The silence that followed Stephanie's trembling words was deafening.
"Tell me what happened that night, Mum. All of it. No more secrets."
Elizabeth Quinn's hands, folded in her lap, were trembling. She sat on the old floral-patterned hospital couch, framed by the dim glow of the single lamp in the corner. Shadows danced across her face, deepening the weariness etched into every line. Her eyes moved from Stephanie to Leo, then to Anita, who stood near the doorway, watching quietly. Stephanie's face was pale, her expression hardened with hurt and anticipation, while Leo looked like his very soul had been ripped open—too shocked to speak, too broken to process.
Elizabeth took a slow breath, her voice brittle but steady.
"Elena was just fourteen when it all began… and she was sick. You remember, don't you?" Her eyes found Leo and Stephanie. "She was always the strongest, but that year, she just… started to fade. She was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. The doctors said the condition was worsening fast, and if we didn't do surgery soon, we could lose her."
Stephanie's face softened slightly at the memory. She had been eight then, and Leo just six.
"We tried everything," Elizabeth continued. "Your father and I scraped every cent, sold furniture, borrowed from neighbors, begged from extended family. But the cost…" Her voice caught. "It was a private procedure—complex, delicate. The doctors said it would cost a fortune. And we didn't have even half."
She paused, reaching for the glass of water beside her. Her hand shook as she lifted it to her lips, then placed it down with a soft clink.
"That was when your father started to change."
Stephanie's brow furrowed. "Change how?"
"I didn't know what it was at first. He became distant. Secretive. He stayed out late, left the house early. I thought…" She looked down, ashamed. "I thought he was having an affair. I thought he had found someone else. I was angry, but I never imagined that the truth was something so much darker."
Anita took a cautious step forward, eyes wide. "You thought he was cheating, but he was hiding something worse?"
Elizabeth nodded, eyes misting. "It wasn't another woman. It was a deal he'd made. A deal with the devil."
"Victor Voss," Leo murmured, still stunned.
"Yes," Elizabeth whispered. "He approached your father. Promised him the money we needed—for Elena's treatment. But the money wasn't a gift. It was a payment. Blood money."
Stephanie clenched her fists, her eyes glinting with disbelief. "You're saying Dad… killed Nathan's parents for money?"
"Yes." Elizabeth's voice broke. "He was told to eliminate a couple and their child. They were supposed to die in a car crash—make it look like an accident. Victor's orders. He didn't say why, only that it had to be done and that no witnesses could be left behind. Victor offered him enough money to save Elena and still have enough left to lift our family out of poverty. And your father… he took it."
Stephanie shook her head, backing away. "No. No, no, that can't be true. You're lying."
"I wish I was," Elizabeth whispered, but her voice didn't waver.
The room seemed to exhale and freeze at once.
"Nathan was the little boy in the backseat," she continued. "The one who survived."
Stephanie's legs buckled, and she dropped into the nearest chair, her eyes wild with horror. "No… no, Mum… I thought
Dad saved Nathan. That night, you said…"
"He did," Elizabeth said gently. "But only after he caused the crash."
Anita covered her mouth with both hands. "Oh my God…"
"Elena and I saw it happen," Elizabeth confessed. "You were asleep in the car,Steph. You didn't see anything. Leo, you were home with the neighbor. But that afternoon, I had taken Elena to the hospital for her injection. You insisted on coming with us Steph. And on our way back, in the taxi… we saw your father drive past. I thought it was odd. He didn't see us, but I told the taxi driver to follow him from a distance. I was curious. Suspicious. Angry."
Her eyes glistened now, her voice heavy with the weight of memory.
"We followed him to an old road off the highway. He pulled over, got out of his car, and changed his clothes. He had a truck parked nearby. I didn't understand what was happening. I thought—God forgive me—I thought he was meeting his mistress in secret. But he got into the truck and drove off. The taxi followed again, and that's when we saw it. He rammed into a silver Mercedes. He made sure it hit the side ditch and rolled. Then, when the car burst into flames… he got out."
The room was dead silent.
"He walked toward the wreckage. He opened the car door, looked inside, and saw the child still breathing. Nathan. He dragged him out and laid him on the sidewalk. And just then… police sirens. He ran back into the truck and disappeared."
"No," Stephanie whispered, tears brimming. "No, he… he wouldn't…"
"He did," Elizabeth whispered, her voice cracking. "When we got home, I confronted him. I screamed. I was so confused, so angry. I asked him how he could do something so monstrous. And he told me…"
Her gaze dropped.
"He said he did it for us. For Elena. That the ends justified the means. He was calm. He said if Nathan lived, he wouldn't feel so guilty."
Elizabeth's voice caught again as a sob slipped from her chest.
"I told him I would never let him use that money to treat my daughter. That we would find another way, no matter what. And he lost it. He shouted. He said I didn't understand the burden on his shoulders. That he had done what no one else would dare to do."
Leo looked up, his voice trembling. "And that night… you left?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "I packed our things. I wanted to take you all. But you and Stephanie refused to come. You clung to your father. Elena was the only one who chose to leave with me."
Stephanie wiped her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. "I was eight. I didn't understand."
"I know," Elizabeth said, voice soft. "I didn't blame you. I blamed him. And two weeks later… he was dead."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Even the clock on the wall seemed to stop ticking.
"I received a message the night before," Elizabeth continued. "He sounded terrified. He said the taxi driver—the one who witnessed everything—had died under mysterious circumstances. He told me he was going to the police. He was ready to confess."
Her voice was almost a whisper now.
"But he never made it. He died the next morning. Victor killed him. I'm sure of it."
Elizabeth reached into her bag and pulled out a small, black flash drive. She held it tightly in her palm.
"Your father sent me this before he died. It contains everything. Recordings. Bank transfers. Conversations with Victor. Proof of the deal."
Anita stared at it, stunned. "Why haven't you given this to the police?"
"Because Victor's reach is long," Elizabeth whispered. "He has people everywhere. If I had gone to the police, Elena and I wouldn't have made it out alive. I ran. I took Elena and ran as far as I could. We changed our names. We hid for years."
Stephanie had fallen silent, her whole body trembling, her breath uneven. Leo sat frozen, his face pale and slack.
Anita knelt beside Stephanie, gently squeezing her hand. "Steph… say something."
Stephanie looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, her lips quivering.
"What… what did you do, Mum? After all of that… what did you do?"
Elizabeth looked at her daughter, her expression carved in sorrow and guilt.
"I survived, Stephanie," she whispered. "For you. For Leo. For Elena. I did what I had to do to protect what was left of our family."
Stephanie stood up slowly, her legs barely able to hold her weight. Her voice was fragile, as though every word came at a cost.
"Why didn't you come back for us?"
"I tried," Elizabeth said, her voice thick. "Your grandmother chased me away. She threatened to take Elena, too. She said she'd make sure you never saw me again if I came close."
Stephanie collapsed into her mother's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
Elizabeth held her daughter tightly. "Then start by believing me now."
Stephanie pulled away, wiping her tears as she looked into her mother's eyes.
"Play the recordings."
Elizabeth nodded solemnly and reached for the flash drive.
And just like that, the truth was no longer just words. It was about to be heard.
———
Elizabeth's fingers trembled as she handed the flash drive to Stephanie. The plastic felt unnaturally cold in her palm—like it knew the weight it carried.
"Thankfully, I brought my laptop," Stephanie murmured, voice tight as she pulled the slim device from her bag and set it on the small table. Her hands moved with mechanical precision, as though detaching from the chaos in her chest.
No one spoke as the laptop booted up. The soft hum of the fan filled the silence, eerily loud in the stillness of the room.
Stephanie inserted the flash drive, clicked through a few folders, and opened the first audio file labeled: "VV_Contract_Meeting".
Then came the voice—crisp, cold, unmistakably calculating.
"It must look like an accident, Michael. No mess, no mistakes. The child dies with them. There can't be any witnesses. Understand?"
Victor Voss.
The room seemed to contract with the sound of his voice. Anita gasped, hand flying to her chest. Leo went rigid, eyes wide and unblinking.
"And you're sure this will be enough to cover her surgery?"
"More than enough. You'll walk away with enough to buy your way out of poverty. Just make sure they don't."
Stephanie's breath caught in her throat. The clicking of her mouse paused. A sick sound echoed next—a dry chuckle from Victor.
"Ironic, isn't it? Killing to save a life."
She clicked on the second file. A phone recording this time—her father's voice, low and hoarse, laced with regret.
"I don't know how to live with it. I see that boy's face every time I close my eyes."
"That's not my problem, Michael. You did the job. We're done."
"What if someone finds out?"
"Then you'll die. Just like they did."
The final audio file opened automatically—a backup recording from a burner phone. This one was shorter.
"I kept a copy of everything, just in case. If something happens to me, it's Victor. He'll never let me walk away. I only wanted to save my daughter."
A chime sounded. Stephanie opened the folder marked "Transactions"—a trail of deposits, each labeled under shell companies, funneled into a hidden account in her father's name. The amounts were staggering. The dates lined up—days before and after the crash.
Anita's knees gave out, and she sank onto the edge of the bed. "My God… it's all true."
Leo was pale, lips slightly parted, his gaze flicking between the screen and the audio player. "Dad… what did you do…"
Stephanie's face was unreadable now—shock had shifted into something else entirely. Numbness. She stared at the laptop like it had burned her.
Then, without a word, she stood.
"Steph—" Anita reached out.
"I need some air," Stephanie said sharply, her voice trembling with restraint. "Just… give me a moment."
She stormed toward the door.
Leo started to rise. "Steph—"
But she was already gone.
Out in the corridor, the two VossTech security guards standing by the door instinctively stepped forward to follow.
Stephanie turned on them like a storm.
"Don't," she snapped. "I swear, if either of you takes another step, I'll make sure Nathan Voss buries your careers so deep you'll be working mall security in Siberia."
The guards froze.
Her eyes were glassy, but the fire behind them was undeniable. One of them took a cautious step back. The other glanced away.
Satisfied, Stephanie turned and walked off down the hallway, each step echoing with the weight of a truth that had shattered everything she thought she knew.