Chapter 7: The Friend Who Stole Her Voice
Nobody touched the phone.
Nobody even breathed.
My father’s screen glowed in the middle of the room.
*Eleanor Bennett.*
My mother’s name.
The woman who had been gone for four years.
The woman whose handwriting was still fresh in my memory.
The woman whose voice I would have given anything to hear one more time.
But her name was now appearing on my father’s phone.
Calling him.
Again.
The ringing continued.
Loud.
Impossible.
Wrong.
My father stared at the screen like he was looking at something that should not exist.
“Maya,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
“Answer it.””
His eyes widened.
“What?””
“Answer it.””
Nobody moved.
The phone kept ringing.
Finally, my father reached for it.
His hand shook as he pressed the button.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a voice.
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
My father’s face drained of color.
“Who is this?””
I stepped closer.
I couldn’t hear the other person.
But I could see his reaction.
The way his shoulders dropped.
The way his eyes filled with something between shock and fear.
“No.””
A pause.
“You can’t be.””
Another pause.
Then he whispered:
“I buried her.””
My heart stopped.
Because whatever he was hearing, it wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone connected to the past.
Someone who knew things only my family should know.
My father looked at me.
And for a second, I thought he was going to hand me the phone.
But instead, he walked away.
That hurt more than I expected.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He was still trying to hide the truth.
I followed him.
“Who is it?””
He turned.
“Maya, please.””
“Stop saying please.””
My voice shook.
“I’m tired of being the last person to know.””
The phone was still pressed against his ear.
The woman spoke again.
My father closed his eyes.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
The call ended.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Just silence.
“Dad.””
He looked at me.
“It was Clara.””
The name hit me like a memory.
Clara Whitmore.
My mother’s best friend.
My childhood.
The woman who used to bring me birthday gifts.
The woman who sat beside me at my mother’s funeral.
The woman who told me:
“Your mother loved you more than anything.””
My stomach twisted.
“Clara is alive?””
My father nodded.
“She never died.””
The room erupted.
Chloe stepped back.
Rebecca looked stunned.
Daniel whispered:
“I knew it.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
His expression was filled with regret.
“I suspected.””
“How?””
Daniel looked at the old photograph.
“Because Clara was the person who introduced your mother to the people who betrayed her.””
The room became colder.
I remembered Clara.
Her warm smile.
Her gentle voice.
Her hand on my shoulder after my mother died.
She had hugged me.
She had cried with me.
She had told me she was there if I ever needed anything.
And all that time…
She had been hiding something.
“She was my mother’s friend.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why would she hurt her?””
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was probably worse than we imagined.
My father sat down heavily.
“I need to tell you everything.””
I crossed my arms.
“You should have done that years ago.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
For once, he didn’t fight me.
He didn’t defend himself.
He just accepted it.
“After your mother discovered the stolen songs, she confronted the people responsible.””
“Who?””
“Daniel knows more than I do.””
I looked at Daniel.
He sighed.
“Your mother found out Clara had been secretly selling information.””
My eyes widened.
“What information?””
“Song drafts. Contracts. Private recordings.””
I felt sick.
“My mother trusted her.””
“Yes.””
Daniel looked down.
“And that trust was used against her.””
I looked at my father.
“And you knew Clara was involved?””
He hesitated.
“I knew there was someone.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
His silence answered.
I stepped away.
“You knew.””
“I didn’t know it was Clara at first.””
“But eventually?””
He looked broken.
“Yes.””
The room went silent.
“How long?””
“Two years.””
My heart sank.
Two years.
He knew for two years.
Two years while I grieved.
Two years while I built my company.
Two years while he watched me chase the same dream my mother had protected.
“You let her stay close to us.””
My father looked down.
“I was trying to get proof.””
I laughed.
A painful laugh.
“Proof?””
I pointed at myself.
“You had a daughter who deserved the truth.””
His eyes filled.
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
He whispered:
“Of losing you.””
That stopped me.
Because for a second, I saw the man who used to carry me on his shoulders.
The man who sang badly in the car just to make me laugh.
The man who held my hand at the hospital when I broke my arm.
But then I remembered tonight.
The ticket.
The lies.
The secrets.
Fear didn’t excuse everything.
“You lost me anyway.””
He looked away.
The words hurt him.
Good.
Maybe pain was the only language he finally understood.
Chloe suddenly spoke.
“I can prove it.””
Everyone turned.
She looked nervous.
But determined.
“I have something.””
“What?””
She reached into her purse.
For a moment, I expected another betrayal.
Another secret.
Another weapon.
Instead, she pulled out a small flash drive.
“I took this from Clara’s apartment.””
My eyes narrowed.
“You broke into her apartment?””
“No.””
She shook her head quickly.
“She gave it to me.””
Everyone froze.
“Why?””
Chloe looked embarrassed.
“She wanted me to believe she was helping me.””
She swallowed.
“She told me she could make me famous.””
“And this?””
“She gave me files to convince me she was powerful.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“What kind of files?””
Chloe handed it to Rebecca.
“Everything.””
Rebecca connected it to her laptop.
The screen filled with folders.
My heart started pounding.
Names.
Dates.
Contracts.
Emails.
Rebecca clicked one.
Then another.
Her expression changed.
“Maya…”
“What?””
She looked at me.
“This is a record of every conversation Clara had with investors.””
My stomach tightened.
Rebecca opened another file.
A video appeared.
Clara.
Sitting in an office.
Talking to someone off-camera.
I watched.
The woman who held me at my mother’s funeral.
The woman who told me she loved me.
The woman who had spent years pretending to care.
She smiled.
“I told you, Eleanor’s daughter won’t be a problem.””
My blood ran cold.
The person off-camera asked:
“And the company?””
Clara leaned back.
“The company will belong to us eventually.””
I couldn’t move.
The video continued.
“She’s talented, but she’s emotional. Just like her mother.””
My fists tightened.
The person asked:
“What about the father?””
Clara smiled.
“Michael is easy.””
My father looked away.
“She’s always been his weakness.””
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Rebecca opened another file.
A contract.
A transfer agreement.
My eyes moved across the document.
And I felt my entire body go cold.
Because at the bottom was a signature.
My father’s signature.
“What is this?””
My father looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“I never signed that.””
Rebecca zoomed in.
“It’s dated six months ago.””
My father shook his head.
“That’s impossible.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“No.””
He stared at the document.
“It isn’t impossible.””
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed to the signature.
“This isn’t a transfer agreement.””
“What is it?””
His voice became serious.
“It’s a control agreement.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel looked at me.
“It means someone has been preparing to take over your company.””
A notification appeared on Rebecca’s laptop.
New email.
Everyone looked.
The sender was unknown.
The subject line contained only three words.
*You found it.*
Rebecca opened it.
Inside was a single sentence.
*Congratulations, Maya. Now you finally know who your real enemy is.*
Then another message appeared.
A photo.
My breath caught.
It was taken moments ago.
Inside this room.
All of us standing together.
Someone had been watching us again.
But this time, there was something different.
In the background of the photo, reflected in the glass door, was a person.
A woman.
Standing outside.
Watching.
I knew that face.
Everyone knew that face.
Because the woman in the reflection was holding the same necklace my mother used to wear.
The necklace Clara claimed had disappeared after the funeral.
May you like
And beneath the photo was one final message:
*Come outside, Maya. Your mother’s last secret is waiting.*
