Chapter 31 - The Recording from Fifteen Years Ago
Back at Samuel's office, they connected the digital recorder recovered from Locker 114.
The battery had long since failed.
Fortunately, the memory chip remained intact.
Static filled the speakers.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Calm.
Measured.
Unmistakably familiar.
Daniel frowned.
"I know that voice."
The recording continued.
"If anything happens to me..."
"...this recording must reach Daniel Carter."
Samuel paused it.
"Do you recognize him?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
Fragments of old conversations returned.
Construction meetings.
Contract negotiations.
Late-night inspections overseas.
Then he remembered.
"Victor Hayes."
"My site supervisor."
Samuel searched immediately.
Victor Hayes had officially disappeared fourteen years earlier.
No confirmed sightings.
No body.
No conclusion.
Daniel pressed Play again.
Victor's voice grew more urgent.
"Daniel..."
"The company that hired you wasn't interested in your engineering skills."
"They needed you far away."
"They needed your absence."
"They chose you because of the property your father left behind."
Daniel looked up sharply.
"My father?"
The recording crackled.
"I couldn't warn you sooner."
"They're watching everyone connected to the Carter family."
Suddenly...
The audio stopped.
Not because the recording had ended.
Because the remaining files had been deliberately encrypted.
May you like
On the recorder's tiny display, one message appeared.
Enter passphrase to continue.
