Chapter 13 - Richard’s Voice
The cassette held Richard Carter’s voice.
Recorded in 2008.
David had not heard father speak in five years.
For several seconds he could not breathe.
Richard said:
“If David is hearing this, Evelyn’s Cedar work has surfaced. Good. It should.”
Not villain’s confession.
A tired man.
“I blamed Thomas because I was afraid. I hid reports because I confused protecting company with protecting family. Evelyn was right about that.”
David closed eyes.
Then:
“Sarah Bennett refused money because she had more integrity than I did.”
Claire began crying quietly.
Richard continued:
“But Cedar is not why I gave Thomas Evelyn’s locket.”
There.
“I gave it to him because the locket contains mark used by Evelyn and Michael Bennett for a second archive. I did not want David finding it while Cedar claims were unresolved.”
Why?
Because separate archive concerned Carter family private matter.
Not environmental claims.
Richard deliberately kept arcs apart.
“Michael discovered something about my family in 2008. It did not belong to company. It did not belong to trust. It belonged to David.”
Then tape clicked.
Second voice.
Michael Bennett.
Claire’s father.
“If Claire ever marries David, tell them both.”
Claire gripped David’s hand.
Michael continued:
“But only after Cedar families are paid. Otherwise every lawyer will use personal secret to poison legitimate claims.”
What secret?
Tape ended.
Of course.
A second cassette was referenced.
Missing.
David wanted to tear storage unit apart.
Nothing.
Then Thomas remembered symbol on locket.
Inside hinge:
small crescent.
Evelyn used crescent mark for personal family archives.
Where?
Old Carter lake house.
Sold after Evelyn died.
Current owner agreed supervised search.
Behind fireplace they found narrow safe.
Empty.
Except receipt.
Safe contents removed in 2017.
By:
CLAIRE BENNETT CARTER.
David stared at wife.
Claire looked genuinely stunned.
“I was never here in 2017.”
Signature resembled hers.
But forged.
Who impersonated her?
Security company archived identification copy.
Woman used Claire’s driver’s license.
Photo was Claire.
But license had been reported stolen in 2017.
Claire remembered purse theft.
Someone had deliberately used her identity to remove archive.
Who?
Camera footage gone.
Yet receipt listed forwarding location:
CEDAR HOUSE LOWER ACCESS.
Someone returned archive beneath their future home years before David bought it.
That meant something still hidden under floor.
Police mapped tunnel again.
One section ended behind bricked wall.
Ground radar showed room.
David looked at Thomas.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Claire?
“No.”
Laura?
No.
Wall appeared sealed around 2017.
Someone using Claire’s identity removed family archive from lake house and placed it under Cedar House.
Why choose Claire?
To ensure if discovered, suspicion fell on Bennett family.
Or because whoever did it expected Claire to become connected to David.
That possibility was worse.
Then Lily crawled near opened floor again.
David immediately picked her up.
She pointed toward tunnel.
“Knock.”
Everyone stopped.
Thomas was standing beside them.
No one should be below.
Then—
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
May you like
KNOCK.
Three hollow knocks came from behind bricked wall.
