Chương 6
The question was what seeing it would cost.
Rafe pressed play.
The video opened.
June appeared on screen.
She was sitting in the same chair as the photograph.
But this recording was older.
She was alone.
The camera was fixed.
Her eyes were red.
“Rafe,” she said.
His face changed immediately.
“If you’re watching this, then I couldn’t explain it myself.”
Tessa watched him.
Not the screen.
Him.
Because sometimes the reaction told the truth before the words did.
June looked directly into the camera.
“I need you to listen before you get angry.”
Rafe swallowed.
That was almost invisible.
Almost.
“I found out something about Dad.”
The room became still.
“I know you hate talking about him.”
June looked down briefly.
“But I think you need to.”
The recording continued.
“I think he lied to both of us.”
Rafe stepped closer to the screen.
“What did you find?” he whispered.
The video showed June taking a breath.
“Rafe, our father did not build the company alone.”
A pause.
“He had help.”
Malcolm frowned.
“That is not new.”
June continued.
“But the person who helped him was never supposed to exist.”
Tessa felt the room change.
Not because of the words.
Because of Rafe.
His expression had gone completely still.
Like he had heard something his body recognized before his mind did.
“Elias Voss,” June said.
The name echoed.
“He was the person who made the deals Dad didn’t want attached to him.”
Rafe closed his eyes for a second.
“And I think he’s still alive.”
The video paused.
The screen froze on June’s frightened face.
Nobody spoke.
Then Rafe opened his eyes.
“She knew.”
Tessa looked at him.
“What?”
“She knew.”
“What did she know?”
He stared at the screen.
“That I would never believe it.”
For the first time, Tessa heard the pain beneath his anger.
Not fear of losing power.
Fear that someone he loved had carried the truth alone because she did not trust him with it.
The laptop chimed again.
A new message appeared.
This time, only one sentence.
Ask him what happened the night your mother died.
Rafe did not move.
The message remained on the screen, bright and merciless.
Ask him what happened the night your mother died.
Tessa watched the silence settle over the room.
It was not the silence of confusion.
It was the silence of recognition.
“You know something,” she said.
Rafe looked at the frozen screen.
“I know a story.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
His voice was low.
“It isn’t.”
Malcolm stepped forward carefully.
“Boss.”
Rafe raised a hand.
Not to command him.
To stop himself from saying something he could not take back.
Tessa noticed the difference.
Years ago, she had worked with men who reacted before thinking because their fear moved faster than their judgment.
Rafe had the same instinct.
He had just spent years learning to hide it.
“What happened to your mother?” Tessa asked.
He looked at her.
For a moment, she expected him to shut down.
Instead, he sat in the chair beside June’s desk.
“My mother died in a car accident.”
The way he said it sounded rehearsed.
Tessa leaned against the desk.
“How old were you?”
“Twenty.”
“And June?”
“Sixteen.”
“You remember that night?”
His eyes moved toward the window.
“Everyone remembers things they wish they didn’t.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
He rubbed his hand across his face.
“It isn’t.”
Malcolm stayed near the doorway.
Tessa could tell he had heard pieces before.
Not all of them.
Just enough to know this was dangerous territory.
“My father said she lost control of the car,” Rafe said.
“And you believed him?”
“I was twenty.”
“That doesn’t answer it.”
Rafe looked down.
“I wanted to.”
The honesty made the room feel smaller.
Tessa softened slightly.
“Why?”
“Because the alternative was that my father lied.”
“And that was harder to accept?”
“Yes.”
He stared at the floor.
“My mother was the only person in that house who treated me like I was not a weapon.”
Tessa said nothing.
“She used to tell me I scared people because I was always waiting for something bad to happen.”
“She was right?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
Rafe looked almost embarrassed by it.
“She said I walked into every room expecting an attack.”
“And now?”
“Now I know she was right.”
A quiet sound came from the hallway.
A guard talking into a radio.
A door closing.
The house continued around them.
A house full of people protecting secrets they did not understand.
“What happened after she died?” Tessa asked.
“My father changed.”
“How?”
“He became harder.”
“That sounds simple.”
“It wasn’t.”
Rafe looked at the notebook.
“He stopped trusting people.”
“Like you?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Worse.”
Tessa waited.
“He stopped letting anyone close enough to hurt him.”
She looked at him.
“That sounds familiar.”
His eyes lifted.
The comment landed.
“You think I’m like him.”
“I think you’re afraid of becoming him.”
Rafe looked away.
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
Tessa picked up the photograph of June again.
“But it means you already know the difference.”
Before he could answer, Malcolm’s phone rang.
He looked at the number.
His expression changed.
“It’s the driver.”
Rafe stood immediately.
“Put it on speaker.”
Malcolm answered.
A man’s frightened voice filled the room.
“Mr. Calder?”
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know if I should talk.”
Rafe’s voice hardened.
“You called me.”
“I know.”
“Then talk.”
The driver breathed heavily.
“I saw who took your sister.”
Everyone went still.
“Who?” Rafe asked.
The man hesitated.
“I don’t think you’re going to believe me.”
“Try.”
“It was one of your people.”
Rafe’s face changed.
“Name.”
“I don’t know his name.”
“Description.”
“He was older.”
“That is not enough.”
“He had a scar.”
“Where?”
“Across his left hand.”
Malcolm looked at Rafe.
Rafe looked back.
Neither spoke.
“Do you know him?” Tessa asked.
Rafe did not answer.
That was enough.
“Rafe.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
May you like
“Elias.”
The driver went quiet.
