Page 109 of Betraying Family Vows
"The man you're looking for, the one who caused all this shit that got me killed, he goes by 'S.' His number is in this phone."
Theo's gaze lifts to Dimitri, but neither of them speaks.
"He'll never stop. Not until the entire Kastaris family is buried."
The voice cracks, and muffled sounds are heard.
I press a hand to my chest, as if that might ease the crushing tightness there.
"Fuck. They're gaining access to the hidden?—"
The recording cuts off.
For a moment, no one does anything. We just sit there.
Theo is the first to move. He rubs a hand over his face, exhaling hard.
Dimitri looks at him. "Do you think he recorded that in the room right before we found him?"
Theo nods his head. "Sounds like it."
It's weird to think my father knew he was going to die. He knew who was after him, and he tried to leave a message.
For me? For whoever found his phone? I'll never know.
"So we have a number for S on this phone," Dimitri says. "I wanted to wait until we were here. We're all in on this. We started together. We end this together."
Ares nods, leaning forward, his face hard as stone. "Let's call this motherfucker."
Theo lifts a hand. "Wait."
Ares turns his glare on him.
"If we call from this line, whoever answers might know it's us or be able to trace it to us," Theo says. "We need to be smart."
Ares doesn't argue. "Dimitri, set up the secure line," he says.
Dimitri starts typing, pulling up an encrypted calling app.
"Also, put a voice mask on us, just in case," Theo adds.
Dimitri nods while typing, and as he's working, Ares gets up and leaves the office without a word.
Theo and I exchange a look, but he just turns back to the TV.
A minute later, Ares returns with Stassi and Katerina trailing behind him.
"Might as well all be here," he says. "Since this affects them, too."
The two women move to their husbands' sides. Katerina stands tall next to Ares, and Stassi slips her hand into Theo's, her face grim.
"Calli?" Theo asks.
"She's not answering," Ares says. "Must be busy at that retreat."
After a few moments, Dimitri gets up and points at the box on Ares's desk. "It's connected. When you're ready, hit the call button on the speaker."
Ares looks at everyone and then leans over and presses a button.
