Chapter 7: The Woman Who Found Me
I stared at the photograph until my eyes hurt.
Lena.
Standing beside Richard Voss.
Smiling.
The image looked impossible.
Like someone had taken two completely separate parts of my life and forced them together.
The woman who saved me.
The woman who exposed Chase.
The woman who knew my name when nobody else did.
Was connected to the man who destroyed me.
Slowly, I lowered the phone.
Nobody spoke.
Not my mother.
Not Lena.
Not me.
The silence said everything.
Finally, I looked at her.
"Explain.""
Lena didn't move.
Her face had gone pale.
"Joe...""
"Explain.""
My voice was different.
Cold.
Careful.
The same voice I used when I discovered Richard's fraud years ago.
The voice of someone who already knew the answer might hurt.
Lena looked at the picture.
Then back at me.
"I knew this day would come.""
My jaw tightened.
"That's not an answer.""
"No.""
She took a breath.
"But it's the truth.""
She sat down slowly.
"I worked for Richard Voss.""
My mother's expression changed.
"I knew it.""
Lena looked at her.
"Yes.""
The room suddenly felt smaller.
My hands curled into fists.
"How long?""
"Three years.""
I laughed quietly.
Three years.
The same amount of time she spent investigating him.
The same amount of time she claimed she was trying to expose him.
"You were close to him.""
"Yes.""
"How close?""
Lena looked down.
"I was one of his employees.""
"That isn't what I asked.""
Her silence answered.
I looked away.
Because the worst part wasn't the picture.
It was the feeling.
That familiar feeling.
The feeling of being stupid.
Of trusting someone because I wanted to believe they were different.
Richard had used that weakness against me once.
And now I wondered if I had made the same mistake again.
"Lena.""
She looked up.
"Did you know who I was when you found me?""
The question hit harder than anything.
Her eyes filled with pain.
But she answered.
"Yes.""
My stomach dropped.
My mother covered her mouth.
I stood completely still.
"How long?""
"From the beginning.""
The room went silent.
I nodded slowly.
"So that day...""
I pointed toward the street outside.
"The video. Chase. The money.""
Lena shook her head.
"No.""
"Then what was real?""
Her voice became softer.
"Helping you.""
I looked at her.
"I knew your name.""
"Yes.""
"I knew my sister.""
"Yes.""
"I knew where to find me.""
"Yes.""
I looked away.
"Then how am I supposed to believe anything you say?""
Lena didn't defend herself.
That surprised me.
She just sat there.
Taking the anger.
"You can't.""
The answer caught me off guard.
She continued.
"Not yet.""
I looked at her.
"Then why?""
"Because I was wrong.""
The honesty made me pause.
She looked at the photograph.
"Years ago, I believed Richard Voss was a brilliant businessman.""
She gave a small, bitter laugh.
"I was young. Ambitious. I thought working for someone powerful meant I was becoming successful.""
"What changed?""
"Your father.""
I frowned.
"My father?""
She nodded.
"He was the first person who made me question Richard.""
I listened.
"Your father wasn't just investigating missing money. He was investigating people.""
"What people?""
"People Richard had ruined.""
She opened her bag and pulled out a notebook.
"I found this after I left Voss Media.""
She handed it to me.
Inside were names.
Dozens of names.
Employees.
Partners.
Creators.
People who had disappeared from the industry.
"What is this?""
"Richard's pattern.""
I flipped through pages.
"He destroyed anyone who threatened him.""
Lena pointed at one name.
"That person lost his business.""
Another.
"That woman was accused of fraud.""
Another.
"That journalist disappeared from public work.""
I looked at her.
"And my father?""
She nodded.
"Your father was the biggest threat.""
A cold silence followed.
"Why didn't you expose him earlier?""
Lena looked down.
"Because I was afraid.""
The answer was simple.
Human.
I understood fear.
"I thought if I stayed quiet, I could survive.""
She looked at me.
"Then I saw what he did to you.""
I didn't respond.
"That was when I realized surviving wasn't enough.""
My mother's voice was quiet.
"So you started investigating him.""
"Yes.""
"And found Joseph.""
Lena nodded.
"I found his name in old documents.""
She looked at me.
"But I didn't know where you were.""
"Then how?""
"A homeless shelter volunteer posted a photo online.""
I frowned.
"A photo?""
"Someone took a picture of people receiving meals downtown.""
My eyes narrowed.
"And I was in it.""
"Yes.""
She smiled sadly.
"You were sitting against that brick wall.""
I remembered.
That wall.
Every day.
Every night.
"You looked exactly like someone who had given up.""
I looked away.
"Maybe I had.""
Lena shook her head.
"No.""
"How do you know?""
"Because I was you.""
That stopped me.
She continued.
"Two years ago, when I was sleeping outside, someone gave me a blanket.""
I listened.
"It wasn't expensive. It wasn't special.""
She smiled slightly.
"But that person looked at me like I was still human.""
She touched the picture of herself from years ago.
"I promised myself if I ever got out, I would do the same for someone else.""
I looked at her.
"And that someone was me.""
"Yes.""
A long silence passed.
Then my mother's phone rang.
Everyone froze.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
"It's Emily.""
My heart immediately started racing.
"Answer it.""
My mother hesitated.
Then she pressed the button.
"Emily?""
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman's voice.
Older than I remembered.
Broken.
"Mom...""
My throat tightened.
I hadn't heard that voice in seven years.
"Emily," my mother whispered.
A sob.
Then:
"Is he there?""
Everyone looked at me.
My hand tightened around the phone.
My mother looked at me.
"Yes.""
Another silence.
Then Emily spoke.
"Joseph?""
I couldn't answer.
Not immediately.
Because hearing my name from my sister's voice brought back every memory I had tried to bury.
Finally, I said:
"I'm here.""
A shaky breath came through the speaker.
"I thought you were dead.""
The words hurt.
More than I expected.
I closed my eyes.
"You let me believe you hated me.""
"No.""
Her voice broke.
"Never.""
"Then why did you disappear?""
Silence.
Then Emily whispered:
"Because Richard told me if I came near you, he would kill you.""
My mother's face changed.
Lena looked at me.
I held the phone tighter.
"Where are you?""
Another pause.
"I can't tell you.""
"Why?""
"Because he knows I'm talking to you.""
The room went still.
"What do you mean?""
A sound came from her side.
Like she was moving.
Then Emily whispered:
"Joseph, listen to me carefully.""
Her voice became urgent.
"Richard isn't trying to hide the evidence anymore.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"It means...""
A crash sounded through the phone.
Emily gasped.
"Emily?""
Static.
Then a man's voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
A voice that made my blood turn cold.
"Hello, Joseph.""
Richard.
My grip tightened.
"Richard.""
He laughed softly.
"I wondered how long it would take you to come home.""
I couldn't speak.
He continued.
"You always were predictable.""
Lena stepped closer.
"Where is Emily?""
Richard ignored her.
"Do you want to know the truth about your father?""
My eyes narrowed.
"Yes.""
A pause.
"Then come to the place where it all started.""
I heard Emily crying in the background.
Then Richard said:
"But come alone.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Nobody moved.
Then Lena whispered:
"Joe...""
I looked at her.
She looked terrified.
"Where does he want you to go?""
I already knew.
The place where my old life ended.
The place where my father died.
The place I had avoided for seven years.
"The accident site.""
May you like
I looked toward the door.
"It's time I found out what really happened that night.""
