Chapter Two

After a nice breakfast, I make some excuse to stay home from school; I need 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 can remember everything—every mistake, every decision—so I can change the future before it’s too late.

Then, like a cruel whisper from the past, Lisa’s voice echoes in my mind.

“The reason your father’s company collapsed, the reason your entire family is dead, the reason Josh betrayed you. Me.”

Her words had hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my chest. I remembered how I had whispered, “What?” my mind racing, trying to comprehend, trying to deny.

She had stood then, pacing slowly, her voice cold and detached as she continued. “Don’t you remember? The company had gone bankrupt, and no bank would give him a loan, fearing he wouldn't be able to pay it back.”

I had remembered those times—the way my father came home looking more exhausted each day, his hair turning white far too soon. No matter how tired he was, he would smile at me, telling me not to worry. But I saw the weight he carried. I saw the slow unravelling of the man who had once been so strong.

“Oh, that’s not all, Anna, so don’t even start crying yet,” she had continued, her voice laced with amusement. “One day, I approached a local mafia and told them about your father. I told them they could take advantage of him and make a lot of money. And they did. He was desperate, so he borrowed from them, just like I planned. Then, I arranged for a guy to beat him up and steal the money.”

She had laughed softly then, as if reminiscing about a fond memory.

“Your father had no money left and no way to repay the mafia. I made sure they came after him relentlessly. They hounded him day and night, until the pressure drove him to his breaking point. Oh, and the accident? It wasn’t an accident. I made sure of that.”

My world had tilted. My father had died—not by chance, but because of her.

“You know what was funny?” she had added with a cruel smile. “Your mother. I was coming after her next. But she couldn’t handle it. She thought she was strong, but without your father, she was nothing. She died, heartbroken and sick. And your brother? Well, he tried to play the hero, didn’t he? Did he ever tell you the mafia threatened to kill you if he didn’t pay back what your father owed? Of course, I made sure to tell them about the perfectly capable son who could repay the loan. He worked himself into an early grave trying to save a sinking ship. He didn’t even last a year. Useless.”

Tears had welled up in my eyes, my throat tightening with a sob I couldn’t release. My family—mother, father, brother—gone. Every single one of them. And Lisa had been behind it all. My best friend, the person I trusted more than anyone, had orchestrated their downfall. The pain, the grief—it had all begun with her.

A sudden ringing jolts me back to the present, sending a shock through my body. 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, and 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 Lisa who betrayed me and 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. 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.

“Oh! By the way,” Lisa chirps, her tone light and cheerful, as if nothing is wrong. “Don’t forget we’re supposed to go shopping this afternoon. You promised, remember?”

Shopping? My mind stutters, trying to recall. “Fine,” I say without thinking, the word slipping out automatically. 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.

“Great! See you later, then.”

I don’t even let her finish before I cut the call. The sound of the call ending fills the silence of my room as I drop the phone onto the bed, my hands trembling.

I feel overwhelmed. Like I can’t breathe.

I just agreed to spend time with the person who ruined my life.

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.