Officer Silva placed the memory card into an evidence laptop.

An audio file appeared with a date from two weeks before the trip.

Richard’s voice filled the room.

“Once Eleanor is gone, Julian takes the company.

You receive your money, Martin receives his position, and Kane confirms the decline.”

Julian answered, “And Celeste?”

“If she behaves, she remains your wife.

If she talks, she becomes responsible.”

I covered my mouth.

Mateus pulled a chair beside me and waited until I sat.

“There is more,” Officer Silva said.

Celeste’s voice came through next.

“What are you two planning?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” Julian replied.

“You said Eleanor wouldn’t come back from the river.”

“Lower your voice.”

“She is your mother.”

Richard spoke then.

“Family sentiment is a luxury for people without debts.”

The recording ended.

I stared at the blank screen.

“Play it again.”

Mateus touched my shoulder.

“You do not have to hear it twice.”

“Yes, I do.

A mother can spend years inventing excuses for her child.

I need to hear the truth without changing it.”

The door opened, and Celeste stumbled inside with Ana behind her.

Her cheek was red, and the sleeve of her blouse had been torn.

“Julian took my phone,” she said.

“Ana got me out through the kitchen.”

Ana set a heavy ring of keys on the table.

“Mr.

Julian never noticed who cleaned the office.”

Celeste dropped to her knees beside my chair.

“I should have warned you before the boat.”

“Yes,” I said.

“You should have.”

“I was afraid.”

“So was I when the water closed over my head.”

She began crying.

“I kept telling myself Julian was only talking.

Then he pushed you, and I did nothing.”

Her words opened something inside me.

My shoulders shook, and I pressed both hands over my face.

Mateus crouched beside us.

“Mrs.

Thorne, look at me.

You are not back in that river.”

Celeste took my hand.

I nearly pulled away, but her fingers were trembling harder than mine.

“Why did you make the recording?” I asked.

“Because Richard told Julian that one person would have to carry all the blame.”

“Who?”

“Julian.”

I looked at her.

“Richard planned to take your voting shares through Julian,” she continued.

“Then Martin would expose Julian’s debts and remove him.

Richard would step in as chairman.”

“My husband intended to sacrifice our son after using him.”

Celeste nodded.

“Julian thinks Richard is saving him.”

Officer Silva replayed the last ten seconds at a higher volume.

Beneath the scrape of a chair, Richard’s voice could be heard.

“If anything fails, the boy goes down alone.”

A shadow crossed the frosted glass in the door.

Officer Silva opened it, but the hallway was empty.

The evidence laptop suddenly went black.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Remote access,” the officer said.

“Someone wiped the file.”

Celeste grabbed the memory card.

“No.

That was the only copy.”

Richard’s voice came from the hall.

“Then you have nothing.”

He stood between two local attorneys, smiling again.

“I am leaving for the airport,” he said.

“Martin obtained an emergency court order releasing me.”

“You planned to destroy your own son,” I said.

Richard shrugged.

“Julian made his choices.”

“And Celeste?”

“A frightened woman who created a false recording to protect herself.”

Celeste stepped toward him.

“I heard you.”

“No one important will believe you.”

Mateus removed his watch and set it on the table.

“I will,” he said.

Richard laughed.

“A guide?”

Mateus tapped the screen.

“A guide whose watch automatically copied the radio transmission while Celeste spoke to Eleanor.

It also recorded you outside the cabin.”

Richard stopped smiling.

Mateus pressed play.

“Come home, Eleanor,” Richard’s voice said clearly.

“Before you embarrass yourself any further.”

Then came a quieter sentence, spoken while he had believed the radio was off.

“If she reaches the board, Martin must finish it tonight.”

Officer Silva reached for Richard, but one attorney held up the release order.

“You cannot detain my client without a new warrant.”

Richard backed toward the exit.

“You still need someone in New York to admit what happened,” he said.

“And Martin will never choose you over himself.”

My recovered phone rang.

It was Martin Vale.

“I will testify,” he whispered, “but only if you protect me from Richard.”