Chapter 4: The Voice That Destroyed Everything
“Make sure she never comes back, Vanessa. I don't care what you have to do.””
Marcus stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
His own voice filled the underground chamber, unmistakable and terrifyingly calm.
“If Evelyn exposes what happened that night, Lily loses everything. My company, the house, the custody agreement. Everything.””
Vanessa stood motionless.
Evelyn watched Marcus's face as the recording played.
Then another voice appeared.
Vanessa's.
“What if she remembers everything?””
Marcus's recorded voice answered.
“Then make sure she can't tell anyone.””
The recording ended.
For several seconds, the only sound was the faint buzzing of the emergency light.
Marcus slowly turned toward Evelyn.
“What is this?””
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“It's your voice, Marcus.””
“I can hear that. But when did I say those things?””
“Two years ago. The night I disappeared.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No. That's impossible.””
Vanessa immediately seized the opportunity.
“See? This is exactly what I told you. She's been manipulating you.
She's mentally unstable, Marcus. She recorded conversations and edited them.””
Evelyn laughed weakly.
“You really haven't changed.””
Vanessa stepped toward her.
“Shut your mouth.””
Marcus moved between them.
“Don't you dare speak to her like that.””
Vanessa stared at him.
“Are you seriously taking her side?””
“I'm asking for the truth.””
“You want the truth?”” Vanessa snapped.
“Fine. Your precious wife wasn't the innocent woman you remember.””
Evelyn gripped the doorframe.
“Tell him what you did.””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“I saved this family.””
“You kidnapped me.””
“I kept you alive!””
“You locked me underground for twenty-two months!””
Marcus looked from one woman to the other.
“Twenty-two months?””
Evelyn nodded.
“I woke up in that chamber with a broken wrist. Vanessa told me you had arranged everything. She said you knew I was alive, but you didn't want me coming back.””
Marcus staggered slightly.
“I never knew.””
“That's what I thought at first.””
“What changed?””
Evelyn looked down at the recording device.
“I found something.””
She reached into the pocket of her worn cardigan and removed a small plastic envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Marcus took it.
It showed him standing beside Vanessa outside a hospital.
The date printed in the corner was from two years earlier.
He remembered that day.
He had been told Evelyn's body had been recovered.
He remembered Vanessa holding his hand while he spoke to the police.
But the photograph showed something else.
On the back, someone had written:
*THE DAY HE CHOSE VANESSA.*
Marcus looked up.
“Where did you get this?””
“Hidden inside the wall behind the bed.””
Vanessa gave a sharp laugh.
“That's not proof of anything.””
Evelyn continued.
“She told me you had signed papers declaring me dead. She said you'd already moved on. She even showed me photographs of you and her together.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“Why?””
Vanessa folded her arms.
“Because you were falling apart, Marcus. Someone had to take control.””
“Take control of what?””
“Your life!””
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
“You were drinking every night. You couldn't run the company. You couldn't even look after your daughter properly. I was the one who stayed!””
Marcus stared at her.
“And you thought that gave you the right to imprison my wife?””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Your wife was going to destroy everything.””
Evelyn took a shaky breath.
“I discovered the financial transfers, Marcus.””
His expression changed.
“What financial transfers?””
“Money from your company. Millions of dollars. Vanessa had been moving it into accounts overseas.””
Vanessa's face went rigid.
Marcus slowly turned toward her.
“Is that true?””
“She's lying.””
Evelyn held up the envelope.
“I found the account numbers. I found copies of the transfers. I also found a contract with a company that doesn't exist.””
Marcus recognized the company name.
It was one of the shell corporations his finance director had flagged before Evelyn disappeared.
He had dismissed the warning because Vanessa had insisted it was a harmless accounting error.
His stomach tightened.
“Vanessa, tell me she's lying.””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Marcus, listen. We can fix this. Whatever she found, we can handle it together.””
“Together?””
“Yes. We're getting married. You were going to give me that ring today.””
Marcus looked down at his bare left hand.
The wedding proposal.
The champagne.
The flowers.
All of it suddenly seemed grotesque.
“You knew Lily was asking about her mother,” he whispered.
Vanessa looked away.
“She needed stability.””
“She needed her mother!””
“She had me!””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No, Vanessa. You wanted her to forget me.””
Vanessa suddenly lunged toward Evelyn.
Marcus caught her before she could reach her.
“Enough!””
She struggled against him.
“Get your hands off me!””
“Where are the keys?””
Vanessa stopped moving.
Marcus tightened his grip.
“Where are the keys to this chamber?””
She looked at him.
Then she smiled.
It was a small, cold smile.
“You really think I'm the only person involved?””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Vanessa glanced toward the staircase.
“You should ask your brother.””
Marcus's face went pale.
His older brother, Daniel, had helped manage the family business during the months after Evelyn disappeared.
Daniel had also been the one who recommended Vanessa as Marcus's personal assistant.
And Daniel had been standing beside him at Evelyn's memorial service.
Marcus released Vanessa.
“What does Daniel have to do with this?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her handbag.
Marcus saw the movement too late.
She pulled out a second phone and pressed a button.
A loud alarm sounded throughout the underground chamber.
Evelyn screamed.
“Marcus! The water system!””
A red warning light flashed above the steel door.
Somewhere behind the walls, heavy machinery began to rumble.
Vanessa stepped away, breathing hard.
“You should have accepted my proposal.””
Marcus rushed toward the control panel.
But the display had already changed.
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<text color="danger" weight="semibold" inline>CHAMBER FLOODING SYSTEM ACTIVATED.</text>
And the first wave of water came rushing through the lower passage.
