Chapter 2: The Name He Left Behind
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.
Sophie pressed play.
It was Daniel.
Sitting in our garage, speaking quietly, like he was afraid someone might hear him.
"If you're watching this…
something has happened to us.
I need you to know the truth."
I couldn't breathe.
He looked directly at the camera and said one name.
Dean.
"My brother has been lying to you for years.
He owes money to people who don't forgive debts.
He came to me two weeks ago and asked me to sign over the lake property.
I said no.
The day before this trip, he called me again.
He was angry.
He said I was making a mistake."
I looked at Sophie.
She had tears running down her face.
Daniel's voice dropped lower.
"I'm recording this just in case.
I love you.
I love all six of you.
If something happens on this trip—"
The video cut off.
I sat there in silence.
Dean.
The man who had sat at my kitchen table for six years.
The man who told me to let go and move on.
The man who helped me with the girls.
My phone buzzed on the counter.
It was a text message.
From Dean.
"Did Sophie find something today?
Call me before you do anything stupid."
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What Daniel recorded on that phone exposed something far darker than a boating accident.
Click the link below to read the full story — and find out what happened when she called Dean back.
