Chapter 7
550 Words
Elias waited until he got home before trying the drive.
He placed his laptop on the desk and stared at it for a few seconds.
Part of him wanted to throw it away.
Another part needed to know the truth.
He connected the drive.
Nothing happened.
Then a small window appeared on the screen.
ENTER PASSWORD.
Elias frowned.
He tried his father’s birthday.
Nothing.
His mother’s name.
Nothing.
The name of his childhood home.
Nothing.
He leaned back in his chair.
“Come on, Dad.”
Then he remembered something.
When he was a child, his father used to tell him that the safest place to hide something was somewhere nobody thought to look.
Elias smiled faintly.
He typed the name of the street where he’d grown up.
ACCESS GRANTED.
His smile disappeared.
A single audio file appeared.
FINAL_RECORDING.wav
His hand hovered over the mouse.
Then he clicked.
Static filled the room.
For several seconds, there was nothing but noise.
Then his father’s voice came through the speakers.
“Elias, if you’re hearing this, something went wrong.”
Elias froze.
His father’s voice sounded exactly as he remembered it.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
“I don’t know when you’ll find this. Maybe years from now. Maybe someone will find it before you do.”
A pause.
“But if you are listening, don’t trust anyone connected to the Voss family.”
Elias sat up.
His father’s breathing became heavier.
“They will tell you I betrayed them.”
Static interrupted the recording.
“I didn’t.”
Elias stared at the screen.
“I was trying to protect you.”
The recording crackled.
“There’s money involved. More than you could imagine. But the money isn’t the real danger.”
Another pause.
“The real danger is the person who controls it.”
The audio suddenly became distorted.
Then his father said something that made Elias’s blood run cold.
“Sophia knows.”
The recording ended.
Elias sat completely still.
Sophia knows.
He replayed the last thirty seconds.
Again.
And again.
The same words.
Sophia knows.
His phone rang.
Sophia.
He stared at her name.
For a moment, he considered ignoring it.
Then he answered.
“You knew.”
Silence.
“What did you hear?”
“My father’s recording.”
Another silence.
Elias stood.
“He said your family was involved.”
“Elias—”
“He said you knew.”
“I do.”
His jaw tightened.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I know.”
He closed his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t sure I could trust you.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you.”
Sophia didn’t respond.
Then she said quietly:
“You need to leave your apartment.”
Elias frowned.
“Why?”
“I’ll explain when you get here.”
“Sophia—”
“Now, Elias.”
The call ended.
Elias looked toward the window.
Something moved across the street.
A shadow.
Then another.
He grabbed his jacket.
For the first time, he understood something his father had tried to warn him about fifteen years ago.
The past hadn’t stayed buried.
It had been waiting for him.
To be continued…
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