Chapter 11 - The Voice That Came Back from the Dead|
Three days after the hotel fire, Emma received a phone call that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
It came from Agent Ruiz.
"Emma, we've recovered something from Nicholas's storage device."
Emma sat down.
"What?"
"A recording."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"What kind of recording?"
"A personal message."
Emma looked toward Lily's bedroom.
Her daughter was singing softly while dressing a stuffed rabbit in a doll's sweater.
"Is it his voice?"
Ruiz hesitated.
"We believe so."
Emma pressed her hand against her chest.
"Can I hear it?"
"Yes."
The following afternoon, Emma arrived at the federal office with Lydia Park.
Dominic was already there.
He stood when Emma entered.
For a moment, they looked at each other without speaking.
Neither knew what they were about to hear.
Ruiz explained that the recording had been found among the files preserved in Nicholas's storage case.
Investigators were working to establish its authenticity and determine whether the original file had been altered.
The recording appeared to have been made shortly before Nicholas disappeared.
Emma listened carefully.
Then Ruiz pressed play.
A faint rustling sound filled the room.
Someone adjusted the recording device.
And then a voice spoke.
"Emma, sweetheart, if you're hearing this, I guess I didn't make it home."
Emma immediately covered her mouth.
It was Nicholas.
Not the version of him she had replayed in her imagination for seven years.
His real voice.
Warm.
A little nervous.
Exactly as she remembered.
"I don't know how much time I have, so I'm going to say what matters."
A pause followed.
"I love you."
Emma began crying.
"I love you more than I ever knew it was possible to love another person."
Dominic lowered his head.
Nicholas continued.
"And I love our baby, even though I haven't met our little one yet."
The recording crackled.
"I used to think I had to become rich to give you a good life."
He gave a small, humorless laugh.
"Then I met you and learned that a good life has almost nothing to do with money."
Emma pressed a tissue against her eyes.
"I wanted a little house with a blue door."
"I wanted to make you breakfast on Sundays."
"I wanted to be the embarrassing dad who took too many pictures at school plays."
Dominic's hands tightened.
His brother had dreamed about everything their family considered insignificant.
Ordinary mornings.
Simple meals.
A child growing up without fear.
And those ordinary things had been stolen from him.
Nicholas's voice became more serious.
"I found evidence about Hawthorne Court."
"The fire wasn't an accident."
"Someone arranged for people to be frightened out of their homes, and when that didn't happen, the situation turned deadly."
"I have records showing money moved through family companies."
"I've made copies."
"I've also spoken to someone who worked on the original inspection."
Emma thought about Owen Bell.
Nicholas continued.
"If anything happens to me, the evidence is hidden somewhere Enzo won't think to look."
Another pause.
"Dom, if this ever reaches you, I need you to listen."
Dominic slowly raised his head.
His brother's voice filled the silent room.
"You always told me family came first."
"I believed that too."
"But family doesn't mean protecting people who hurt innocent strangers."
"It means doing something when you know they're wrong."
Dominic closed his eyes.
Nicholas spoke more softly.
"I hope someday you'll understand."
The recording became quiet.
For several seconds, Emma thought it had ended.
Then Nicholas spoke one final time.
"And to my baby, whoever you grow up to be, please remember something."
His voice broke.
"You were wanted."
"You were loved before you were born."
"And if I don't get to meet you, it won't be because I chose to leave."
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Emma stared at the silent speaker.
She had spent seven years imagining what she would say if Nicholas ever returned.
She had practiced angry speeches while washing dishes.
She had imagined asking him why she wasn't worth staying for.
Now she understood that the question had never belonged to her.
He hadn't abandoned her because she was inadequate.
He had been trying to protect a future someone else considered disposable.
Dominic pushed his chair back.
"Excuse me."
He walked into the hallway.
Emma followed a minute later.
She found him leaning against the wall, struggling to control his breathing.
"Dominic?"
He looked up.
"He believed in me."
Emma nodded.
"Yes."
"Even after everything."
"Yes."
Dominic shook his head.
"I let them call him a thief."
"You didn't know the truth."
"I could have looked."
Emma didn't disagree.
He wiped his face.
"I had money, influence, connections."
His voice trembled.
"And he had a pregnant girlfriend working in a bookstore."
Emma stepped closer.
"You cannot change what happened."
"I know."
"But you can decide what kind of man Lily grows up knowing."
Dominic looked at her.
Emma continued.
"She doesn't need a powerful uncle."
"She needs an honest one."
He nodded slowly.
"I want to be that."
"Then keep choosing it."
When Emma returned home, Lily was waiting with a picture of three birds.
One bird was bigger than the others.
"That's you," Lily explained.
She pointed to the second bird.
"That's me."
Emma smiled.
"And who's the third?"
"Daddy."
Emma knelt beside her.
"Lily, sweetheart, Mommy learned something important about Daddy."
Her daughter looked up.
"Is he coming home?"
Emma felt her heart break.
"We still don't know everything that happened to him."
Lily's smile faded.
"But we know he loved us very much."
"Really?"
"Really."
Emma kissed her forehead.
"He made a message for us."
"Can I hear it?"
"Yes, when you're ready."
Lily studied her mother's face.
"Are you sad?"
"Yes."
"Because you miss him?"
Emma nodded.
"Very much."
Lily wrapped her little arms around Emma's neck.
"Then we can miss him together."
For the first time in seven years, Emma's grief no longer felt like something she had to hide.
That evening, Agent Ruiz received another unexpected message.
It came through an attorney representing Dario Quinn.
Dominic's missing security chief wanted to cooperate.
He claimed he knew where Enzo had taken Nicholas on the night he disappeared.
But he demanded protection for his wife and young son before speaking.
Ruiz immediately began arranging a lawful surrender and interview.
And when Dario finally told investigators what had happened seven years earlier, even the experienced agent was shaken.
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Because Nicholas Salvatore hadn't died while running away.
He had died trying to come home.
