Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Voicemail
At 8:40 p.m., my work phone rang with an unknown Virginia number.
I hesitated, then swiped to accept the call, putting it immediately on record.
“Mason.”
The voice was deeper than I remembered, raspy from decades of scotch and cigars, but filled with the same icy authority that used to freeze the blood in my veins when I was twelve years old.
Richard Vance.
“You have five minutes to listen to me,” my father said, not even bothering with a greeting. “You made an absolute fool out of that girl today. More importantly, you made a fool out of me and your mother in front of our associates.”
“How did you get this number?” I whispered.
“Nora gave it to me two weeks ago,” he sneered. “She’s a practical girl. She understands blood and respect far better than you ever did. Do you honestly think running away to hide in some rat-hole hotel changes anything?”
“Don’t ever contact me again, Richard,” I said, my knuckles turning white against the plastic casing of the phone. “I have a paper trail. I have the hospital records from when I was seventeen.”
He let out a short, mocking laugh that sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. “Hospital records from nine years ago? An accident on the stairs, Mason. Signed by a doctor who retired seven years ago. You don’t have anything. But let me tell you what I have.”
He paused, letting the silence stretch until I could hear his rhythmic breathing.
“Nora’s father took out a personal guarantee for sixty thousand dollars for that venue and reception. And I hold the commercial loan on his car dealership. If you don’t show up at Nora’s parents’ home by noon tomorrow, apologize on your knees to her and to Eleanor, and sign the public statement we prepared for the press… I will call that loan due on Monday morning. Nora’s family will be bankrupt by Friday, and I will personally see to it that your license as an architect is revoked for breach of contract on the state development projects.”
“You can’t do that,” I said.
“Try me, boy. Noon tomorrow. Or you’ll find out just how far my reach extends.”
May you like
The line went dead.
***