Chapter 2: The Voicemail I Should Have Heard Sooner
Chapter 2: The Voicemail I Should Have Heard Sooner
I stared at the flash drive resting in my palm.
It weighed almost nothing.
Yet somehow, it felt heavier than every business deal I had ever signed.
No one in the dining room dared to move.
Eleanor was the first to recover.
She forced a nervous laugh.
"Richard... please. Don't embarrass us. Maria has always hated me because I changed the way this house was run."
I didn't answer.
Instead, I handed Maya gently to Maria.
"Take her upstairs."
Maria nodded.
"I'll stay with her."
Maya looked at me with frightened eyes.
"Daddy..."
I kissed her forehead.
"I promise you."
"No one is ever going to make you eat alone again."
She burst into tears.
"I love you."
Those words nearly broke me.
"I love you more."
As Maria carried Maya upstairs, I turned toward the dining table.
Every guest avoided my eyes.
Some looked ashamed.
Others looked furious.
I slowly picked up my phone.
"I think it's time this dinner ended."
One by one, the guests stood.
No one thanked Eleanor for the meal.
No one complimented the decorations.
Within five minutes, the mansion that had been filled with laughter became hauntingly quiet.
Only Eleanor and I remained.
She crossed her arms.
"So... you're choosing the maid over your own wife?"
"My daughter isn't lying."
Her expression hardened.
"She's spoiled."
I stepped closer.
"My daughter has never lied to me."
Eleanor scoffed.
"You've been gone constantly."
"I've been the one raising her."
Those words ignited something inside me.
"Raising her?"
I pointed toward the pantry.
"You call that raising a child?"
"I call it discipline."
"You call starving a child discipline?"
"I never starved her!"
"Then explain why she's lost weight."
Eleanor opened her mouth...
...then closed it.
"I..."
Before she could continue, my phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Normally, I would have ignored it.
Tonight, I answered.
"Richard Sterling."
"Mr. Sterling?"
The calm female voice sounded familiar.
"This is Mrs. Gable from Brookside Elementary."
My chest tightened.
"I left you a voicemail earlier today."
"I know."
"I... hadn't listened yet."
There was a brief silence.
"I'm glad you answered."
Her tone became serious.
"I'm calling because Maya collapsed at school this afternoon."
I froze.
"What?"
"She fainted during recess."
The room around me disappeared.
Everything except her voice.
"The school nurse examined her."
"What happened?"
Mrs. Gable hesitated.
"Mr. Sterling..."
"Your daughter showed signs of prolonged malnutrition."
I felt my knees weaken.
"What did you say?"
"The nurse believes Maya hasn't been receiving enough food for quite some time."
I couldn't breathe.
Mrs. Gable continued carefully.
"She also noticed bruising."
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Bruises?"
"Yes."
"On both arms."
"And an older bruise across her back."
My eyes slowly lifted toward Eleanor.
She was watching me.
Listening.
Every ounce of color drained from her face.
Mrs. Gable kept speaking.
"When Maya regained consciousness..."
"...she begged us not to tell anyone."
I closed my eyes.
"Why?"
"She said..."
The counselor's voice cracked.
"...she said if people found out..."
"...she wouldn't be allowed to eat at all."
Silence.
Complete silence.
I thanked Mrs. Gable and ended the call.
Then I looked at Eleanor.
She smiled weakly.
"I can explain."
I had never hated another human being before that moment.
"Explain."
"The bruises came from gymnastics."
"Maya doesn't take gymnastics."
"...She falls a lot."
"No."
"...She's clumsy."
"No."
She took one step toward me.
"Richard, please listen—"
I raised my hand.
"Don't."
For the first time in our marriage...
She actually looked frightened.
"I trusted you."
"I know."
"I trusted you with the most precious person in my life."
"I never meant—"
"You looked into my daughter's eyes every day..."
"...and convinced her she was worthless."
Tears rolled down Eleanor's face.
"I loved her."
"No."
My voice was colder than ice.
"You loved control."
At that exact moment...
The front door opened.
Footsteps echoed across the marble foyer.
A deep voice called out.
"Richard?"
I recognized it immediately.
Daniel Brooks.
My attorney.
My oldest friend.
He walked into the dining room carrying a thick manila envelope.
"I came because your assistant couldn't reach you."
Then he stopped.
He looked around the destroyed dinner.
The untouched food.
The broken wineglass.
Eleanor crying.
My expression.
"What happened?"
I handed him the flash drive.
"I think my wife has been abusing my daughter."
Daniel's face changed instantly.
Without another word, he opened the envelope.
"I wasn't going to tell you this tonight."
"But now..."
He laid several photographs across the dining table.
Every picture showed Eleanor.
Different days.
Different locations.
Always with the same man.
A handsome man in his early thirties.
They were holding hands.
Kissing.
Entering hotels together.
My stomach turned.
Daniel spoke quietly.
"I hired a private investigator after your CFO noticed money disappearing from several company accounts."
He pointed at the photographs.
"The investigator discovered the money wasn't the biggest problem."
I looked at the images.
"When were these taken?"
"The last six months."
I swallowed hard.
"So while I was traveling..."
Daniel nodded.
"...she wasn't just having an affair."
He opened another folder.
Bank statements.
Wire transfers.
Property records.
Insurance documents.
"Richard..."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"I believe someone has been preparing for your death."
I stared at him.
"What?"
He slid one final document toward me.
It was a life insurance policy.
My name.
Twenty million dollars.
Primary Beneficiary:
Eleanor Sterling.
I slowly looked up.
Eleanor had stopped crying.
She wasn't denying it.
She wasn't speaking.
She simply stood there...
...completely silent.
May you like
And that silence terrified me more than any lie she could have told.
End of Chapter 2
