Chapter 4
The first sound from the recording was static.
Then Austin’s younger voice came through the speaker.
Not loud.
Not clear enough to reveal everything.
Just enough to change the air.
Austin’s face went white.
Sheila looked at him.
“What is that?”
Summer did not answer her.
She kept her eyes on Austin.
In the recording, his voice said her name once.
Summer.
Then there was a long breath.
A sound like a car door closing.
A whispered curse.
Summer stopped the audio before the next sentence could form.
Not because she wanted mercy.
Because she wanted control.
Everyone in the room understood that the full file existed.
No one yet knew how much of it survived.
That uncertainty was more powerful than shouting.
Austin’s mouth opened.
“Summer.”
She tilted the phone slightly.
“Careful.”
His eyes flicked to the screen.
Sheila’s hand moved protectively over her pregnant stomach.
“What is going on?”
Noelle? No—Sheila. Keep consistent.
Abigail stepped closer, her face trembling.
“Summer, honey, maybe we should sit down.”
Summer looked at her mother.
“Where?”
Abigail blinked.
Summer glanced toward her old bedroom filled with baby things.
“My room is taken.”
Lawrence shifted in the armchair.
“Don’t start with drama.”
Summer turned toward him slowly.
For two years, she had imagined her father’s first words.
She thought they might be cruel.
She did not expect them to be lazy.
“Drama?” she asked.
Lawrence rubbed his forehead.
“You made choices.”
Austin flinched.
Summer saw it.
So did Sheila.
Maybe Abigail too.
Summer’s voice stayed calm.
“Did I?”
Lawrence looked irritated.
“You pled guilty.”
“I survived what you all told me to accept.”
Abigail’s eyes filled with tears.
“We thought it was best.”
“For whom?”
No one answered.
The rubbing-alcohol bottle remained in Sheila’s hand.
Summer looked at it.
“Put that down.”
Sheila scoffed.
“You don’t give orders here.”
Summer looked toward Austin.
He still had not moved.
The brother who once hid behind her now hid behind silence.
Sheila lifted the bottle slightly, almost daring her.
Summer pressed play again.
Austin’s recorded voice returned for half a second.
Only half.
Enough for him to whisper, “Don’t tell Mom about the papers—”
Summer stopped it.
Abigail gasped.
Lawrence sat upright.
Sheila’s expression changed from smug to alert.
Austin whispered, “Turn it off.”
Summer’s eyes were cold.
May you like
“No.”
Read Chapter 5 👉 Because the first words from the recording were not enough to reveal the truth, but enough to prove there had been papers no one admitted existed.
