If this recording wasn't synthesized, then what had Yvan done to them, to his own flesh and blood? My God, what atrocities had he committed against that innocent mother and son!
He had hurt Matilda, deceived her, humiliated her, and even sided with the true villain behind the scenes right in front of her!
Matilda had told him, screamed her accusations at him over and over, but he hadn't listened. Not one damn word did he believe her at the time!
Yvan felt an excruciating pain engulf his entire body, clutching at his chest as if he had been wounded a thousand times over, his heart bleeding, his very sinews being torn apart.
He was gasping for air, spasms racking his frame, as he clicked on the next audio clip. A child's voice emerged, innocent yet haunting.
"Mr. Boyd, this is Logan. By the time you hear this, I won't be by your side anymore. Thanks a lot for keeping Ella close, for making her so angry at me, time and time again, that she wanted to kill me."
Those words were like a knife twisting in Yvan's heart. His face turned ashen, and he shuddered, the phone slipping from his grasp and crashing to the floor.
But the voice continued relentlessly.
"To escape you, I had to pay a fair price. Do you see it now? This tragedy is your own making. You're the origin of all these disasters, and you will be the one to pay the price, the ultimate redeemer. I don't know what my mom did to you five years ago, but I hope for your sake it's exactly as you imagined. Because if the day comes when I unveil the truth once more, Mr. Boyd, you'll have nothing left."
Yvan laughed, a hollow, tearful sound.
"And now, let me congratulate you with a line I read in a book - congratulations on your vast empire, your eternal solitude from this day forth!"
His own son had cursed him to eternal solitude!
He couldn't even overcome a child's hatred!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Journey from Bitterness to Truth (Matilda and Yvan)