He believed the problem was that someone had witnessed his behavior.
"Did you hear what you said on the recording?" she asked quietly.
Richard froze.
The change was immediate.
His eyes narrowed.
"What recording?"
Eleanor felt her stomach drop.
She had revealed too much.
But there was no taking the words back.
Richard slowly approached her.
"What exactly did you hear?"
She looked at him.
"You know what you said."
"Tell me."
"You said something about the original document never leaving this house."
Richard stared at her.
Then his expression became completely blank.
"Give me your phone."
"No."
"Now."
"Richard, what is that document?"
He reached for the magazine.
Eleanor moved quickly, taking her phone before he could touch it.
For a moment, they stood facing each other.
Then Richard lowered his hand.
"You're making a serious mistake."
"Perhaps."
"You have no idea who you're getting involved with."
"I know who I married."
His eyes hardened.
"No, Eleanor. You don't."
He turned and walked toward the stairs.
At the bottom step, he stopped.
"Don't contact Margaret Bennett again."
Eleanor said nothing.
"And don't leave this house with anything from my office."
He continued upstairs.
A moment later, she heard the bedroom door slam.
Eleanor remained in the living room, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.
She waited until the house became quiet.
Then she sat down.
Her entire body was trembling.
She had spent years believing that Richard's anger was temporary, that his difficult behavior was the result of professional pressure, and that beneath everything there remained a decent man.
Now she was beginning to question whether she had ever truly known him.
She opened the recording again.
She listened to the conversation before Arthur arrived.
"Make sure the original never leaves this house."
"What if Arthur asks again?"
"He won't get another chance."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
The words no longer sounded like an ordinary business disagreement.
They sounded like a warning.
***
At six thirty the following morning, Eleanor woke before the alarm.
Richard was still asleep.
She lay quietly beside him, staring at the ceiling.
For several minutes, she listened to his breathing.
The man beside her looked peaceful.
His face was relaxed, his hands resting beneath the blanket. If someone had entered the bedroom at that moment, they would have seen an ordinary married couple beginning another day.
No one would have imagined what had happened downstairs.
No one would have suspected the fear Eleanor was carrying.
She slowly climbed out of bed.
After getting dressed, she went into the bathroom and locked the door.
Then she opened her phone.
The recording was still saved.
She created another copy and sent it to Margaret.
She hesitated before writing the accompanying message.
Finally, she typed:
"I found something on the security camera. It shows Richard striking your father, but there is also another conversation. I believe it may be connected to the missing original agreement. Please keep this confidential. I don't know what Richard might do if he discovers that I have shared it."
She pressed send.
A few seconds later, the message showed as delivered.
Eleanor placed the phone in her handbag.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her eyes were tired.
She had barely slept, and her face looked pale.
But something had changed.
She was no longer simply frightened by what Richard might do.
She was frightened by what could happen if she did nothing.
***
Margaret received the message while preparing breakfast.
She had been standing in the kitchen, pouring coffee into a white cup, when her phone vibrated.
At first, she thought it was an ordinary notification.
Then she saw Eleanor's name.
She opened the message.
Her expression changed.
She immediately called David.
He answered after two rings.
"Good morning."
"David, I think Eleanor has found something."
"What kind of something?"
"Security footage from Richard's house."
"Does it show the assault?"
"Yes. But there's more."
Margaret read the message again.
"She says Richard was talking about an original agreement and that someone else was present."
David became silent.
"Did she send the recording?"
"She's sending it now."
A few seconds later, another notification appeared.
Margaret opened the attachment.
The first part showed the living room.
She recognized her father immediately.
She watched Richard approach him.
Then she watched the assault.
Margaret's fingers tightened around the phone.
Even though she had already heard the story, seeing it happen was different.
There was no misunderstanding.
No accidental movement.
No uncertainty.
Richard had deliberately struck her father.
She paused the video.
David, who had arrived at the house a few minutes earlier, stood beside her.
"Let me see."
Margaret handed him the phone.
He watched silently.
When the recording ended, he placed the phone on the table.
"That is important evidence."
Margaret nodded.
"Look at the next section."
She played the earlier conversation.
Richard's voice came through the speakers.
"Make sure the original never leaves this house."
David leaned closer.
Then came the question about Arthur.
"What if Arthur asks again?"
And Richard's answer.
"He won't get another chance."
David slowly removed his glasses.
"Who was the second person?"
"I don't know."
"Can you hear another voice clearly?"
"Not enough to identify it."
David replayed the section.
This time, he focused on the background.
There was a faint response from the unseen person, but the recording quality made the words difficult to understand.
He paused the video.
"Do we know when this was recorded?"
Margaret checked the timestamp.
"The afternoon before Dad arrived."
David nodded.
"Then this was not an unexpected confrontation."
"What do you mean?"
"He was already discussing the document. He knew your father might ask about it."
Margaret looked at the screen.
"So he was prepared."
"Possibly."
"Then why did he hit him?"
David took a moment before answering.
"Perhaps because he realized your father was not going to accept his explanation."
Margaret walked to the window.
She felt anger rising again, but beneath it was something more troubling.
Fear.
If Richard was prepared to assault an elderly man in front of his wife, what might he do to someone who possessed evidence against him?
"What should we do?" she asked.
David returned the phone.
"First, preserve the original recording. Don't edit it. Don't circulate it. Keep copies in secure locations."
"Then?"
"Then we need to establish what the missing agreement contains."
Margaret nodded.
"And Eleanor?"
"We must protect her. If Richard knows she has accessed the footage, she may be under pressure."