Chapter 7: The Last Confession

When I visited Caleb again, he looked even worse—hollowed out, eyes sunken.

Caleb’s hands balled into fists so tight his knuckles went pale, jaw clenched like he was biting back a scream.

But at this point, it didn’t matter if he accepted it or not.

His only hope was forgiveness from Mark’s family.

…

I was about to speak, but Caleb beat me to it:

“It’s not that there’s no evidence.”

His voice was so quiet, I almost missed it.

“What did you say?”

He looked up, face set:

“I have evidence.”

I flipped open my notebook, ready to write.

“What evidence?”

Caleb glanced at the door, then scribbled something down:

“This is my cloud drive and password. After you leave, log in. There’s one video in there—that’s the evidence.”

File: Evidence

“What’s in the video?”

“It’s Mark’s last words.”

I wanted to press for details, but Caleb just shook his head, repeating:

“Man, after you see it, I won’t have the face to see you again.”

I didn’t get it—how could there be last words? Caleb hanged Mark while he slept.

Puzzled, I rushed home, double-locked my apartment door that night, every car backfiring on the street making me flinch.

I logged into the cloud drive. The video was titled:

“Tom Reynolds’ Secret”

Was this what Mark used to blackmail Tom? Did Caleb force it out of him before killing him?

If so, things would get even uglier.

A chill crept up my spine.

I opened the video, hands trembling. If I turned this in, I’d be signing my own death warrant.

…

But it wasn’t what I expected.

Mark sat in front of the camera, fiddling with the angle. Room 201 behind him.

Caleb came in, sat down. He set his phone in front of the camera—call log open. The first call was to 911 at 3:00 p.m. on August 10. The clock read 3:03 p.m.

So this was after the call.

The video played:

Caleb: “I just called the police. It’s not too late to back out.”

Mark shook his head, smiling through his Ohio accent:

“I know Tom Reynolds’ secret, so when Caleb told me Tom wanted me dead, I wasn’t surprised. I have cancer. Treatment costs too much. My kid’s only nine. If I get treatment, I’ll drag them down.”

Mark started to cry, voice breaking:

“I’m not getting treated. I want to leave some money for my wife and kid, so I made a deal with Caleb. I let him kill me, and after he gets the money, he’ll give $90,000 to my wife.”

He turned to the camera:

“Honey, don’t blame me. I have cancer. I can’t drag you down. If you get the money, take our kid and start over. Kid, brush your teeth, don’t slack off in school. Take care of your health. I don’t know if you’ll ever see this.”

The video was blurry, but Mark’s pain was clear.

Caleb reminded him:

“Not much time left.”

Mark wiped his tears, looked into the camera:

“Tom Reynolds, it’s not that I couldn’t blackmail you for money. I just want my family to have something after I’m gone. But you promised Caleb the money. You want my life—I’ll give it.”

He added:

“I’ve already told Caleb your secret. If you stiff him, he’ll spill it. Don’t push honest people too far. This secret could cost you your life.”

He hit stop. The video lasted just over two minutes.

…

It was an arranged killing.