Daniel listened to the restored recording in Rebecca's office. The audio specialist had recovered portions of an old cassette, although several passages remained distorted by age and damage.
The first voice belonged to Samuel Whitaker.
Daniel recognized his younger voice immediately.
Samuel was asking why trucks purchased by Brooks Transport were being registered under a separate company.
The second speaker responded angrily.
Victor Harlan.
He insisted the transfers were part of a legitimate restructuring arrangement.
Samuel demanded copies of the agreements.
Victor refused.
Then Samuel said something that made Daniel sit forward.
“Robert doesn't know you've changed the terms.”
The recording became distorted.
When the audio cleared, Victor was speaking again.
“If Robert keeps questioning me, he'll lose more than his company.”
The tape ended.
Daniel looked toward Rebecca.
“Does that prove Victor threatened my father?”
“It supports further investigation. We need authentication, context, and the complete financial record.”
Daniel nodded reluctantly.
He wanted the recording to provide one simple answer.
Instead, it opened more questions.
The second cassette contained Robert speaking into a recorder shortly after Samuel disappeared.
His voice sounded exhausted.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Samuel, if you're alive and somehow hear this, I'm sorry I doubted you.”
The room became quiet.
Robert continued.
“I found evidence that the company was being drained. I should have listened when you warned me.”
Daniel felt tears rising.
His father's voice seemed to come from another lifetime.
“I don't know whether I'll ever recover the business. But I won't let Daniel grow up believing that honest people always lose.”
The recording paused.
Then Robert spoke again.
“I've hidden the original agreements. If anything happens to me, I hope someone finds them.”
Daniel covered his mouth.
For years, he'd remembered Robert as a defeated man who stopped fighting.
Now he was discovering that his father had continued preserving evidence long after losing everything.
Rebecca stopped the recording.
“Would you like a break?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Please keep going.”
The final minutes contained Robert describing an unusual account transfer and naming several people who might explain it.
One name stood out.
Charles Bennett.
Daniel frowned.
“Who's Charles Bennett?”
Rebecca checked the old records.
“He was Brooks Transport's outside accountant.”
Daniel remembered him vaguely.
Charles had attended family gatherings and helped Robert prepare tax returns.
He'd died eight years earlier.
Rebecca examined the file further.
Then her expression changed.
“Daniel, Charles had a daughter.”
“What does that matter?”
“Because she's now Victor Harlan's chief financial officer.”
Daniel stared at her.
The financial history he'd believed was buried thirty years ago was connected to someone still working inside Victor's company.
And that person might know where the remaining records had gone.