Chapter 7 - THE LAST RECORDING
We found the video in a place none of us expected.
Inside Sarah's old laptop.
The laptop had been sitting in storage for three years.
Mark had never opened it after her death.
He brought it downstairs.
The battery was dead.
We plugged it in.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then the screen lit up.
Sarah's name appeared.
I had to look away.
Seeing my daughter's name on that screen felt like opening a door to a room I had spent three years trying not to enter.
The password was unknown.
Mark tried Sarah's birthday.
Nothing.
Lily's birthday.
Nothing.
His own birthday.
Nothing.
Then Lily said:
"Try Mommy's favorite flower."
Mark looked at her.
"Why?"
"She used it for everything."
He typed:
SUNFLOWER.
The computer unlocked.
Mark stared at his daughter.
"How did you know?"
"Mommy told me."
I swallowed.
There were dozens of folders.
Taxes.
Work.
Photographs.
Family.
And one folder marked:
DO NOT OPEN.
Mark stared at it.
"That's subtle."
I clicked it.
Inside were eight videos.
Seven photographs.
And one document.
The first video began.
Sarah was sitting inside a parked car.
She looked exhausted.
She was whispering.
"If you're watching this, I probably couldn't trust anyone around me."
She looked toward the rearview mirror.
Then back at the camera.
"I found seven cases."
She held up a folder.
"Seven people."
She began naming them.
Different cities.
Different ages.
Different causes of death.
But all had something in common.
Their life insurance policies had been increased shortly before they died.
Mark looked at Vanessa.
"How?"
Vanessa said nothing.
Sarah continued.
"The policies were handled by different companies."
She paused.
"But the changes were connected to one person."
A name appeared on the screen.
Daniel Reeves.
Mark whispered:
"Jesus."
Sarah continued.
"Daniel doesn't kill people himself."
She looked directly into the camera.
"He doesn't have to."
My stomach tightened.
"He finds people with money problems."
"He offers them solutions."
"Then he finds someone willing to make the problem disappear."
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
A man standing beside Sarah.
Michael.
Mark's brother.
Mark stood.
"No."
Sarah's voice continued.
"Michael Bennett is alive."
Mark's face collapsed.
"I knew it."
I looked at him.
"You suspected?"
"He disappeared six months before Sarah died."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought he was dead."
Sarah continued.
"Michael is working with Daniel."
The room became silent.
Then the video showed Sarah driving.
Rain hit the windshield.
She looked terrified.
"I think they know I found out."
She turned the camera toward the passenger seat.
A folder lay there.
"These are the names."
She looked back at the road.
"If anything happens to me, don't give these to the police."
Mark stared at the screen.
"Why?"
Sarah answered her own question.
"Because someone inside law enforcement is helping them."
The video ended.
No one spoke.
Then another file opened automatically.
This one was audio.
Sarah's voice.
But there was another voice.
A man's.
Michael.
"You should stop."
Sarah answered:
"I won't."
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"I understand perfectly."
"You'll get Mark killed."
"You already threatened him."
A long silence.
Then Michael said:
"Not yet."
Sarah whispered:
"Who hired you?"
Michael didn't answer.
Then another voice entered the recording.
A woman's voice.
Vanessa.
"Enough."
Mark looked at Vanessa.
"You were there."
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was trying to help her."
"You lied to me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"You let me believe Sarah died in an accident."
"I didn't know how to stop it."
Mark screamed:
"You could have told me!"
Vanessa cried.
"And then what?"
She pointed toward the screen.
"Do you think Daniel would've just let you live?"
Mark stepped backward.
Vanessa's voice broke.
"I watched Sarah die."
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
"You what?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"I was there."
Mark whispered:
"Tell me."
Vanessa shook her head.
"No."
"Tell me!"
She covered her face.
"I saw the car."
"Did Daniel kill her?"
"I don't know."
"Then what did you see?"
Vanessa lowered her hands.
"I saw Michael."
"What was he doing?"
"He was standing beside Sarah's car."
"And?"
"He wasn't alone."
"Who was with him?"
Vanessa looked at me.
Then she said:
"Your daughter."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"Sarah was alive."
Mark stared at her.
"What do you mean?"
"After the crash."
May you like
Vanessa swallowed.
"Sarah survived."
