Chapter 9 - Elena Ward's Last Recording
Julian grabbed the phone.
I grabbed his wrist.
"Give it to me."
He shoved me away.
Mara stepped between us.
"Enough."
Julian stared at her.
"You've worked for this family twenty years."
"That's why I know exactly what you're capable of."
Evelyn appeared in the doorway.
Her gaze landed on Elena's phone.
She went white.
"Where did that come from?"
Julian didn't answer.
Evelyn crossed the room.
"Give it to me."
I moved first.
I snatched the phone from his hand and ran around the desk.
Julian followed.
Arthur's voice came from the hall.
"Let her have it."
We all turned.
He stood with one hand against the wall.
Pale.
Shaking.
But upright.
Evelyn snapped, "You should be lying down."
"I did that for six months."
His eyes moved to the phone.
"Elena."
"You knew?"
Arthur nodded.
"She tried to warn me."
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know."
Julian said, "She stole medication."
Arthur looked at him.
"No, she found your mother's medication log."
Evelyn's lips tightened.
"What medication?"
Arthur tapped his temple.
"The kind they used to make me look confused."
The room went silent.
I looked down at Elena's phone.
There was an audio recorder app.
Twenty-three files.
Most were ordinary notes.
Medication times.
Blood pressure readings.
Appointment reminders.
Then I saw one dated the night Elena supposedly quit.
11:48 P.M.
I pressed play.
Elena's voice whispered through the speaker.
"If anyone finds this, Mr. Vance is not experiencing progressive dementia."
Arthur closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
"His symptoms worsen after specific evening medications ordered by Dr. Harrow at Mrs. Vance's request. Mr. Vance told me he never consented to the dosage change."
Evelyn moved toward me.
Julian caught her arm.
"Mom."
Elena kept speaking.
"I photographed the labels. I also found documents in Julian Vance's office regarding a petition for temporary financial incapacity."
Arthur's hands curled into fists.
Then another voice sounded in the recording.
Julian's.
"Who are you talking to?"
A sharp breath.
Movement.
Elena said, "Nobody."
Julian: "Give me the phone."
The recording shook.
Then Evelyn's voice.
"Elena, you're becoming confused about your responsibilities."
Mara whispered, "Jesus."
Elena's voice hardened.
"I'm not confused."
Evelyn: "Then you understand confidentiality."
A pause.
Julian: "Take the severance and leave."
Elena: "I'm not signing anything."
The recording ended.
I stared at Julian.
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Why was her phone hidden in a wall?"
"I said I don't know!"
His shout cracked through the study.
Arthur stared at his son.
"Did you threaten her?"
Julian stepped toward him.
"You want to blame me for everything now?"
"No. Only the things you did."
Evelyn moved closer to me.
"Elena was unstable."
I almost laughed.
"Of course she was."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Arthur is confused. I'm hysterical. Elena is unstable. Every person who notices what you're doing suddenly has something wrong with them."
Her expression changed.
For a second, the mask vanished.
I saw hatred.
Then she smiled again.
"You really think one recording saves you?"
"No."
I reached inside my dress and pulled out the forged page.
"But it helps."
Julian lunged.
Arthur grabbed him.
They collided with the desk.
The computer monitor crashed sideways.
Mara shouted.
I ran.
I made it into the hall before Evelyn caught my arm.
Her nails dug into my skin.
"You stupid little girl."
I twisted free.
She leaned close.
"You have no idea what your father agreed to."
I froze.
"What did you say?"
Evelyn smiled.
"There it is."
"What did my father agree to?"
She stepped back.
"Ask Arthur."
I turned.
Arthur had heard her.
His face had gone gray.
"What is she talking about?"
He looked at me.
"Sophia—"
"What did my father agree to?"
Arthur opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, the hidden phone rang.
Not a message.
A call.
The name on the screen made Mara gasp.
ELENA WARD.
Julian stared at it.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
Arthur whispered, "Answer."
I did.
For three seconds, there was only static.
Then a woman's frightened voice said, "Sophia Sterling?"
"Yes."
A breath.
"You need to get out of that house."
"Elena?"
"Don't tell Arthur where you're going."
Arthur's face changed.
"Why?"
The line crackled.
Then Elena whispered, "Because Arthur Vance signed the first agreement with your father."
May you like
The call went dead.
📖 Read why Elena warned me not to trust Arthur—and what the first agreement revealed about the real ownership of Sterling Point in CHAPTER 10. 👇
