“Sir, you can’t—”
“Turn it off!”
My heart lurched.
I knew that voice.
Owen.
Victoria sounded stunned. “You weren’t invited.”
“I don’t care.”
Harrison stepped in. “He’s grieving. Get him out of here.”
Owen’s voice rose above everyone.
“TURN OFF THAT FURNACE—ETHAN IS ALIVE, AND I HAVE VICTORIA AND VANCE ON TAPE ADMITTING THEY DRUGGED HIM!”
Everything went still.
A deep, total silence.
Then Victoria whispered, “That’s impossible.”
Part Six: What Owen Found
The crematorium employee cut the system immediately.
Harrison tried to take charge.
“This man is unstable,” he said. “Ethan was examined and legally pronounced dead.”
“By you,” Owen shot back. “The same doctor whose voice is on this recording.”
“You don’t know what you heard.”
“I heard you talk about the drug, the falsified heart report, and the plan to destroy Ethan before an autopsy could catch you.”
Victoria’s breathing turned ragged.
“That recording was destroyed.”
Owen’s tone sharpened.
“So you admit there was one?”
Silence.
I heard something small and plastic hit a metal table.
“The cleaning crew hadn’t cleared the rear bins,” Owen said. “I found the broken recorder in a bag outside the mansion. You pulled the main memory card, Harrison, but you forgot Ethan’s recorders back up automatically to a secondary chip.”
Harrison cursed under his breath.
Owen pressed on. “I managed to recover the last conversation from Ethan’s study.”
Victoria tried to slip away.
Owen stopped her.
“The police are outside.”
Harrison said, “This is ridiculous. A damaged recording proves nothing.”
“Then open the coffin.”
“No,” Victoria snapped.
The room went still.
The employee asked, “Why not?”
“Because…” Victoria stumbled. “Because it would be disrespectful.”
Owen moved toward the casket.
“Ethan would rather be disrespected than burned alive.”
The lid was sealed for transport.
Someone fumbled with the latch.
The seconds crawled by.
Finally, the seal gave way.
Cool air brushed my face.
“Ethan?” Owen said.
I tried to move.
Nothing.
Harrison spoke immediately.
“You see? He’s dead.”
Owen leaned in close.
His hand found my wrist.
“Come on, big brother.”
