Chapter 6: The Recording That Changed Everything
“Everyone stay back,” Jace ordered.
He moved toward the basement stairs, but Emily caught his sleeve.
“Don't go out there.””
Jace turned.
“He's on private property, threatening a minor. I'm not letting him walk away.””
“And if he wants you to come outside?””
That stopped him.
Emily looked through the narrow window again.
Victor Kane stood beside his sedan, adjusting his cuff links as casually as if he were waiting for a valet.
He wasn't shouting.
He wasn't waving a weapon.
He was simply waiting.
That frightened Emily more than any display of anger could have.
“He knows we're here,” she whispered.
“He wants us to panic.””
Marcus checked the back exit.
“There's a passage behind the storage shelves. It leads to the alley.””
Tom shook his head.
“If we leave, he'll take the folder.””
Jace looked at the blue folder in Emily's hands.
“Not if we don't let him.””
Emily opened the folder and quickly scanned its contents.
“There's a copy of a bank transfer here. Look.””
She held up a sheet of paper.
The document showed a payment from Kane Transportation to a company called Northstar Consulting, dated three days before the truck accident.
Another transfer had been made the morning after.
The amount was substantial.
“What is Northstar Consulting?”” Emily asked.
Jace studied the page.
“I don't know.””
Tom leaned closer.
“Daniel mentioned that name once. He said it was a shell company.””
“Can we prove that?”” Emily asked.
“Not from this page alone.””
Emily turned to the cassette tape.
“Then maybe we should listen to what's on this.””
Jace looked at the old recorder lying inside the toolbox.
“We need to get somewhere safe first.””
Outside, Kane took out his phone.
A second later, Emily's phone began ringing.
Unknown number.
She stared at the screen.
“Don't answer it,” Jace said.
But the phone rang again.
And again.
Emily pressed the button.
“Hello?””
“Good morning, Emily.””
Victor Kane's voice was smooth and pleasant.
She felt her stomach tighten.
“How do you know my name?””
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
“Your father used to ask the same question whenever he realized I'd learned something he thought was private.””
Emily glanced at Jace.
He motioned for her to put the call on speaker.
She did.
“What do you want?”” she asked.
“The blue folder. I believe you found it in an old building that doesn't belong to you.””
“You mean the evidence my father collected?””
“I mean stolen property.””
“Did you arrange the truck accident?””
A pause.
Then Kane sighed.
“Your father was a confused young man who made several serious mistakes. He was easily influenced, and he became involved in matters he didn't understand.””
“Did you threaten my mother?””
“I never threatened your mother.””
Tom muttered something under his breath.
Kane continued.
“Emily, I understand that you've been told a collection of dramatic stories. You're sixteen. You've just graduated. You have your entire future ahead of you.””
“Then why are you following me?””
“Because someone has put dangerous information in your hands.””
“You mean information that could send you to prison?””
The pleasantness disappeared from Kane's voice.
“Be careful.””
Emily felt her fingers shaking, but she kept the phone steady.
“You threatened my family. You made my father disappear. And now you're threatening me because you think I have something you want.””
“I gave your father every opportunity to behave responsibly.””
“You gave him a choice between silence and his family getting hurt.””
For several seconds, Kane said nothing.
Then he spoke again, quietly enough that Emily had to lean closer.
“You have no idea what your father did to protect himself.””
“Tell me.””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because the truth is rarely as comforting as people imagine.””
The call ended.
Emily stared at her phone.
Jace took it from her hand and placed it in his pocket.
“You did well.””
“I was terrified.””
“You can be terrified and still do the right thing.””
Marcus appeared at the basement entrance.
“The sedan is gone.””
Jace didn't relax.
“Did you see which direction it went?””
“Toward the highway.””
Tom sank onto an old wooden crate.
“He won't stop.””
Emily looked at the folder.
“Then neither will we.””
They left the workshop through the alley and drove to the clubhouse.
Denise found an old cassette player in a cabinet, along with a pair of headphones and a power adapter.
Everyone gathered around the table while Emily placed the tape inside.
The machine clicked.
A low hiss filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Michael Carter.
Emily recognized it from a short voicemail her mother had once saved on an old phone. She had been too young to understand what the message meant, but she remembered the warmth of the voice saying her name.
Rachel, it's me. I know you don't want me calling, but I need you to understand something.
A pause followed.
Then another voice spoke.
Victor Kane.
You were told to stop asking questions.
Michael sounded exhausted.
The brakes on those trucks are failing. You know it. I've shown you the reports.
Kane replied, And I've told you that the maintenance team is handling it.
The maintenance team is signing inspection sheets without checking the vehicles.
You have no proof.
I have photographs. I have the original work orders. I have copies of the invoices.
The tape crackled.
Then Kane spoke again.
You think anyone will believe you over me?
Michael's reply was immediate.
If someone gets killed, they'll have to.
There was a sharp sound, as if a chair had been shoved across the floor.
Kane's voice became colder.
You have a daughter, Michael. A little girl who goes to school every morning. You should think about what happens when people start asking questions about her.
Emily covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
Michael's voice trembled.
Leave her out of this.
Then keep your mouth shut.
I'm not signing another false report.
A long silence followed.
Then Kane said something that made everyone in the room go still.
The accident can be arranged. The blame can be arranged. Everything can be arranged.
Michael whispered, You can't be serious.
Try me.
The tape ended with a burst of static.
Nobody spoke.
Emily stared at the recorder.
She had expected to hear her father defend himself.
She hadn't expected to hear a man threaten a child who wasn't even old enough to understand the danger.
Jace turned off the machine.
“That's enough for now.””
“No,” Emily said.
“Play it again.””
“Emily—”
“I need to hear it.””
Jace looked at her, then pressed the button.
The voices filled the room again.
This time, Emily listened to every word.
When the tape stopped, she wiped her face and sat straighter.
“Can this be used in court?””
Tom rubbed his chin.
“Maybe. We need to establish when it was recorded and whether the voices can be authenticated.””
“And the documents?””
“They could support the recording,” Jace said.
“But we need a lawyer.””
Emily looked at Helen Brooks's business card.
“Then we call her.””
Marcus nodded.
“I'll make the call.””
He stepped into the adjoining office.
Emily remained at the table, staring at the cassette player.
After a while, Jace sat beside her.
“You don't have to carry all of this yourself.””
She gave a bitter laugh.
“That's what everyone says. Then they leave.””
Jace didn't flinch.
“I can't promise that nobody will ever leave you. I can't promise life won't hurt you again. But I can promise that while I'm standing here, I won't pretend you don't exist.””
Emily looked at him.
It was a simple promise.
Not a claim that he could fix everything.
Not a guarantee that nothing bad would happen.
Just a promise that he would show up.
She nodded slowly.
“Thank you.””
Jace gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“You saved my life in the rain, Emily. You don't owe me anything. But you gave me a reason to remember what my father taught me.””
“What was that?””
“That strength means nothing if you only use it to protect yourself.””
Before Emily could answer, Marcus returned.
His face had changed.
“Helen Brooks agreed to meet us,” he said.
“But there's a problem.””
Jace stood.
“What kind of problem?””
“She recognized the company name on the bank transfers. Northstar Consulting.””
Tom looked up sharply.
“What did she say?””
Marcus glanced at Emily.
“She said the company was investigated years ago. Its registered director was a man named Robert Kane.””
Emily frowned.
“Victor's brother?””
“No,” Marcus said.
“His son.””
The room fell silent.
Emily looked back at the bank statements.
The transfers had begun seven years earlier, before her father disappeared.
But the company had continued operating after that.
“Can Helen prove it?”” she asked.
“She thinks so. She also said there's something you need to know about the original police investigation.””
“What?””
Marcus hesitated.
“The officer who signed the final report was later convicted of taking bribes.””
Tom rose so quickly that his cane struck the floor.
“That's impossible.””
“It's in the public records,” Marcus replied.
“Helen checked.””
Emily's mind raced.
If the investigation had been corrupted, then her father's disappearance might never have been properly investigated.
But there was another question.
“Why would Kane still be afraid of the folder if the police already buried the case?””
Jace looked toward the window.
“Because the folder might contain something they missed.””
Emily opened the blue folder again and checked every document.
She found the maintenance reports.
The bank statements.
The photographs.
The cassette tape.
Then she noticed a small, folded piece of paper tucked into the inner pocket.
It was a handwritten list of names.
Six names, each followed by a date.
The final name was circled twice.
*Robert Kane — October 14.*
Beneath it, Michael had written a single sentence.
He was there when they took me.
Emily's fingers went numb.
Her father hadn't simply disappeared.
Someone had taken him.
And the man named in the note was Victor Kane's son.
Suddenly, the office door opened.
Denise stood there holding a phone.
“Emily,” she said softly.
“There's someone on the line asking for you.””
Emily looked at Jace.
“Who?””
Denise swallowed.
“He says his name is Michael Carter.””
Emily stopped breathing.
The phone rang once more.
Then a man's voice came through the speaker, rough and unsteady.
“Emily? Sweetheart, if that's really you, please don't trust the men you're with.””
Jace went completely still.
Because he knew that voice.
May you like
And he knew why it was impossible.
His father had buried Michael Carter's death certificate six years earlier.
