Chapter 7: The Voice on the Old Phone
Detective Harris returned to the house at 8:06 p.m.
Mason had not escaped far. An officer found his car abandoned near the end of the service road, its engine running and the driver's door open. His phone was inside, but Mason himself had vanished.
Harris didn't look pleased.
"He's either very confident or very desperate," he said.
I stood in the foyer with Noah in my arms.
"Which one is he?""
"At the moment, I don't know.""
Harris glanced at Sienna.
"Mrs. Vale, I need you to come with me to the station. We need a formal statement about the documents and the transfers.""
Sienna nodded without protest.
"I understand.""
I stared at her.
"You understand?""
She looked at me with red, exhausted eyes.
"I have to tell the truth.""
"Then start now.""
Harris raised a hand.
"Mr. Vale, we'll get your statement too. But I'd prefer to speak to your wife separately.""
I wanted to argue.
Instead, I handed Noah to the nanny, who had arrived earlier for the gala and was now waiting anxiously in the kitchen.
"Keep him with you," I said.
"Don't let anyone take him anywhere without speaking to me first.""
She nodded.
"Of course.""
Noah reached for my hand.
"You're coming back?""
I squeezed his fingers.
"Always.""
He looked at Sienna.
"Mommy, are you going to be gone too?""
She knelt in front of him.
"I have to answer some questions, sweetheart.""
"Did you do something bad?""
Her face crumpled.
"I made mistakes.""
Noah looked down at his dinosaur.
"Are you going to say sorry?""
Sienna pressed her lips together.
"Yes, baby. I am.""
She kissed his forehead, then stood and followed Harris outside.
I watched the police car pull away.
For the first time in seven years, I was alone in my house without knowing whether my marriage would survive the night.
I wasn't sure I wanted it to.
At 8:21 p.m., Claire called again.
"I found the incident report.""
I sat down at the dining table.
"What's in it?""
"Not much. The file is corrupted, but a scanned attachment survived. It's a dispatch record from the night Michael died.""
"Read it to me.""
Claire hesitated.
"The report states that an unidentified caller contacted emergency services at 9:17 p.m. The caller reported a single-vehicle collision on Route 18.""
I stared at the table.
"Who made the call?""
"The number was withheld.""
"Can you identify it?""
"Not yet. But the call was routed through a mobile account registered to a prepaid device.""
I remembered Sienna's words.
Michael had called her at 9:17 p.m.
The same minute.
"Claire, I need you to check something. Did the emergency call come before or after the collision was reported by another witness?""
"There was no other witness listed.""
My blood ran cold.
"You're saying the only report came from an unidentified caller?""
"That's what the surviving record indicates.""
I stood.
"Then how did the police find Michael?""
"The caller gave the exact location.""
I closed my eyes.
Someone had known where my brother was.
Someone had been close enough to report the crash.
And someone had decided not to identify themselves.
"Can you send me the record?""
"Already sent.""
I opened my email.
The attachment was a scanned dispatch sheet with a handwritten note at the bottom.
*CALLER STATES DRIVER IS UNRESPONSIVE. CALLER WILL NOT REMAIN ON SCENE.*
I read it again.
"Claire, I need you to preserve this.""
"I will. But Daniel, the police need to know about it.""
"They will.""
I ended the call and looked toward the staircase.
Noah was asleep in his room.
The house was quiet, but I couldn't stop hearing the last words of the anonymous message.
Ask Sienna what she did at 9:17 p.m.
I took out my phone and called her.
She answered after the fourth ring.
"Daniel?""
"Where is the old phone?""
"At my mother's house. In her bedroom safe.""
"Can someone get it tonight?""
"My mother is away. I have the code.""
"Then tell me the code.""
She was silent.
"Sienna.""
"I want to give it to you in person.""
"Why?""
"Because there's something you need to hear before you decide what to do with me.""
I gripped the phone.
"Did you call emergency services the night Michael died?""
Her breathing stopped.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, "Yes.""
The word was so small I almost didn't hear it.
I sat down.
"You were the caller?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know what had happened to him.""
"You told the police there had been an accident.""
"I told them where he was.""
"You said you didn't know anything else.""
"I didn't know anything else.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"Why did you delete his voicemail?""
"Because Mason told me it was dangerous.""
"Why did you call the police anonymously?""
"Because I was afraid he would come after me.""
"Who?""
She began crying.
"Mason.""
I closed my eyes.
"Tell me everything.""
Sienna took a shaky breath.
"Michael called me at 9:17 p.m. He said he had proof that Mason was stealing from the company. He told me he was on his way to meet you, but you weren't answering your phone.""
"I was presenting in Boston.""
"I know that now. I didn't know it then.""
"What happened next?""
"He called again at 9:24. He sounded frightened. He said someone was following him.""
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Did he tell you who?""
"No. He said he had to get off the road. Then the call ended.""
"And you called emergency services?""
"At 9:31. I used a prepaid phone Mason had given me for emergencies. I told the dispatcher where Michael was.""
"Why did you say you wouldn't remain at the scene?""
"Because Mason was standing outside my apartment.""
I froze.
"What?""
"He had come to speak to me. He said Michael was dangerous and that I needed to stay out of his business. When I called emergency services, Mason heard me give the location.""
My stomach twisted.
"Did he know you were calling the police?""
"I don't know. But when I hung up, he took the phone from my hand.""
I stared at the wall.
"Did you see him leave?""
"Yes.""
"Where did he go?""
She whispered, "He said he had to finish something.""
I felt sick.
"Did you tell the police any of this?""
"No.""
"Why?""
"Because Mason showed me photographs of you leaving your office with a woman. He said he could make it look like you were involved in Michael's death. He said if I spoke, he'd destroy you.""
I stood abruptly.
"You let me believe my brother died in an ordinary accident.""
"I was scared.""
"You let me bury him without knowing he had been threatened.""
"I know.""
"You let me spend four years blaming myself for not answering his calls.""
She sobbed.
"I know, Daniel.""
I pressed my hand against the table.
For four years, I had wondered whether Michael had been angry with me. Whether he had wanted to tell me something important. Whether I had missed my last chance to help him.
Now I knew he had reached out.
And the woman I loved had heard him.
She had known he was afraid.
And she had let the truth die with him.
"Give me the safe code," I said.
She told me.
Then she added, "Daniel, there's something else on the phone.""
"What?""
"A recording. I heard it once, the morning after Michael died. Mason came to my apartment and told me to delete it. I thought I had.""
"What did it say?""
Her voice broke.
"Michael said your name. Then he said, 'If anything happens to me, tell Daniel the accident wasn't an accident.''"
I couldn't breathe.
"Is that all?""
"No.""
"What else?""
She whispered, "He said Mason wasn't working alone.""
The line went silent.
I stared at my phone.
"Who else was involved?""
"I don't know.""
"Did Michael name anyone?""
Sienna took a long, shuddering breath.
"Yes.""
"Who?""
Before she could answer, a loud voice came through the phone.
It wasn't Sienna's.
It was a man's.
"Hang up, Sienna.""
I recognized the voice immediately.
Mason.
My blood turned to ice.
"Sienna?"" I shouted.
"Where are you?""
The phone rustled.
Then Mason spoke directly to me.
"Hello, Daniel.""
I stood so quickly my chair fell backward.
"Where is my wife?""
"Safe. For now.""
"If you touch her—"
"Don't waste your breath threatening me. You're not in a position to do that.""
I heard Sienna crying in the background.
"Mason, please.""
He ignored her.
"Your brother had a chance to walk away. He chose to keep digging. You have the same choice.""
"What do you want?""
"The original security archive. The one Michael copied before he died.""
"I don't have it.""
"Then find it.""
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
Mason laughed softly.
"You will. And when you do, you'll bring it to the old server facility alone.""
The line crackled.
"Daniel?""
I gripped the phone.
"What?""
"If you want Sienna to come home, bring the archive. No police. No lawyers. No heroics.""
The call ended.
I stood in the darkened dining room, listening to the silence.
Then my phone vibrated again.
A photograph appeared.
Sienna sat in the passenger seat of a car, her hands tied loosely in front of her. She was crying, but she appeared unharmed.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Midnight. Bring the truth, or your family loses everything.
I stared at the screen.
Then I looked toward Noah's bedroom.
I had promised my son I wouldn't disappear.
I intended to keep that promise.
May you like
But to bring Sienna home, I needed to discover what Michael had hidden.
And I had less than four hours to find it.
