Chapter 7: The Recording That Changed Everything
Derrick stared at his mother.
"Patrice?""
Gloria nodded slowly.
"Your father knew something was wrong long before he died. He didn't tell me everything, but he told me enough to understand that he was worried about her.""
Derrick pulled the chair closer.
"Why would Dad leave a recording for Patrice?""
"Because he wanted her to hear the truth from him. He thought she might change her mind if she understood what she was doing.""
Derrick looked at the flash drive.
"What was she doing?""
Gloria hesitated.
"Your father believed she and Anthony were planning something.""
The hospital room suddenly felt smaller.
"Planning what?""
"I don't know all the details, Dre. I only know that your father found financial records that didn't make sense. Money was disappearing from accounts connected to the business.""
Derrick frowned.
"Anthony handles our company accounts.""
"I know.""
"He's been my partner for six years.""
Gloria reached for his hand.
"Your father said that was exactly why he was dangerous. You trusted him too much.""
Derrick looked away.
He remembered the day Anthony had approached him with the idea of expanding their construction company. He remembered the late nights, the contracts, the first office they rented together.
Anthony had been there when Derrick's father died.
He had helped arrange the funeral.
He had even paid for the flowers.
Had all of it been an act?
Derrick plugged the flash drive into his laptop.
A single folder appeared.
Inside were three files.
One was labeled *PROPERTY RECORDS*.
Another was labeled *BANK STATEMENTS*.
The third simply said:
*PATRICE — LISTEN FIRST.*
Derrick clicked it.
For a moment, there was only static.
Then his father's voice filled the hospital room.
"Patrice, if you're listening to this, it means I've run out of time to settle things myself.""
Derrick stopped breathing.
He hadn't heard that voice in seven years.
The same deep, calm voice that used to tell him to check his car's oil and never sign anything he hadn't read.
Robert Hayes continued.
"I know you've been asking questions about the house. I know Anthony has been speaking to you. And I know you've been told that there's money to be made if the property is sold.""
A pause.
Then:
"Let me make one thing clear. That house is not a prize. It's a promise.""
Derrick looked at Gloria.
Her eyes were wet.
His father's voice continued.
"I gave Gloria the right to live there because she helped me build a life worth protecting. Derrick will inherit the property, but his mother will never be removed from it while she is alive. That's written into the trust.""
The recording crackled.
"Patrice, I welcomed you into my family. I trusted you with my son. But I will not allow anyone to use that trust as a way to steal from him.""
Derrick leaned closer to the laptop.
His father took a breath.
"Anthony has already approached me with a proposal. He wants to purchase the property through a development company. He offered me less than half its value. When I refused, he suggested we could make the transfer happen without Gloria knowing.""
Derrick's jaw tightened.
His father had known.
He had known years before Derrick ever suspected anything.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
"Patrice, I saw your name on the bank transfers.""
Derrick stopped the recording.
He stared at the screen.
His mother closed her eyes.
"What transfers?"" he asked.
Gloria shook her head.
"Your father never told me the amount.""
Derrick opened the bank statements folder.
There were scanned documents, dates, account numbers, and transaction records.
He recognized the business account immediately.
Several transfers had been made to a consulting company registered under an unfamiliar name.
The amounts weren't small.
$8,000.
$12,500.
$19,000.
And one transfer of $45,000.
All authorized using credentials belonging to Derrick.
He scrolled through the records.
Then he found the company's registered director.
Patrice Hayes.
His wife.
Derrick pushed back from the laptop.
"She was taking money from our business.""
Gloria touched his arm.
"Your father tried to stop it.""
Derrick looked at her.
"How?""
"He went to Anthony. He gave him an opportunity to return the money and correct everything before you found out.""
"And Anthony?""
"He refused.""
Derrick looked back at the screen.
The final file contained a scanned letter from his father to an attorney.
It included a request for a financial investigation and a warning that his business partner might attempt to transfer the property without consent.
But the most disturbing detail was at the bottom.
A handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, do not let Derrick confront Anthony without evidence.
Derrick's hands began to shake.
His father hadn't simply been suspicious.
He had been preparing.
A knock sounded at the door.
Sarah entered.
"Mr. Hayes, your mother is asking for you.""
Derrick closed the laptop.
"Is she okay?""
"She's stable. The doctor would like to discuss her treatment plan.""
He stood.
Before leaving, he looked at the flash drive.
He copied the files to a secure folder and sent another copy to his attorney.
Then he turned back to Gloria.
"Mom, I'm going to make this right.""
She looked at him.
"Don't do anything because you're angry.""
"I'm not angry.""
But his voice betrayed him.
Gloria squeezed his hand.
"Your father used to say that anger makes people careless.""
Derrick bent down and kissed her forehead.
"I remember.""
He walked into the corridor.
His phone rang.
Anthony.
Derrick answered.
"Hey.""
Anthony's voice was unusually cheerful.
"Brother. I heard about your mother. How is she?""
"She's getting treatment.""
"Good. Listen, I was thinking we should meet tomorrow. There's an opportunity involving the old property.""
Derrick looked toward Gloria's room.
"What kind of opportunity?""
"An investor is interested. We could make a lot of money.""
Derrick almost laughed.
"Really?""
"Absolutely. But I need you to trust me on this.""
Derrick stared at the hospital window.
"Of course.""
"Good. And bring Patrice if you can. She understands the arrangement.""
Derrick's expression hardened.
"She understands it better than I do?""
Anthony chuckled.
"She's been handling most of the paperwork.""
Derrick let the silence stretch.
Then he asked:
"Anthony, do you remember my father?""
"Of course.""
"Do you remember what he told you before he died?""
Anthony's laughter disappeared.
"What are you talking about?""
Derrick lowered his voice.
"He told me to be careful about the people who stand closest to me.""
There was a long silence.
Then Anthony said:
"Be careful, Derrick. Your father wasn't always thinking clearly toward the end.""
The call ended.
Derrick stood motionless.
His father had warned him.
His mother had begged him.
The bird had repeated the truth.
And still, the people he trusted had expected him to walk blindly into their trap.
He looked down at his phone.
A new message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
Derrick opened it.
It was a picture of Patrice sitting in a restaurant with Anthony.
They were smiling.
Between them lay a document bearing Derrick's name.
The timestamp showed it had been taken that afternoon.
Beneath the photograph was one sentence:
*Ask your wife what happened to the first man who refused to sign.*
Derrick felt his stomach turn.
Because the photograph had not come from Anthony.
It had come from someone who knew exactly what was happening.
May you like
And that person was asking him to investigate a death.
His father's death.
