Chapter 2: The Voice From the Grave
Nathan stared at the phone screen.
The name glowing in the darkness of the kitchen seemed impossible.
*Thomas Cole.*
His father had been dead for two years.
Dead people did not call.
Dead people did not send messages.
Dead people did not appear on the screens of their sons’ phones while standing in a room filled with secrets.
For several seconds, Nathan couldn’t move.
The phone kept vibrating in his hand.
Victoria stepped closer.
“Nathan…”
Her voice was different now.
Not gentle.
Not loving.
Afraid.
“Don’t answer that.””
Nathan slowly turned his head toward her.
The woman he planned to marry in fourteen days had just attacked the mother of his child.
And now she was telling him not to answer a call from his dead father.
“Why?”” Nathan asked quietly.
Victoria froze.
“What?””
“Why shouldn’t I answer?””
Her lips parted.
No answer came.
Nathan pressed the phone against his ear.
“Hello?””
Static filled the line.
Then a voice.
An old voice.
A voice Nathan had heard every morning growing up.
“Son.””
Nathan’s blood ran cold.
He stepped backward.
“No…”
The voice continued.
“I know you’re confused.””
Nathan gripped the phone tighter.
“Who is this?””
A bitter laugh came through the speaker.
“You always did ask the obvious questions when you were scared.””
Nathan stopped breathing.
Only his father called him that.
Only Thomas Cole knew the exact tone that could make Nathan feel like a child again.
“Dad?””
Grace watched him carefully.
Victoria’s face had completely lost its color.
The voice on the phone became quieter.
“Nathan, listen carefully. You don’t have much time.””
“What is this?””
“My mistake was believing money could control everything.””
Nathan looked around the kitchen.
The world he knew was falling apart piece by piece.
“My father is dead.””
“I know.””
“Then how are you calling me?””
A pause.
Then:
“Because the man who died was not the only person who knew the truth.””
Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
“What truth?””
The voice hesitated.
Then answered.
“Grace.””
The sound of her name made Grace lower her head.
Nathan looked at her.
His chest tightened.
“Why are you talking about her?””
“Because I failed her.””
The words shocked Nathan.
His father never apologized.
Not once.
Not even when he forced Nathan to leave college and take over the family business.
Not even when he destroyed relationships because they threatened his reputation.
Thomas Cole believed power was the only language people understood.
But now, from beyond the grave, he sounded like a broken man.
“I thought I was protecting you,” the voice said.
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“Protecting me?””
He looked at Lily.
A little girl who shared his eyes.
A little girl who had spent four years growing up without him.
“You stole five years from me.””
The silence on the phone was heavy.
“I know.””
Nathan closed his eyes.
Those two words hurt more than any excuse.
“Where are you?””
“I’m not where you think.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means your father’s death was not the end of this.””
Nathan looked toward the hallway.
Every instinct inside him screamed that he was standing in the middle of something much bigger.
“What did you do?””
The voice became weak.
“I hid evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
“Of what I did.””
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“What did you do to Grace?””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Not even Victoria.
Then Thomas answered.
“I threatened her.””
Grace’s eyes filled with pain.
Nathan looked at her.
“She told me she was pregnant,” Thomas continued.
“She wanted to tell you.””
Nathan’s heart sank.
“She came to me because she was afraid.””
Grace whispered:
“I was twenty-three.””
Nathan looked at her.
Her voice trembled.
“I didn’t know who else to talk to.””
The phone remained silent.
Then Thomas continued.
“I told her that if she stayed, I would make sure she lost everything.””
Nathan’s hands shook.
“You threatened the mother of my child?””
“Yes.””
The honesty was almost worse.
“Why?””
Thomas took a breath.
“Because someone else had already found out.””
Nathan frowned.
“Who?””
The line crackled.
“Victoria.””
Everyone in the kitchen froze.
Victoria immediately shook her head.
“No.””
Nathan stared at her.
“No?””
She forced a laugh.
“This is insane. You’re listening to a dead man accuse me?””
Grace looked at Victoria.
“You knew.””
Victoria’s eyes turned cold.
“You should have disappeared when you had the chance.””
Nathan heard every word.
His expression changed.
“Victoria.””
She looked at him.
“Nathan, please. She’s trying to turn you against me.””
“Did you know Grace was pregnant?””
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
Nathan didn’t need an answer.
He already had one.
Victoria stepped closer.
“I found out because your father told me.””
“Why would he tell you?””
Her face changed slightly.
A tiny crack in the perfect mask.
Because she realized she had said too much.
Nathan noticed.
“You knew him before we met.””
Victoria looked away.
“Nathan…”
“You knew my father.””
The kitchen felt colder.
Grace hugged Lily tighter.
The little girl watched everything with wide eyes.
Nathan’s voice lowered.
“How long?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
“How long have you been connected to my family?””
Finally, she whispered:
“Before you.””
The words hit him.
Before him.
Before their relationship.
Before the engagement.
Nathan felt something inside him collapse.
He thought he had chosen Victoria.
But maybe she had chosen him.
The phone suddenly beeped.
The call was ending.
Nathan brought it back to his ear.
“Dad!””
The voice returned one final time.
“Nathan.””
“I need answers.””
“You’ll find them in my study.””
Nathan frowned.
“My study?””
“The hidden room behind the bookshelf.””
His eyes widened.
There was no hidden room.
At least, not one he knew about.
Thomas continued.
“Bring Grace.””
Nathan looked at her.
“And Lily?””
A long pause.
Then:
“Especially Lily.””
The call ended.
Nathan stood frozen.
Victoria suddenly moved.
“Give me the phone.””
Nathan stepped back.
“No.””
“You don’t understand what’s happening.””
“I think I understand more than you want me to.””
Her face hardened.
“You really think Grace is innocent?””
Nathan didn’t answer.
Victoria pointed toward Grace.
“She lied to you for five years.””
Grace looked down.
That was true.
And Nathan hated that it was true.
But another truth stood right in front of him.
Victoria had attacked her.
Victoria knew about Lily.
Victoria knew about his father.
Too many pieces connected to ignore.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Grace said quietly.
Nathan looked at her.
“Then tell me.””
Her eyes met his.
For the first time in five years, there was no hiding.
“No one was supposed to know about Lily.””
“Why?””
Grace swallowed.
“Because your father made sure I understood something.””
“What?””
“That if you ever found out about her…”
She glanced at Victoria.
“…someone would try to take her away.””
Nathan looked down at Lily.
The little girl reached for his hand.
He hesitated.
Then slowly took it.
Her fingers wrapped around his.
A strange feeling moved through him.
A feeling he had never experienced before.
A connection.
A bond.
A piece of himself that had been missing.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Lily looked up.
“For what?””
Nathan’s throat tightened.
“For not finding you sooner.””
The child didn’t understand the weight of the words.
She only smiled slightly.
And that made Nathan feel worse.
Because she should have grown up knowing him.
Not meeting him in a kitchen while hiding from danger.
A sudden crash came from upstairs.
Everyone looked toward the ceiling.
Victoria’s expression changed.
“What was that?””
Nathan immediately moved toward the hallway.
“Stay here.””
Grace grabbed his arm.
“No.””
He looked at her.
“You don’t know what’s waiting.””
Nathan saw fear in her eyes.
Not for herself.
For him.
“What are you afraid of?””
Grace whispered:
“The hidden room.””
Nathan frowned.
“You know about it?””
Grace slowly nodded.
“I was there five years ago.””
The mansion went silent.
“What did you see?””
Grace’s face turned pale.
“I saw your father hiding something.””
“What?””
She looked toward the staircase.
Then said the words Nathan would never forget.
“I saw a file with your name on it.””
Nathan stared at her.
“And underneath your name…”
Grace’s voice broke.
“There was another name.””
Nathan stepped closer.
“What name?””
Before Grace could answer, the lights throughout the mansion suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Lily screamed.
A second later, the sound of a door locking echoed from upstairs.
Someone was inside the hidden room.
And they had just locked themselves in.
Then Nathan’s phone received a new message.
One sentence.
May you like
From his dead father’s number.
*DON’T TRUST THE WOMAN YOU’RE ABOUT TO MARRY.*
