THE LAST VOICE NOTE SHE NEVER OPENED — PART TWO

“Lina, if Mum is with you right now, please leave the house.” The voice note ended. Lina didn't move. For a few seconds, she simply stared at her phone as though the message might change if she looked at it long enough. Her mother was still sitting across from her. “Who was that?” she asked. Lina looked up slowly. “Becky.” Her mother's face lost its colour. Lina noticed. “You knew.” “I don't know what you're talking about.” “You knew Becky was afraid.” Her mother looked away. “You knew someone was following her.” “I told you I thought she was imagining things.” “And Dad?” Her mother went completely silent. Lina's voice became quieter. “What did Becky find out about Dad?” Her mother covered her face with both hands. “Please, Lina.” “No.” She had spent the entire night being confused. She had cried until her head hurt. She had replayed the last voice note until she could hear Becky's frightened breathing even when the phone wasn't playing. She was done being confused. “You told us Dad died when we were children.” “He did.” “Then why did Becky tell me to ask you about him?” Her mother didn't answer. “Why did she tell me to leave the house if you were with me?” Still nothing. Lina stood up. “I am not leaving until you tell me the truth.” Her mother finally looked at her. There were tears in her eyes. “Your father didn't die in an accident.” Lina felt something inside her drop. “What?” “He was killed.” The room suddenly felt too small. “By who?” Her mother shook her head. “I don't know.” “You're lying.” “I am not.” “Then how did he die?” Her mother looked down at her hands. “Your father had been working on something. Something he shouldn't have been involved in.” “What was it?” “I don't know.” “Then why was he killed?” Her mother began crying. “Because he knew something.” Lina thought about Becky. The photograph. The voice note. The warning. “That's what Becky found out, isn't it?” Her mother didn't answer. Lina picked up the photograph from the table. “Where did Becky get this?” “I don't know.” “Stop saying you don't know!” Her voice broke. “My sister is dead, Mum. If you knew something, you should have told me.” Her mother stood up. “I was trying to protect you.” “From what?” “From the same people who took your father.” Lina froze. Before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Both women turned. Three slow knocks. Lina's stomach tightened. She remembered the voice note. The same sound Becky had heard before she stopped recording. Knock. Knock. Knock. Her mother grabbed Lina's wrist. “Don't open it.” They stood there in silence. The knocking came again. This time, there was a voice. “Ma'am?” Lina looked at her mother. It was a man's voice. “Who is that?” Lina whispered. Her mother shook her head. “I don't know.” The man knocked again. “Ma'am, I need to speak with you.” Lina's phone vibrated. She nearly screamed. She looked down. Another message. Not a voice note this time. A text. From Becky's number. Don't let him in. Lina's heart stopped. She showed her mother. Her mother stepped backwards. “No.” Another message arrived. Lina, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before. Lina's hands began shaking. Then another message appeared. I didn't die because of the accident. Lina stared at the screen. Her mother started crying. “Lina…” She looked at her. “What did you do?” “I didn't do anything.” “Then why is Becky texting me from a dead person's phone?” Her mother couldn't answer. The knocking suddenly stopped. Lina waited. Nothing. Then they heard footsteps moving away from the house. Her mother rushed to the window. She looked outside and immediately stepped back. “What?” She didn't answer. Lina went to the window. There was a car parked across the road. Black. The same car Becky had described. Lina remembered the voice note. “I've noticed the same car twice this week.” The car started moving. Lina watched it disappear around the corner. Then her mother whispered something. “Your sister knew.” “Knew what?” “That they would come back.” “Who?” Her mother looked at Lina with a sadness that frightened her. “Your father wasn't the only person who knew the truth.” Lina's phone vibrated again. Another message. This time, it was a photograph. Lina opened it. Her hands went cold. It was a picture of Becky. Alive. She was sitting in a room Lina had never seen before. Her face looked tired. Her hair was messy. There was a bruise on her cheek. And beside her was a man whose face had been deliberately covered. Lina zoomed in. Then she noticed the date on the photograph. It had been taken three days after Becky's supposed death. She looked at her mother. “Mum…” Her mother stared at the screen. She didn't look surprised. She looked terrified. Lina stepped backwards. “You knew she was alive.” Her mother began shaking her head. “No.” “You knew.” “I didn't know where she was.” Lina's eyes filled with tears. “She's alive?” Her mother covered her mouth. “I thought she was dead.” Lina couldn't breathe. All the grief she had carried since that morning suddenly collided with something else. Hope. Terrifying, impossible hope. She looked at the photograph again. Then she noticed something in the corner of the room. A small table. On it was a framed photograph. Lina zoomed in. It was a picture of her father. The man they had buried years ago. The man their mother had said was dead. The man Becky had spent weeks investigating. And beneath the photograph was a piece of paper. Three words were written across it. HE IS ALIVE. Lina dropped the phone. Her mother started crying. “No,” she whispered. Lina looked at her. “Who is alive?” Her mother didn't answer. Then Lina heard something behind her. A soft sound. Like someone trying to open the back door. She turned. The door handle was moving. Someone was outside. And then a man's voice came through the door. “Lina?” She knew that voice. She had not heard it in twenty years. But she knew it. Her mother collapsed into the chair. Lina couldn't move. The voice came again. “Lina, it's Dad.” And somewhere inside the house, Becky's phone began ringing.

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