Chapter 9 - Her Mother’s VoiceRichard wanted Lily to wait.
Lily refused.
They sat together in Richard’s study.
The police had taken Martha away.
An officer remained outside the door.
The house was secure again.
None of it made Lily feel safe.
On the desk sat Richard’s laptop.
The recovered file waited on screen.
FOR LILY — PLAY ONLY IF I’M DEAD.
Nineteen years had passed since Catherine Bennett recorded it.
Lily’s hand hovered over the trackpad.
“What if I don’t want to hear it?”
Richard sat beside her.
“Then we don’t.”
“What if I do?”
“We listen.”
“You won’t stop me?”
“No.”
Lily looked at him.
Something had shifted between them.
Trust had cracked.
But he was no longer trying to control the truth.
That mattered.
Lily pressed play.
Static.
Then a woman’s breathing.
A chair moved.
And Catherine spoke.
“If Lily is hearing this, then either I finally became brave enough to give it to her myself…”
A tiny laugh.
“…or I ran out of time.”
Lily covered her mouth.
She had heard recordings of her mother before.
Birthday videos.
Old camcorder clips.
But this was different.
Catherine was speaking to her.
“If you’re old enough to understand this, Lily, I need you to know one thing first. Your father loves you. He will make mistakes because Richard believes every problem can be solved by working harder. It cannot.”
Richard looked away.
Lily kept listening.
“I discovered money missing from the Catherine Bennett Children’s Fund. The transfers were authorized using my credentials. I did not authorize them.”
Paper rustled.
“I believe Marcy Vale created the transfers.”
Lily looked at Richard.
He stared at the laptop.
“Marcy was my closest friend in college. When her marriage collapsed and she lost nearly everything, I gave her a job. I trusted her.”
Catherine paused.
“I confronted her yesterday.”
The recording became quieter.
“She admitted taking some money. She says she intended to repay it. But the amount is much larger than she admits. When I told her I was going to the board, she threatened me.”
Lily’s skin prickled.
“She said she knew things about Richard. She said she could destroy our family. I thought she was bluffing.”
Another pause.
Then Catherine’s voice changed.
“I don’t think she is bluffing anymore.”
Richard leaned forward.
Catherine continued.
“There is something else. Someone inside Richard’s company may have helped move the money through shell accounts. I don’t know who. I have copied everything I found into the red file.”
Lily whispered, “Someone else?”
Richard shook his head.
“I never knew.”
The recording continued.
“If anything happens to me, do not assume it was Marcy acting alone.”
Richard stood abruptly.
Lily paused the file.
“What?”
He stared into the distance.
“Police investigated Marcy after your mother died.”
“And?”
“They never found her.”
“What about the company connection?”
“She never told me.”
“Maybe she didn’t have proof.”
“Maybe.”
Lily recognized the look on his face.
“But you’re thinking of someone.”
Richard hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My former chief financial officer.”
“Former?”
“He disappeared from the company three weeks after Catherine died.”
Lily’s heart beat faster.
“Why?”
“He resigned suddenly. Moved overseas.”
“Name?”
“Thomas Keane.”
Lily had never heard it.
“Is he alive?”
“I don’t know.”
They resumed the recording.
Catherine’s voice returned.
“Lily, there is another reason I’m making this for you. If I’m gone, Richard may blame himself.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“He misses calls when he works. He forgets dinner. He thinks apologies can be postponed because tomorrow will always exist.”
A sad laugh.
“If something happens to me when he isn’t there, he will convince himself he caused it.”
Lily looked at her father.
Tears had formed in his eyes.
Catherine continued.
“He didn’t.”
Richard broke.
He covered his face.
Lily sat frozen.
“He didn’t,” Catherine repeated. “Whatever happens, my choices are mine. His choices are his. Don’t let grief turn love into punishment.”
The recording went silent for several seconds.
Then:
“One last thing.”
Catherine’s voice lowered.
“Marcy believes the red folder contains everything.”
Richard looked up.
“It doesn’t.”
Lily leaned toward the laptop.
“The most important evidence is somewhere else.”
A sound came from the background.
A door closing.
Catherine inhaled sharply.
“I have to go.”
Then, hurriedly:
“Lily, if you ever need to find the rest, remember the song I sang when I brought you home.”
The recording ended.
Lily stared at the screen.
Richard whispered, “What song?”
Lily slowly looked at him.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
She almost laughed from disbelief.
“Dad, you were there.”
“I was exhausted. You were screaming. Your mother sang half the drive home.”
Lily stood.
“What was the song?”
“I don’t remember.”
Outside the study, an officer knocked.
“Mr. Bennett?”
Richard opened the door.
The officer’s expression was serious.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Martha Mercer isn’t in the patrol car.”
Richard stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“She complained she couldn’t breathe. An officer opened the door to assess her. She attacked him.”
Lily’s stomach dropped.
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know.”
Richard looked toward the dark windows.
The officer continued.
“But we found the handcuffs near your east fence.”
Lily turned toward the laptop.
Toward her mother’s final clue.
May you like
Martha had escaped.
And now she knew Lily had access to Catherine’s recording.
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