PART 5 — THE LAST MESSAGE

Daniel pointed the gun at me.

“Give me the phone.”

I didn’t move.

Rebecca stepped between us.

“Daniel, it’s over.”

He laughed.

“Nothing is over.”

The little boy holding Ethan’s backpack suddenly dropped it.

Something fell from the bag.

A tiny memory card.

Daniel’s face changed.

He recognized it.

“No…”

I picked it up.

“What is this?”

The boy whispered:

“Ethan told me to give it to Grandma.”

Daniel lunged forward.

Rebecca screamed.

I ran into the kitchen and locked the door.

Then I heard a gunshot.

The window shattered.

I dropped to the floor.

Daniel was shouting.

“Give me the card!”

I held it tightly.

Then my phone buzzed.

Another voicemail.

Received Tuesday — 11:53 PM.

I pressed play.

Ethan’s voice filled the room.

“Grandma…”

His voice was weak.

“But if you’re hearing this, I’m probably gone.”

I covered my mouth.

“I know Dad will tell everyone I fell.”

A pause.

“But I recorded him.”

My heart stopped.

Then Ethan whispered:

“Everything.”

I looked at the memory card.

Daniel suddenly stopped shouting.

Because he knew what was on it.

The police arrived minutes later.

They found Daniel outside, trying to escape through the backyard.

They arrested him.

Dr. Bell was arrested the next morning.

And Rebecca confessed everything.

But the story didn’t end there.

Six weeks later, I received a package.

There was no return address.

Inside was Ethan’s old phone.

The police had returned it after copying the evidence.

I turned it on.

One final voicemail appeared.

Received Tuesday — 11:54 PM.

One minute after his last message.

I pressed play.

For several seconds, there was only silence.

Then Ethan whispered:

“Grandma…”

I started crying.

“I knew you would find me.”

I froze.

Then came the words I would never forget.

“I wasn’t the only one Dad hurt.”

The recording ended.

I stared at the screen.

Because underneath the voicemail was a photograph.

It showed Daniel standing beside a woman I’d never seen before.

And written across the photograph in Ethan’s handwriting were four words:

“Find her, Grandma. She’s next.”