Chapter 7: The Hidden Recording
Darkness swallowed the lobby.
Lily screamed.
“Mommy!””
I dropped the phone and reached for her.
“I'm here!””
Her little body slammed against mine.
“It's okay. I've got you.””
The emergency lights flickered on seconds later, bathing the hotel lobby in a dim red glow.
But by then, everything had changed.
Ethan was gone.
The chair where my father had been sitting was empty.
And Clara was nowhere in sight.
“Dad?””
No answer.
I looked toward the hotel doors.
They were still closed.
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Sarah, we have to leave.””
I pulled away.
“Where's Dad?””
“I don't know.””
“Where's Clara?””
“I don't know.””
“Where's Ethan?””
Her eyes darted toward the hallway.
“I don't know.””
I stared at her.
“You're lying again.””
She flinched.
Lily tugged on my hand.
“Mommy, I don't like this.””
I crouched beside her.
“Neither do I.””
A loud click came from behind the reception desk.
Then the lights came fully back on.
Everyone was still there.
Except Ethan.
And my father.
David walked toward me.
“Sarah.””
I looked at him.
“You saw what that document said.””
“Yes.””
“Your name was on it.””
“I didn't write it.””
“But someone did.””
“I know.””
“And Mom signed it.””
His jaw tightened.
“I know.””
“Do you know why?””
“No.””
My mother stepped toward us.
“Because I was trying to save you.””
I turned on her.
“By calling me an unfit mother?””
“No.””
“By telling a judge I witnessed a fatal accident I wasn't even at?””
“No.””
“Then what exactly were you trying to save?””
She pressed her hands together.
“Your life.””
I stared at her.
“My life?””
She nodded.
“You don't understand what would happen if the truth came out.””
“What truth?””
Before she could answer, a phone began ringing.
Not mine.
Not David's.
My mother's.
She pulled it from her purse.
The screen showed one word.
*UNKNOWN.*
She immediately rejected the call.
It rang again.
Dad's old rule had always been simple.
Never answer an unknown number after midnight.
But that rule suddenly felt meaningless.
I took the phone from her.
“Sarah—”
I answered.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“Did you find the recording?””
I froze.
“What recording?””
The caller hung up.
I looked at my mother.
She had gone completely pale.
“What recording?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You do.””
“No.””
“Mom.””
She looked toward David.
He was staring at her.
Then he asked the question I couldn't.
“What recording?””
My mother sat down.
“I thought it was destroyed.””
My stomach dropped.
“What was destroyed?””
“The dashcam.””
I looked at David.
“The car had a dashcam?””
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because your father took it.””
I turned toward my mother.
“When?””
“The night of the accident.””
“Where is it?””
She looked down.
“I don't know.””
I felt something click into place.
The traffic camera.
The missing footage.
The forged documents.
The threats.
The custody case.
Someone had been trying to control the evidence.
But why?
“What was on the dashcam?””
My mother started crying.
“Everything.””
The word echoed inside me.
“Everything?””
She nodded.
“The crash.””
“What else?””
She looked at David.
“Something happened before the crash.””
David's face tightened.
“What?””
“I don't remember,” my mother said.
“You saw the footage.””
“Yes.””
“And?””
She pressed her lips together.
“I saw your father.””
I stopped breathing.
“Dad was there?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In the vehicle.””
Silence.
David stared at her.
“You said he wasn't there.””
“I said I didn't know where he went afterward.””
“You lied.””
My mother nodded.
“I was afraid.””
I stepped closer.
“What was Dad doing in the car?””
“I don't know.””
“Then what did you see?””
She closed her eyes.
“I saw the vehicle stop.””
“Before the accident?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“He was arguing with someone.””
“Who?””
My mother whispered, “The victim.””
Everything inside me went cold.
“Dad knew her?””
“I believe so.””
David shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It does now,” my mother said.
I stared at her.
“Why would my father know the woman who died?””
She looked at me.
“Because she wasn't a stranger.””
My pulse raced.
“Who was she?””
My mother hesitated.
Then she said a name.
“Rachel Moore.””
I stared.
I knew that name.
I had seen it on old emails.
I had seen it in one of Dad's locked files years ago.
But I had never known why.
“She worked for Dad,” I whispered.
My mother nodded.
“She did.””
“For how long?””
“Almost eleven years.””
David looked confused.
“What did she do?””
“Accounting.””
My heart hammered.
“Why would Dad argue with her?””
My mother looked at the floor.
“Because she found something.””
“What?””
“She discovered money missing from the foundation.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“How much?””
“Enough to ruin him.””
I felt dizzy.
“Did Rachel threaten him?””
“No.””
My mother looked at me.
“She threatened to expose him.””
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Everyone turned.
My father appeared.
He was alone.
His tie was loose.
His face was pale.
He stopped when he saw us.
“Where did you go?”” I demanded.
“To make a phone call.””
“To whom?””
He didn't answer.
I held up my mother's phone.
“Someone just asked whether we'd found the recording.””
His face changed.
“What recording?””
“The dashcam.””
Dad went still.
David stepped forward.
“You knew.””
Dad looked at him.
“You shouldn't be here.””
“This is my wife.””
“And that's exactly why you should stay out of it.””
I stared at my father.
“You knew about the dashcam.””
“I knew there was one.””
“Where is it?””
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying.””
He looked at me.
“Sarah.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don't get to use that voice anymore.””
His shoulders dropped.
“You need to understand what happens if that recording surfaces.””
“Then tell me.””
He remained silent.
“Tell me!””
He finally spoke.
“It proves the accident wasn't what you think.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
Dad looked at him.
“You weren't the only person in that vehicle.””
David froze.
“What?””
Dad looked at me.
“Clara was there.””
“She already said she was.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“She was there physically. But she wasn't the person Rachel was arguing with.””
I didn't understand.
“Who was?””
Dad looked at my mother.
She wouldn't meet his eyes.
Then he said, “Me.””
Silence.
“You were driving?”” David asked.
Dad shook his head.
“No.””
“Then what were you doing there?””
Dad's voice dropped.
“I was trying to get the dashcam before anyone found it.””
David stared at him.
“After the crash?””
“Yes.””
I felt sick.
“You were at the scene.””
“Yes.””
“You told us you weren't.””
“I didn't want anyone to know.””
“Why?””
Dad looked directly at me.
“Because Rachel wasn't supposed to be there.””
“Why?””
“She was meeting me.””
“To discuss the missing money?””
He nodded.
“Then what happened?””
“She had evidence.””
“What evidence?””
“A ledger.””
I frowned.
“What ledger?””
“The foundation's private accounts.””
My father's voice was barely audible.
“She had records showing someone had been siphoning money for years.””
“Who?””
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Who was stealing the money?””
He looked at me.
And I saw something I'd never seen in his eyes before.
Fear.
“It wasn't me.””
“Then who?””
He looked toward my mother.
Her face crumpled.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Mom?””
Dad whispered the name.
“Margaret.””
My mother started crying.
“I only moved some of it.””
David stared at her.
“What?””
“For Clara,” she said.
I felt numb.
“You stole from the foundation?””
“No.””
“You moved money.””
“I borrowed it.””
“For what?””
Her voice broke.
“To pay the settlement.””
“What settlement?””
“The woman Rachel injured.””
I stared at her.
“You used charity money to cover up the accident?””
“She was going to take Clara away!””
“That doesn't justify anything!””
“I know.””
My father sank into a chair.
“It wasn't supposed to become this.””
I stared at both of them.
Then I remembered the message.
*Don't let Sarah remember what happened three months ago.*
Not because I knew about the accident.
Because I knew something else.
Something my mind had buried.
“What happened to me that night?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at David.
“You came home after midnight.””
He nodded.
“You asked me what I saw.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He looked at my father.
Dad whispered, “Because she was there.””
I stared at him.
“Where?””
“You were at the scene.””
My heart stopped.
“No.””
David shook his head.
“I found you near the road.””
“You said I was asleep.””
“I lied.””
“What happened to me?””
David's eyes filled with tears.
“You were unconscious.””
I felt the room spin.
“Why?””
“Because you were hit.””
Lily was standing beside my mother now.
I could barely hear anything.
“What?””
David reached for me.
I stepped away.
“You're saying I was at the accident?””
“Yes.””
“And the paperwork says I witnessed it.””
“Yes.””
“Why don't I remember?””
My father looked at me.
“Because we made sure you wouldn't.””
Silence.
My skin prickled.
“What does that mean?””
Dad lowered his head.
“You suffered a head injury.””
David whispered, “And afterward, you couldn't remember the night.””
I touched my temple.
A sharp fragment flashed through my mind.
Rain.
Headlights.
Someone screaming.
Rachel.
A hand on my shoulder.
And a voice.
My father's voice.
*“Sarah, forget what you saw.””*
I stumbled backward.
“I remember.””
Everyone froze.
I could see the road.
The car.
Rachel standing in front of us.
David shouting.
Clara crying.
My father running toward the vehicle.
But there was one more image.
One image none of them knew I had remembered.
A small red light blinking on the dashboard.
The camera.
Still recording.
I looked at my father.
“You didn't destroy the dashcam.””
His face went white.
“You kept it.””
He didn't answer.
“Where is it?””
Dad stood slowly.
Then a sound came from my purse.
A notification.
I pulled out my phone.
A new video had been sent from the same unknown number.
The file name was simple.
*00:17:43*
I pressed play.
The screen showed a dark road.
Rain.
Headlights.
Then my own voice screamed from inside the car.
*“Dad, what are you doing with that woman?””*
My blood ran cold.
Because the recording continued.
And the next voice I heard wasn't my father's.
It was Clara's.
“Sarah, don't look behind you.””
Then the video cut to black.
May you like
A second message appeared.
*You remember now. Come alone at 6:00 a.m., or Lily disappears.*
