A deafening silence filled the office as Anna and Daniel stared at the phone lying on the desk between them.
The air felt heavy.
"Should I play it?" Anna asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Daniel’s gaze remained fixed on the device. "Didn’t Shawn confirm the file was safe?"
She nodded. When she had received the file from an unknown number, she had imdiately contacted Shawn. Within minutes, he had traced it, scanned it, and assured her there was nothing malicious attached to it.
"It’s clean," he had said confidently.
Daniel finally looked at her. "Then play it."
Anna swallowed. For soone who had faced danger before, her fingers were trembling far too much. She pressed the play button.
A faint static sound crackled through the speaker.
Then a voice.
"I—Is that mom?" Anna whispered, her breath catching as she recognized it instantly.
Daniel didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. The look in his eyes confird what she already knew.
It was Roseline.
Anna’s heart pounded painfully in her chest as the recording continued. There was another voice in the background. Male. Calm. Calculated.
Collin.
"Now that Anna has finally given my words so thought, it won’t take long for her to fall into our trap," Roseline’s voice echoed clearly through the office.
Anna felt the ground shift beneath her.
"That’s good," Collin replied smoothly. "But don’t be too reckless. She might have agreed to listen to you, but be careful."
The recording continued for another minute, but those few sentences were enough. Every word struck like a blade.
Anna had always known sothing was wrong. She had sensed manipulation. But hearing her own mother speak about trapping her felt like betrayal in its purest form.
Her chest tightened.
The recording ended.
Silence swallowed the room once more.
Anna stared blankly at the phone, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard. There were no conflicting emotions anymore. No confusion.
Only confirmation.
"She’s doing exactly what we suspected," Anna said quietly, though her voice trembled slightly.
Daniel stepped closer to her. "Are you okay?"
She didn’t answer that. Instead, her thoughts shifted to sothing else.
"Soone is secretly recording their conversations," she said, looking up at him.
Daniel frowned slightly. "That’s not my n. I ordered them to watch Collin’s movents without getting caught. No interference."
"I know," Anna replied quickly. She had never doubted him. Daniel had always been transparent with her when it ca to Roseline and Collin.
But that only deepened the mystery.
"There’s soone else," she murmured. "Soone watching them too."
Daniel’s expression darkened thoughtfully. "And that soone might be trying to help you."
The possibility hung in the air between them.
It was too soon to draw conclusions. The file had been sent anonymously. No ssage. No explanation. Just the recording.
Yet the intention felt clear.
"This could be a trap as well," Daniel added cautiously.
Anna nodded slowly. "Maybe."
But deep down, she couldn’t ignore the timing. The clarity of the audio. The deliberate exposure.
Whoever sent it wanted her to know the truth.
The tension in the room thickened as realization settled between them.
They were not the only ones playing this ga.
And sowhere in the shadows, another player had just made their move.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted the heavy silence in the room.
Both Anna and Daniel turned at the sa ti.
Henry stepped inside carefully, holding a lunch bag in his hands. "Boss, your lunc—" His voice abruptly died the mont his eyes landed on Anna.
For a split second, his expression froze.
The morning voice note replayed vividly in his mind.
"Husband, let’s go on four..."
Henry almost physically flinched.
Anna tilted her head, watching him curiously. "Hello, Henry."
"Ma’am," he replied stiffly, offering a polite smile that looked slightly painful.
"Keep it here," Daniel said calmly, gesturing toward the table.
Henry obeyed imdiately. He placed the lunch neatly on the desk as if handling fragile evidence, not food. He gave Anna another awkward nod, then turned and walked out at a speed that could only be described as controlled panic.
The door closed.
Anna blinked. "That was strange."
Daniel remained perfectly composed. "Was it?"
"Yes," she said, crossing her arms. "How co he didn’t eat my brain the mont he saw ? Usually he has at least one sarcastic comnt ready."
Daniel cleared his throat. "That’s because he lost it sowhere."
"Uh?" Anna narrowed her eyes. "Lost what?"
"His brain," Daniel replied smoothly.
She studied him suspiciously. "You’re hiding sothing."
"Am I?" he asked innocently while opening the lunch bag.
Anna stepped closer. "Why did he look like he saw a ghost?"
Daniel calmly pulled out the containers. "Maybe he skipped breakfast."
Anna leaned forward, trying to read his face. "Daniel."
"Yes?"
"Why do I feel like this has sothing to do with ?"
He paused for half a second. A dangerous half second.
If he told her about the speaker incident from the morning, she would never let him live it down. She would absolutely carve his grave inside his own office under the title "My Loving Husband’s Public Humiliation."
And he was far too young to die.
Especially not at the hands of his own wife.
"It has nothing to do with you," he said confidently.
Anna squinted. "That was too fast."
He ignored her and handed her a fork. "Eat."
She didn’t take it imdiately. "Did sothing happen this morning?"
"No."
"You hesitated."
"I blinked."
"That’s suspicious."
Daniel finally looked at her, maintaining his calm expression with impressive effort. "Anna, if sothing had happened, I would have told you."
That part, at least, was true in spirit. Just not in detail.
She stared at him for another long mont before finally accepting the fork. "Fine. But if I find out you’re hiding sothing, I will not spare you."
He gave her a polite smile. "Noted."
As she began opening the containers, Daniel silently prayed that Henry would maintain his so-called selective hearing forever.
Because if Anna ever discovered what had echoed through this office that morning, lunch would be the least of his problems.
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