Chapter 6 - The Recording
Daniel found the first breakthrough in an old security archive.
A damaged recording from five years earlier.
The image was blurry.
But the voices were clear.
Richard Cole was speaking.
“You'll tell Nathan she left willingly.”
Another voice answered.
“And the baby?”
“Make sure he never knows.”
Nathan listened without blinking.
Then came a third voice.
Victoria's father.
“We have an agreement.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
Richard said, “My son will marry your daughter.”
Nathan opened his eyes.
Daniel paused the recording.
“There's more.”
The next voice was a woman.
A lawyer.
She mentioned Grace's family.
Threats.
Payments.
Fake documents.
Nathan's hands began shaking.
“My father destroyed her life.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Victoria's family helped.”
Nathan stood.
“Where is the original?”
“In a storage facility.”
“Take me there.”
They drove through the night.
The facility was almost empty.
Inside one locked cabinet was a second box.
Nathan opened it.
There were bank transfers.
Signed contracts.
Photographs.
And one document that made his blood run cold.
A custody agreement.
It listed Lily as the child of Nathan Cole.
But Nathan had never signed it.
Someone had forged his signature.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
If Grace ever returns, eliminate the problem permanently.
Nathan stared at those words.
He finally understood why Victoria had raised the hockey stick.
She hadn't been trying to frighten Grace.
May you like
She had been trying to silence her.
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