Chapter 6 - The Confession on Tape"Tie them up," Rory commanded, tossing a bundle of heavy-duty zip ties from a nearby tool rack to Veronica.
Within minutes, both Marcus Thorne and Susan Thompson were bound tightly back-to-back against the central steel pillar of the boathouse. Marcus was groaning in pain, pressing a rag against his bleeding thigh, while Susan glared viciously at Veronica, who stood over them with a digital audio recorder salvaged from the desk.
"Check the laptop," Rory instructed Veronica. "Did the upload finish?"
Veronica tapped the screen of the ruggedized laptop Susan had brought down to the boathouse. "Stopped at 98%. The server IP is still live, but local proxy isolation has locked the stream. We have their entire digital footprint—every financial transfer, every communication log between Susan and Marcus, and the audio files of Susan coaching herself on how to terrorize the girls."
Rory knelt down in front of Susan, the cold barrel of his pistol resting casually against her cheek.
"You recorded your voice talking to them through the bear's intercom, didn't you?" Rory asked softly.
Susan turned her face away, refusing to speak.
"Answer me!" Rory roared, slamming his palm against the concrete pillar right beside her ear.
Susan flinched, bursting into hysterical tears. "Yes! Yes, I did! I programmed the unit to broadcast a synthesized low-frequency hum at precisely 2:59 a.m. every night, followed by my voice whispering that monsters were coming for them! I wanted them broken! I wanted them institutionalized!"
Veronica hit 'record' on her phone, capturing every syllable of the confession clearly.
"And my wife's accident?" Rory asked, his voice dropping to a terrifying, dead calm. "Was that you too?"
Susan’s eyes widened in genuine panic. "No! No, that was Marcus! He wanted her out of the way because she discovered his syndicate was skimming from our dock contracts!"
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Marcus hissed from behind the pillar, glaring at Susan. "Shut your mouth, you stupid bitch!"
"Too late, old friend," Rory stood up slowly, looking down at his lifelong rival. "You tried to steal my family, Marcus. And in my world, there is only one penalty for treason."
