CHAPTER 6 â THE RECORDING FROM FOUR YEARS AGO
CHAPTER 6 â THE RECORDING FROM FOUR YEARS AGO
For four years, Evan Mercer had believed he was abandoned.
He believed Leah walked away.
He believed she chose silence.
He believed she took his daughter and erased him from their lives.
But now he knew something worse.
She had tried to reach him.
And someone had made sure he never heard her voice.
"I made sure Leah would never come back."
Richard's confession stayed in Evan's mind.
The words followed him everywhere.
Even when he closed his eyes.
Even when he heard Ellie's voice through the phone.
Even when he imagined his daughter waiting somewhere, wondering why her father had not arrived yet.
Evan stared at his father.
"What did you do?"
Richard did not answer immediately.
For the first time in Evan's life, he saw fear on his father's face.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Fear.
"I made a decision."
Evan laughed bitterly.
"You always call it a decision when you ruin someone's life."
Richard looked away.
"I was protecting this family."
"No."
Evan stepped closer.
"You were protecting money."
The silence that followed was louder than an argument.
Because everyone knew it was true.
Leah arrived twenty minutes later.
When she saw Richard, her expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"You."
Richard looked at her.
"I didn't expect you to survive."
Evan immediately moved between them.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Leah's hands shook.
Because after four yearsâŠ
she was standing in front of the man who had destroyed everything.
"Tell him."
Richard said.
Leah looked confused.
"Tell him what?"
"The truth."
A cold smile appeared on Richard's face.
"Tell Evan why you never came back."
Evan looked at Leah.
"Leah?"
Her face went pale.
Because there was something she still had not told him.
Four years earlier.
The night after Ellie was born.
Leah had received a message.
From Evan.
At least, she thought it was from Evan.
"Don't contact me again. I made my choice."
She remembered staring at the words.
Holding newborn Ellie in her arms.
Crying silently so she would not wake the baby.
"I thought you sent it."
Evan froze.
"I never sent that."
"I know now."
Leah looked down.
"But back then, I believed you."
Evan felt something break inside him.
Another lie.
Another stolen moment.
Another person pretending to speak for him.
"Do you still have it?"
Leah nodded.
"I kept everything."
They returned to Leah's apartment.
A small place.
Nothing like the Mercer mansion.
But Evan noticed something immediately.
Photos.
Hundreds of them.
Ellie's entire life.
Every birthday.
Every holiday.
Every little achievement.
All the memories he missed.
Leah opened a drawer.
Inside was a box.
Letters.
Documents.
And a phone.
An old phone.
"This is the one."
Evan stared.
"The phone you used?"
She nodded.
"The number was changed later."
She unlocked it.
The screen turned on.
There were dozens of messages.
Most unread.
Because no one ever received them.
Then she found it.
The message.
The one that destroyed four years.
Evan took the phone.
His hands trembled.
Because the sender was his number.
But he knew.
He never wrote it.
Then something appeared.
A small icon.
An attachment.
A recording.
Leah looked confused.
"I never opened that."
Evan pressed play.
At first, there was silence.
Then a voice.
His voice.
Or something that sounded like his.
"Leah, this needs to end."
Evan froze.
Because it sounded exactly like him.
"I can't continue this."
Leah covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I heard this."
Evan kept listening.
"You and the baby deserve better without me."
The recording ended.
Silence.
Then Evan whispered:
"That's not me."
But the damage was clear.
Someone had created a fake recording.
Someone had used his voice.
Someone had planned everything.
Then Evan noticed something.
The file information.
Created date.
Modified date.
Location.
His eyes narrowed.
"This wasn't made on your phone."
Leah looked at him.
"What?"
"The recording was edited somewhere else."
"Where?"
Evan checked.
A location appeared.
Mercer Corporation headquarters.
The room went cold.
Richard knew.
No.
More than knew.
He was involved.
Evan turned to his father.
"Did you make this?"
Richard remained silent.
That silence was an answer.
Before Evan could react, his phone rang.
The police.
They found Sabrina's location.
But there was another problem.
"Mr. Mercer?"
"Yes?"
"We found Ms. Cross."
Evan exhaled.
"Where is my daughter?"
The officer paused.
And Evan knew immediately.
Something was wrong.
"Sir..."
"What?"
"Ms. Cross wasn't alone."
A cold feeling spread through him.
"Who was with her?"
The officer hesitated.
"Your mother."
Evan stopped breathing.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"She was the one who brought the child there."
For years, Evan believed his mother had left.
For years, Richard told him she abandoned the family.
But now...
she was alive.
And she had his daughter.
At that exact moment, Sabrina called again.
Evan answered.
"What do you want?"
Her voice was quieter this time.
Almost broken.
"You think I stole Ellie."
"You did."
"No."
A pause.
"I took her because I found out what your father planned."
Evan frowned.
"What plan?"
Sabrina whispered:
"To take Ellie away permanently."
The words chilled him.
"What are you talking about?"
Sabrina took a breath.
"Your father never wanted Leah."
A pause.
"He never wanted Ellie either."
"Then what did he want?"
Her answer came softly.
"The Mercer bloodline."
The call ended.
Evan looked at Leah.
Then at Richard.
And finally at the old recording.
Because now the question had changed.
It was no longer:
Who lied?
The question was:
May you like
How far would his family go to control his life?
END OF CHAPTER 6
