Chapter 10 - THE VOICE OF A WOMAN WHO DIED TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AGO
The recording had been hidden for twenty-four years.
Not in a bank vault.
Not inside a mansion wall.
But beneath the floorboards of the tiny house where Annie grew up.
Evelyn had kept it there because she believed the Whitmore family was too powerful to challenge.
Now, with police protection in place, she finally agreed to reveal its location.
Thomas arranged for investigators to recover it.
By evening, an old cassette tape sat inside an evidence bag.
The label read:
Margaret - December 14.
Thomas stared at his mother's handwriting.
His hands trembled.
A technician carefully transferred the audio into a digital file.
Then investigators gathered in a private conference room.
Annie sat beside Thomas.
Evelyn listened through a secure video connection from the hospital.
The recording began with static.
Then Margaret Whitmore's voice filled the room.
"Eleanor, I know about the missing money."
Thomas closed his eyes.
He hadn't heard his mother's voice in more than two decades.
Eleanor answered sharply.
"You don't understand the accounts."
Margaret's voice remained calm.
"I understand them perfectly."
A pause.
"Someone has been moving foundation money into private accounts."
Eleanor laughed bitterly.
"Your husband approved everything."
"William didn't authorize this."
"Then perhaps your husband has secrets you don't know about."
Margaret hesitated.
"I know about Sarah."
Thomas's eyes flew open.
Annie gripped his hand.
Eleanor's voice changed.
"What?"
"William's daughter."
Silence.
Margaret continued.
"I've spoken to Evelyn. I know Sarah Carter exists."
"You should have left that alone."
"Sarah has a right to know her father."
"You're going to destroy your marriage."
Margaret sounded almost sad.
"My marriage isn't more important than a child's future."
Annie began crying silently.
Thomas squeezed her hand.
The recording continued.
"I've arranged for Sarah to receive what she's entitled to."
Eleanor's voice sharpened.
"You can't do that."
"I already have."
A chair scraped.
Then Eleanor said something chilling.
"William promised me I would be taken care of."
Margaret answered.
"Then ask William. Stop stealing from his children and his employees."
Silence followed.
Then Eleanor whispered:
"You have no idea what you're taking away from me."
Margaret replied:
"I'm taking away your access to money that was never yours."
A door slammed.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke for several moments.
Thomas wiped his eyes.
His mother had known.
She had tried to help Sarah.
She had challenged Eleanor.
And the following night, she died.
An investigator leaned forward.
"This establishes motive and possible financial misconduct. It doesn't prove homicide by itself."
Thomas nodded.
"I understand."
Then the technician raised a hand.
"There's another audio track."
Thomas looked up.
"What?"
"The cassette has a short recording on the reverse side."
The technician pressed play.
A man's voice spoke.
Weak.
Frightened.
"Margaret, if you're hearing this, Eleanor knows about the child."
Thomas froze.
He recognized the voice.
His father.
William Whitmore.
May you like
Then William said the words that changed everything.
"And I think Eleanor has been poisoning you."
