Chapter 5 - THE RECORDING
..
Nathaniel placed the recorder on the dining table.
“I've waited twenty-seven years to play this.”
Julian stared at the device.
“What's on it?”
“Our father's final conversation.”
Clara sat down.
Nathaniel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Julian recognized it instantly.
His father's voice.
“If anything happens to me, Margaret knows where the documents are.”
A second voice answered.
Margaret.
“What about the children?”
“Protect Clara.”
“And Nathaniel?”
“He must stay hidden.”
A pause.
Then Julian's father whispered:
“Evelyn cannot know.”
Julian stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“If she discovers the trust belongs to Margaret's children, she'll destroy the evidence.”
Clara looked at Nathaniel.
“What trust?”
Nathaniel answered quietly.
“The Whitmore family fortune.”
Julian shook his head.
“My mother told me she inherited everything.”
“She lied.”
The recording suddenly became louder.
A door slammed.
Margaret shouted.
Then Julian's father said:
“Evelyn, please.”
Silence.
A crash.
The recording ended.
Julian stared at the device.
“My father was afraid of her.”
Nathaniel nodded.
“And he had every reason to be.”
Clara's hands moved protectively over her stomach.
“What does this have to do with my baby?”
Nathaniel opened another folder.
Inside was a DNA report.
“Your pregnancy test was altered.”
Julian stood.
“What?”
“The original laboratory report showed something completely different.”
He handed it to Clara.
The report indicated that the fetus carried a rare genetic marker.
A marker found in Margaret's family.
Nathaniel looked at Julian.
“Your mother believes the child is proof that Margaret's bloodline still controls the trust.”
Clara whispered:
“So she tried to kill me.”
“Yes.”
“Because of my baby?”
Nathaniel shook his head.
“Because of what your baby will inherit.”
Then the front door slammed shut.
Everyone turned.
Evelyn stood there.
She was holding a gun.
But she wasn't pointing it at Clara.
She was pointing it at Nathaniel.
May you like
“Enough,” she whispered.
---
