone was speaking with his voice.
Daniel stared at the screen, his mouth slightly open.
“Dad?””
Robert Ellis immediately stepped forward.
“Put the call on speaker.””
Daniel didn't move.
“Daniel,” Robert repeated.
“Now.””
With trembling fingers, Daniel activated the speaker.
The voice returned.
“Son, are you alone?””
Daniel swallowed.
“No.””
A long silence followed.
Then the man spoke again.
“Is Claire there?””
I stepped closer.
“Yes, Richard. I'm here.””
Silence.
Then a quiet laugh.
“Margaret's daughter. You have your mother's voice.””
My hands began shaking.
“Who are you?””
“Someone who knows what Eleanor did to this family.””
Robert pulled a small notebook from his briefcase.
“Mr. Hawthorne, this call is being documented. Identify yourself.””
The man laughed again.
“Robert. Still doing Eleanor's dirty work?””
Robert's expression became unreadable.
“Where are you?””
“Somewhere your client won't find me.””
I moved closer to the phone.
“You said something about an accident. My father's accident. What happened?””
The voice became colder.
“Your father was a good man, Claire. He asked questions he shouldn't have asked.””
“Did you have him killed?””
Daniel suddenly grabbed the phone.
“Stop it!””
The caller continued as if he hadn't heard him.
“Your grandmother knew what happened. She spent the rest of her life making sure the truth stayed buried.””
My knees weakened.
“Why?””
“Because the truth would have destroyed everything.””
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Daniel dropped the phone onto the table.
Robert immediately checked the number.
“It came through an encrypted forwarding service.””
I looked at Daniel.
“You knew.””
He shook his head.
“I swear I didn't know my father was alive.””
“But you knew something happened to my father.””
His eyes filled.
“Claire, please.””
I slapped the photograph down on the desk.
“Tell me!””
Daniel flinched.
“I was twenty when your grandmother hired me to help with some company records. I found an old insurance claim connected to your parents' accident.””
“What insurance claim?””
“A life insurance policy. Your father had taken out a policy shortly before he died.””
I stared at him.
“And?””
“The beneficiary wasn't your mother.””
“Who was it?””
He looked at Robert.
Then back at me.
“Richard.””
My blood ran cold.
“My father had a life insurance policy that named Richard Hawthorne as beneficiary?””
Daniel nodded.
“Richard said it was part of a business arrangement.””
“And you believed him?””
“I was young.””
“You were twenty. You weren't a child.””
He covered his face.
“I didn't know he had anything to do with the accident.””
Robert placed a hand on the table.
“Mr. Hawthorne, did you retain copies of those records?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In my father's office.””
“Does that office still exist?””
Daniel nodded.
“It's inside the old Hawthorne building. The original documents were never moved.””
Robert closed his notebook.
“Then we need to retrieve them before anyone else does.””
Vanessa, who had been sitting silently beside me, suddenly stood.
“I'm coming.””
Patricia shook her head.
“No, sweetheart. You don't need to involve yourself.””
Vanessa turned toward her.
“Stop calling me sweetheart as if everything is normal.””
Patricia looked wounded.
“I raised you.””
“And you lied to me about my mother.””
“I loved you.””
“Then why did you help them steal from my sister?””
Patricia had no answer.
Vanessa picked up her handbag.
“I'm going.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Because if someone used my name to steal three million dollars, I want to know who did it. And because I want to see the records that prove who my father really was.””
Robert arranged for a security officer to accompany us.
Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived at the old Hawthorne building.
It stood on a quiet commercial street, its stone exterior weathered by years of rain.
Daniel unlocked the side entrance.
The smell of dust and old paper filled the hallway.
“My father kept everything,” he said.
“He didn't trust digital storage.””
We climbed the stairs.
At the end of the corridor was a wooden door marked EXECUTIVE ARCHIVES.
Daniel unlocked it.
Inside were filing cabinets, framed photographs, and a large mahogany desk.
A photograph of Richard stood behind the chair.
He was smiling.
I hated that smile.
Daniel opened the first cabinet.
“Insurance records should be in here.””
Vanessa searched the second cabinet.
Robert examined the desk.
After several minutes, I found a folder labeled:
*BENNETT FAMILY — INCIDENT REPORTS.*
My fingers tightened around it.
I opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of the wreckage from my parents' car accident.
A police report.
An insurance policy.
And a letter dated two days before the accident.
The letter was signed by Richard Hawthorne.
It read:
The situation must be resolved before Eleanor discovers the transfer.
I read it again.
Then I turned the page.
There was another document.
A payment authorization.
The recipient was a private security contractor.
The amount was $150,000.
The payment had been approved by Richard.
I looked at Robert.
“Is this enough?””
He examined the document carefully.
“It is evidence of a payment, but not proof of what the payment was intended to accomplish.””
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“There's something else.””
He walked toward the desk and pulled open a hidden drawer.
Inside was a small black notebook.
He opened it to the middle.
“Dad wrote everything down.””
Vanessa leaned over his shoulder.
“What are you looking for?””
“Names.””
He turned several pages.
Then stopped.
His face went blank.
“What?”” I asked.
He didn't answer.
I grabbed the notebook.
There were handwritten entries beside dates and amounts.
One entry was circled.
*October 14 — Margaret and Thomas. Remove both before Eleanor finds the original agreement.*
Thomas.
My father.
Margaret.
My mother.
I felt sick.
Beneath the entry was a second note.
*Operation approved by P.H.*
Patricia Hawthorne.
I stared at the initials.
“Patricia?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. That can't be right.””
But Robert was already photographing the page.
Then Vanessa noticed another line.
“Wait.””
She pointed toward the bottom.
*Payment released after confirmation from M.B.*
M.B.
Margaret Bennett.
My mother.
I looked up.
“What does that mean?””
Robert closed the notebook.
“We need to preserve this evidence and have it examined.””
But I couldn't look away from the initials.
My mother.
The woman who had supposedly been running from Richard.
The woman who had left us a message saying she never abandoned us.
Was she involved in the accident?
Before anyone could answer, the lights went out.
A sharp crash came from the hallway.
Daniel shouted.
“Who's there?””
A door slammed.
Robert grabbed my arm.
“Stay behind me.””
Footsteps hurried down the stairs.
Then Vanessa screamed.
“Claire!””
I turned.
She was standing beside the open filing cabinet, holding a small envelope.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Look at this.””
I took it.
Inside was a photograph of my parents.
They were standing beside a man I recognized immediately.
Richard Hawthorne.
On the back was a handwritten message.
*The accident was staged. Margaret survived because she knew the truth. Thomas did not.*
I looked at the date.
Then at the signature.
It wasn't Richard's.
It was my mother's.
May you like
And beneath it were four words:
*I made the choice.*
