Chapter Five

“Anna?” My mother’s voice cuts through my thoughts, soft and puzzled. “Sweetheart, are you alright?”

They’re all staring at me now, my father looking up from his newspaper, Sam blinking at me in confusion, and my mother, her brow furrowed with concern.

I swallow hard, trying to compose myself, to remember that for them, everything is normal. The last time they saw me was just last night at dinner. For them, nothing has changed. But for me, everything has.

“I… I’m fine,” I manage to say, my voice thick with emotion. “I just… I had a really bad dream. A nightmare.”

My mother’s face softens, and she moves towards me, her arms open. “Oh, sweetheart. Come here.”

I step into her embrace, burying my face in her shoulder as she holds me close, the familiar scent of her perfume overwhelming me. I haven’t been held by her in so long. I haven’t felt her warmth, her love. I cling to her, my body shaking with silent sobs as I try to control the flood of emotions.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, stroking my hair like she used to when I was a child. “It was just a dream. You’re home now.”

Home. I’m home.

When I finally pull away, my father stands, his eyes soft but wary. There’s a sadness in his expression, one that I hadn’t understood back then but can see so clearly now. He’s scared. Scared for us, for the future. The company is collapsing, and with it, our family’s security.

I walk over to him, my heart aching as I see the weight he’s carrying. The weight that will eventually crush him. “Dad…” I whisper, reaching for his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix it. I’ll help you fix the company. Just… don’t do anything drastic. Please.”

He looks at me, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Anna, this isn’t something for you to worry about. You’re young—you should be living your life, not getting involved in this mess. Let me handle it.”

I can see in his eyes that he doesn’t believe me. He doesn’t think I can help. But I have seen what will happen if he tries to carry this burden alone. It will destroy him.

“I’m not a little girl anymore,” I say firmly, my voice steadier now. “I can help. Just… trust me.”

But he shakes his head, smiling sadly. “You’re my daughter, Anna. I love you. But leave this to me.”

I feel a flare of frustration, but I swallow it down. I can’t force him to believe me. Not yet. But my resolve hardens. I will save him. I will save all of them, no matter what it takes.

As I look around the kitchen, at my family—alive, whole—I make a silent vow. This time, things will be different.

This time, I won’t let them fall.

After a nice breakfast, I make some excuse to stay home from school, I needed time to process everything. Sitting on my bed, the weight of the situation begins to settle in. How do I fix this? How do I save my family from the ruin I know is coming? I feel a familiar tension rise in my chest as I replay the moments that led to our downfall. I could remember everything—every mistake, every decision—so I can change the future before it’s too late.

But before I can sink too deep into my thoughts, my phone rings, startling me. I glance at the screen, and my heart skips a beat.

Lisa.

A jolt of fear rushes through me, quickly followed by anger, disgust, confusion—a whirlwind of emotions that leave me frozen. The phone rings again, the sound piercing the stillness of the room. I stare at it, my pulse quickening as memories of her cruel smile, her laugh, and her final words flood my mind. What does she want now?

The ringing stops. I take a breath, trying to shake off the unease crawling up my spine. But the phone rings again immediately, persistent and insistent. My fingers tremble as I hesitate, torn between answering and letting it ring until she gives up.

But I need to know. What could she possibly want?

With a deep breath, I swipe to answer.

“Hello?” My voice comes out a little shaky, despite my best efforts to sound composed.

The voice on the other end, her voice sends a chill down my spine, but it’s not the venomous, mocking tone I remember. It’s light, familiar… friendly.

“Anna! Hey! Where were you? You missed the first class of the day. Are you okay?”

I blink, momentarily stunned by how normal she sounds. This isn’t the Lisa who betrayed me, who destroyed everything I loved. This is the Lisa from five years ago—the one I used to trust, the one I called my best friend.

But now, knowing what I know, it feels like a mask. A well-worn, well-practiced mask.

“I… I’m fine,” I manage, my mind racing to catch up. She sounds so different, so… innocent.

“Well, I was just checking because Mrs. Gray was taking attendance, and you know how she is about that. You didn’t miss much though,” Lisa says, her voice full of fake concern, as if she actually cares. “But you should’ve been there. That girl, what’s her name again, the one in the front row? oh, she was badmouthing you. Can you believe it?”

Her words trigger something deep inside me. The same tactic she always used, isolating me, making me feel like the whole world was against me except for her. Slowly, it starts to click into place. The way she had always fed me stories about how our classmates didn’t like me, how they were jealous or rude, how she was the only one I could trust. And like a fool, I had believed every word.

Back then, I thought Lisa was protecting me. I thought she was the one person I could rely on. But now I see it for what it really was—manipulation. She’d made me so dependent on her, so wrapped up in her world, that I couldn’t see beyond the lies.

My grip tightens on the phone as I listen to her, my stomach twisting in anger and regret. She’s still talking, but I’ve lost track of her words. The realization hits me hard. She’s probably always been lying, poisoning every relationship around me while making herself look like the perfect friend. The one everyone adored while they despised me for reasons I never understood.

I feel so stupid. How had I been so blind? Was I really that desperate for friendship that I let her control me like this? Or was I just so gullible that I accepted every twisted word she fed me as truth?

“Anna? Hello? Did you hear what I said?” Lisa’s voice breaks through my thoughts, sounding a little impatient now.

“I—yeah, sorry. I was just... distracted,” I say, forcing a weak laugh. I feel sick listening to her, knowing what she’s done, what she’s going to do.

I need to get off this call. I can’t stand hearing her voice anymore, the voice of a girl I thought was my best friend, the voice of the woman who will eventually ruin my life.

“I’ve got to go,” I say, cutting her off mid-sentence. “I… need to catch up on some work.”

Before she can respond, I hang up, the sound of the call ending filling the silence of my room. My hands are shaking as I drop the phone onto the bed.

How could I not have seen it? All these years, I thought Lisa was the only one who had my back. I thought she was looking out for me, protecting me from the people who didn’t understand me. But she was the one tearing me down, spreading lies, making sure I was isolated, alone.

I feel the sting of humiliation, but it’s nothing compared to the anger building inside me. I had let her do this to me. I had trusted her. Even after everything I’ve been through, even after knowing the truth, part of me still wants to know why. Why did I let her in so easily? Was I really that desperate for friends? Or was it just easier to believe her lies than to face the reality that I was being used?

I stare at my phone, her name still sitting at the top of the call log, and I feel a surge of resolve.

This time, things will be different. This time, I’ll see through her lies. And I won’t let her take anything from me ever again.