Chapter 14 – The Voice That Shouldn't Exist
Chapter 14 – The Voice That Shouldn't Exist
William stared at the tablet as though it had become a stranger.
"I never recorded that."
His voice was firm.
Certain.
"I've never even seen this tablet."
The technician replayed the audio.
Again, William's voice echoed through the speakers.
"If you're hearing this, I've finally found the courage to tell the truth."
It sounded exactly like him.
The same gentle cadence.
The same slight rasp.
The same hesitation before the last word.
I looked at Daniel.
"Could someone fake a voice?"
He didn't answer immediately.
The forensic technician did.
"Today?"
He nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"A convincing fake is possible."
"But this recording was supposedly created thirty-five minutes ago."
He looked thoughtful.
"We'll have to determine whether it's authentic or synthesized."
A small breath of relief escaped William.
At least there was another explanation.
The battery indicator flashed again.
1%
The technician hurried to connect an external forensic power supply.
"We can't risk changing the device."
The screen remained alive.
Another prompt appeared.
Continue Playback?
No one had touched the tablet.
Daniel frowned.
"Go ahead."
The technician tapped Yes.
Static filled the speakers.
Then...
William's voice returned.
Except this time...
It wasn't alone.
Rachel spoke.
"Dad..."
William's face crumpled.
He grabbed the hood of the patrol car to steady himself.
"I remember that voice."
The recording continued.
Rachel sounded frightened.
"If anything happens to me..."
William interrupted her.
"Nothing is going to happen."
"I hope you're right."
A long silence.
Then Rachel whispered,
"I found something."
"What?"
"The company accounts."
Thomas suddenly looked up.
His expression changed completely.
"No..."
Rachel continued.
"The money isn't disappearing because of bad investments."
William's recorded voice answered,
"I know."
My pulse quickened.
He knew?
Rachel inhaled shakily.
"I think someone is moving it."
William asked quietly,
"Who?"
Rachel answered with two words.
"Carol... maybe."
The recording ended.
No one moved.
William looked utterly devastated.
"I remember that conversation."
He whispered it more to himself than anyone else.
"It happened..."
He looked at Thomas.
"...in my office."
Thomas nodded slowly.
"I remember Rachel visiting."
"You were waiting outside."
"Yes."
William closed his eyes.
"I told Rachel I'd investigate."
His shoulders slumped.
"I never did."
Carol finally laughed.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't amused.
It was tired.
"So now we're trusting mystery recordings."
Daniel looked at her.
"We're trusting evidence."
She folded her arms.
"Evidence that conveniently appears after eleven years."
Thomas spoke before Daniel could.
"Because someone spent eleven years hiding it."
The forensic technician suddenly frowned.
"There's more."
He opened the audio file's metadata.
"The original recording date..."
He blinked.
"...isn't tonight."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What is it?"
The technician enlarged the screen.
Original Recording: October 15 – Eleven Years Ago
Modified: Tonight – 8:21 PM
"So..."
I whispered.
"Someone copied the old recording tonight."
The technician nodded.
"They didn't create it."
"They uploaded an existing file."
Which meant someone had access to evidence that had remained hidden for over a decade.
A deputy approached Daniel.
"Sheriff."
"What is it?"
"We finished processing the attic."
"Anything else?"
The deputy held up a dusty wooden box.
"It was hidden behind insulation."
The box was small.
About the size of a shoebox.
No lock.
Just a faded ribbon wrapped around it.
Across the lid, written in black marker, were four words.
Emily – Age 30
I frowned.
"I'm thirty-eight."
Thomas slowly looked at the box.
"It was prepared eight years ago."
Eight years.
Right around the time Camila was born.
Someone had prepared a box for me...
Long before tonight.
Daniel carefully untied the ribbon.
Inside were neatly organized folders.
Letters.
Photographs.
Medical records.
A tiny knitted baby sock.
And...
A digital voice recorder.
Thomas looked genuinely confused.
"I've never seen this."
Neither had William.
Neither had I.
The recorder still had power.
Daniel pressed Play.
A soft click.
Then a familiar female voice.
Rachel.
"If you're hearing this, Emily..."
My breath caught.
"...then someone finally found the box."
She sounded calmer than in the previous recordings.
"I asked Thomas to hide it."
Thomas frowned.
"No..."
He looked around.
"I never received this."
Rachel continued.
"If you're listening alone..."
"...don't."
"Let someone you trust hear this too."
Daniel quietly nodded.
"We're already doing that."
Rachel took a slow breath.
"Everything started after I found the ledger."
Thomas whispered,
"The ledger..."
He looked toward William.
"The missing accounting book."
William's eyes widened.
"I thought it was destroyed."
Rachel continued.
"I made copies."
"I hid one."
"I mailed one."
"And I left one..."
Static interrupted the recording.
The sound crackled for several seconds.
Then Rachel's voice returned.
"...inside the blue chapel."
The recording ended.
"The blue chapel?"
I repeated.
Thomas looked puzzled.
William frowned.
"I don't know any chapel."
Neither did I.
Daniel turned to Olivia.
"Does that mean anything to you?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
Everyone looked lost.
Except...
Sofia.
She tugged gently on my sleeve.
"Mom?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I know the blue chapel."
Every adult froze.
I knelt beside her.
"What blue chapel?"
She pointed toward the house.
"The little one."
My heart skipped.
"What little one?"
She smiled innocently.
"The dollhouse in Grandma Carol's sewing room."
The air seemed to leave every lung at once.
Camila nodded enthusiastically from the patrol car.
"The tiny blue church!"
"We play with it every Christmas."
I stared at Carol.
For the first time all night...
She wasn't smiling.
Instead, she looked toward the house.
Then...
Very slowly...
She took one step backward.
Daniel noticed immediately.
"Mrs. Carter."
She didn't answer.
"Don't move."
But Carol wasn't listening anymore.
She suddenly turned and sprinted toward the front door.
"Stop her!" Daniel shouted.
Two deputies rushed after her.
The front door slammed.
A second later...
A loud crash echoed from somewhere deep inside the house.
Then came Carol's scream.
Followed by another voice.
A man's voice.
May you like
One that none of us had heard all night.
"You should've burned everything when I told you to."
