All Chapters of I Got a Call From My Mom Three Years After She Died: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I turned on the light and stared at the unfamiliar number on my screen.Then I tried calling it back.A recorded voice answered.“The number you have dialed is not in service.”The next morning, I went to work with dark circles under my eyes.As I passed Dad’s study, I stopped.Dad had died together in a car accident three years ago.Since then, his study had remained exactly the way he left it.I rarely went inside.There were too many memories in that room.But that morning, I opened the door.The faint smell of dust and old books filled the air.I walked over to the bookcase, running my fingers along the spines until I found Gabriel García Márquez’s 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'.It was a hardcover edition.Dad’s favorite book.I pulled it from the shelf and opened it.A yellowed piece of paper slipped from between the pages and fluttered onto the carpet.I bent down and picked it up.There was only one sentence written on it, in Dad’s handwriting.'Your twenty-

I sat on the couch, staring at the surveillance photos and the empty envelope in my hands.I had never felt so scared or helpless in my life.For a moment, I seriously considered calling the police.But Mom’s warning stopped me.'They have people inside the department too.'If that was true, going to the police might put me in even more danger.In the end, I decided to follow her instructions.So far, at least, every warning she had given me had kept me alive.The next day was Saturday.I put on a baseball cap and a face mask, then took the bus to the flea market on the west side of the city.The place was packed with stalls selling secondhand goods, and the air smelled of dust and old things.I found booth thirty-seven near the back.The vendor was a thin old man polishing an antique radio.“Excuse me,” I said cautiously. “Do you have a red metal box?”He looked up.His cloudy eyes studied me for several seconds.“What kind of red metal box?”“Just... red.”That was

I kept reading.‘First, I owe you an apology.For keeping the truth from you all these years.And for the danger I may have left behind.Your mother and I may not have died in an accident.'My fingers tightened around the letter.'My company was developing proprietary technology that certain people desperately wanted.All of my research data and patent documentation were moved to a secure location. The information you need to find them is included with these documents.I also established a trust in your name. There is enough money in it to ensure you never have to worry about supporting yourself.But be careful.The people who want the technology may come after the money too.Remember this.Trust no one.Including…’The sentence ended there.Everything after the word including had been completely blacked out.I tilted the page toward the light, but there was no way to make out what had originally been written.I turned to the documents underneath.There were legal pap

I stood there gripping my phone, my whole body trembling.So all of this had been Michael Dawson’s scheme.Those calls from “Mom” had been meant to control me and keep tabs on me, making sure I never discovered the truth.And like an idiot, I had walked straight into his trap, one step at a time.But now I knew.I had the video.I had Dad’s documents.I could bring Michael down.At eleven the next morning, instead of going to the abandoned textile factory on the south side, I took all the documents to the FBI office.I needed to find Agent Cole and tell him everything.At the front desk, I asked to see him.The receptionist made a call, then said,“Agent Cole is in a meeting. Please have a seat.”I sat in the waiting area for twenty minutes.The longer I waited, the more uneasy I became.Just as I was about to leave, Agent Cole appeared.“Mr. Carter? What are you doing here?”He looked surprised to see me.“I have important evidence about my parents’ case,” I said qui

Professor Price, my father’s old friend and colleague, explained the whole story to me.Dad had been developing an advanced algorithm capable of detecting and defending against cyberattacks.The technology was incredibly valuable.Michael Dawson had been bought off by foreign interests and tried to steal it.When Dad found out, he refused to cooperate.So Michael arranged the car crash.After Dad died, Mom began receiving threats.Michael used my safety to force her to cooperate.Mom pretended to cooperate, but she had actually been trying to find a way to get information to me.Before she died, she had recorded some samples of her voice.Michael used those recordings against me.Federal counterintelligence eventually noticed something was wrong and began investigating.They also started protecting me, but they had to operate in secret to avoid tipping Michael off.“The trust fund your father left you is real,” Professor Price said at last. “Everything has already been arr