PART 2
Richard stood motionless in the aisle.
No one was looking at him with sympathy anymore.
Every pair of eyes in the church was fixed on the smartwatch in Lily’s hand.
I looked at my daughter. Her small face was covered in tears, but her eyes were filled with determination.
“There’s more,” Lily said softly.
Richard immediately turned toward her.
“There’s nothing else to hear.”
His voice was louder than before.
Lily shook her head.
“There is.”
She looked at me.
“Dad said Mom had to play the next recording if everyone didn’t believe him.”
My heart tightened.
I had never known Marcus had left so many recordings.
I stepped toward my daughter.
“Lily, give it to Mom.”
She handed me the watch.
The screen displayed a small list.
RECORDING 01. RECORDING 02. RECORDING 03.
I stared at the words.
Marcus had prepared everything.
Not just in the final hours of his life.
Days earlier.
Richard stepped closer to me.
“Claire, this is my brother’s funeral. Don’t turn this place into a circus.”
I looked directly at him.
“Are you afraid?”
Richard froze.
“What did you say?”
“I asked if you’re afraid.”
His face reddened.
“You’re grieving, so I’m not going to—”
“No.”
I cut him off.
“For six days, I stayed silent and let you say whatever you wanted.”
I looked toward Marcus’s coffin.
“But today, I think it’s time my husband was allowed to speak.”
No one objected.
I pressed the second recording.
A burst of static filled the church.
Then Marcus’s voice came through.
This time, he sounded more exhausted.
“May 8th. I’ve started recording everything.”
The entire room fell silent.
“Richard thinks I haven’t discovered anything.”
There was a pause.
“But I have.”
Richard took a step backward.
Marcus continued.
“About three months ago, I received a financial report from the accounting department. There was a transfer of two hundred thousand dollars.”
Several people in the church exchanged shocked looks.
“The payment was listed as a company investment. But there was no contract. No board approval. And the final recipient…”
Marcus paused.
“…was a shell company.”
I felt my hands go cold.
“I traced the company.”
A sharp breath came from somewhere behind me.
“And I discovered that it belonged to Richard.”
Richard immediately lowered his head.
Marcus’s mother began to cry.
“No…”
Richard turned toward her.
“Mom, you know I would never do that.”
But she didn’t answer.
The recording continued.
“After I discovered it, I confronted Richard.”
Marcus gave a quiet laugh in the recording.
“He told me it was a misunderstanding.”
Another pause.
“But I knew he was lying.”
I closed my eyes.
I remembered the final months of Marcus’s life.
The nights he came home late.
The phone calls he refused to discuss in front of me.
The times he stayed alone in his office until nearly dawn.
I had asked him what was wrong.
He had simply hugged me and said:
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
Now I finally understood.
He had known.
But he didn’t want me to be afraid.
Suddenly, Richard shouted:
“That’s enough!”
He lunged toward me.
But two of Marcus’s colleagues immediately stepped in front of me.
“Don’t touch her.”
Richard clenched his jaw.
“You people don’t understand anything!”
One of them answered:
“We’re starting to.”
I continued listening.
Marcus spoke again.
“Claire, if you’re hearing this, I’m sorry.”
I could no longer hold back my tears.
“I’m sorry I kept this from you.”
I covered my mouth.
“I thought I could handle it myself.”
My tears fell freely now.
“But there’s something you need to know.”
Everyone became completely silent.
“It wasn’t just Richard.”
A long pause followed.
“There’s someone in the family who helped him.”
I looked at Patricia.
She was standing completely still.
Marcus continued:
“That person had access to my personal accounts.”
Patricia began to tremble.
“She knew my schedule.”
Patricia looked at Richard.
“And she knew exactly what I was investigating.”
I stared at both of them.
A cold feeling ran down my spine.
Marcus spoke his final words in that recording:
“That person is Mom.”
Patricia broke down.
“Marcus…”
But her son’s voice was already gone.
Only the static from the watch remained.
Lily looked at her grandmother.
“Grandma…”
Patricia collapsed into a chair.
“I never wanted things to become like this.”
I turned toward her.
“Then how did you want them to become?”
She said nothing.
Richard suddenly spoke.
“She was forced.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Richard swallowed hard.
“Mom only did what I told her to do.”
A wave of whispers spread through the church.
Patricia stared at her son in disbelief.
“Richard…”
He refused to look at her.
“I’ll fix this.”
I gave a bitter laugh.
“You still think you can fix this?”
Richard looked at me.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand.”
I held up the smartwatch.
“Marcus prepared evidence.”
Richard fell silent.
I pressed the third recording.
This time, Marcus’s voice sounded completely different.
There was no exhaustion.
No hesitation.
He sounded calm.
Almost frighteningly calm.
“May 10th. I’ve sent all the documents to a third party.”
Richard’s face went pale.
Marcus continued:
“If something happens to me, that person will send everything to the police.”
A man at the back of the church suddenly stood up.
I hadn’t noticed him before.
He was wearing a gray suit and hadn’t spoken a single word during the funeral.
He walked toward us.
“Claire.”
I looked at him.
“Who are you?”
He pulled a thick envelope from his briefcase.
“David Miller. Marcus’s personal attorney.”
Richard immediately stepped backward.
David placed the envelope on the table in front of me.
“Your husband asked me to keep this.”
He looked directly at Richard.
“And he instructed me to open it only after the funeral.”
Richard began to tremble.
I stared at the envelope.
On the front was a single handwritten sentence.
CLAIRE — DON’T TRUST ANYONE.
I reached out and touched my name.
And at that exact moment, David’s phone rang.
He answered.
Only a few seconds passed before his expression changed.
“The police have received the files.”
Richard stood completely still.
David ended the call.
“And they’re on their way here.”
No one spoke.
Outside the church, a siren sounded.
Then footsteps grew louder.
Richard looked at me.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
But I didn’t know yet that the police weren’t coming only for Richard.
They were also bringing another name.
A name Marcus had hidden in his final recording.
And when that name was finally spoken…
I would realize that the person who betrayed my husband wasn’t only inside his family.
He had been much closer to me all along.
