Chapter 25 - Thomas Hale's Last Recording
Marcus Hale carefully turned the old cassette over in his hands. The faded label simply read TH-07 in black marker. Dust covered its edges, but the tape itself appeared surprisingly well preserved.
"Can anyone even play this?" Rachel asked.
Kevin Ross smiled faintly. "Not here. But the archives still keep analog equipment for restoring old evidence."
Within half an hour, the tape had been transferred to the Digital Forensics Laboratory. Every investigator gathered around the audio workstation as Kevin inserted the cassette into an aging recorder.
The machine clicked.
Static filled the room.
For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Calm.
Measured.
Marcus instantly recognized it.
His father's.
> "If you're listening to this, something has gone terribly wrong."
Marcus felt his throat tighten.
Thomas Hale continued speaking.
> "I've spent three years investigating what appears to be a series of fraudulent custody cases. At first I believed they were isolated incidents involving corrupt attorneys. I was wrong."
Everyone listened without moving.
> "The custody cases are only the surface. The real operation begins after the court signs the emergency removal order."
Rachel instinctively pulled Noah closer.
Thomas continued.
> "Children are evaluated twice. The first report becomes part of the public court file. The second report is hidden inside a database called Evergreen."
Detective Ortega immediately looked toward Kevin.
"The same database Hannah mentioned."
Kevin nodded silently.
The recording continued.
> "If Evergreen still exists, then the organization survived me."
A loud burst of static interrupted the tape.
Then Thomas spoke one final sentence before the recording abruptly stopped.
> "Never trust anyone who already knows the name Evergreen."
The tape clicked.
Silence filled the room.
Marcus slowly looked around.
Only a handful of people had heard Hannah's hidden document mention Evergreen.
Yet the anonymous hackers had known the investigators discovered it within minutes.
Someone inside the investigation already knew that name.
May you like
Someone was listening.
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