CHAPTER ONE : VOY DIED THREE YEARS AGO

"Voy died three years ago," Priska said. "So if you had told me you saw someone who looked like him, at least that’s understandable. But telling me that you saw Voy and you spoke with him?"

Priska fired back at Rachel.

"I don't even know why you're acting like he didn't divorce you three weeks before he died"

"You're an ex wife so don't do above the title Rachel said."

"Ouch", you shouldn't have said this priska said to Rachel.

Then you just have to believe me.

"I’m not lying," Rachel said. "Is there any other person who has that particular birthmark by the side of the eye? If it’s not Voy, there is nobody who would see your husband and not recognize him. I know what I’m talking about."

"Shut the fuck up," Priska said.

"How did... wait, wait, wait, hold on. Don’t tell me.... ummm wait a minute."

She was stammering now.

"Did you see a ghost? Because what are you even saying? Were you not at his funeral three years ago? I mean, Voy is dead. You can’t tell me you saw him and you spoke to him."

"Okay, come to think of it, what did he even tell you?"

"The estate you live in, the company it’s not his own, yes? And you know that was one of the issues you people had before the divorce and he faked his death."

Faked his death? Is there something you know priska asked Rachel.

"Oh, listen," Priska snapped. "I’ll tolerate every single thing from you, but what I’m not going to take is you saying that Voy faked his death."

"Priska," Rachel said, "I’m not saying you’re supposed to believe anything at all. We’ve been friends for years. You know what I’m talking about. You know what happened all the while you were married to him."

"There has never been a time you saw the real papers and particulars of his company and his estate. You’ve never been to any of the official meetings with him. Doesn’t that tell you something? It’s not real. Whenever he had an appointment, he didn’t go with you. He came up with one excuse or the other so it looked like everything was perfect, so you wouldn’t go with him. Think about it. Why were you not present when he was being laid down? You only came after the funeral, not the main funeral. Doesn’t that tell you something?"

"You and I are very close, and one thing I won’t do is lie to you. I saw Voy, and I know what I’m talking about."

"Oh, spare me that rubbish," Priska said. "I’ve always known you to be jealous. I know you were jealous because I had all this to myself, even after his death. So you mean you want me to get rid of everything by coming up with this crap, this story that you saw Voy? What do you mean you saw a dead person after three years? And of all people to talk to, he’s talking to you? Zip it, there’s no way I’m believing this trash you’re saying right now."

"Okay," Rachel said, "if you insist, I think you should pick up your phone and give him a call."

"Wait, wait, wait," Priska said, shifting back a bit. "Hold on. You mean I should pick up my phone and dial Voy’s number? Like I should call someone who’s dead?"

She stopped.

"Wait. Hold on. Hold on. I just remembered something."

"Okay, you know what? Let me tell you the next one. I actually did call him yesterday after I had seen him, and yes, he picked up."

Priska looked at Rachel. Her hand twitched up, almost landing on Rachel’s cheek, but she pulled back.

Priska held herself. Her fingers hovered over the phone. She was stammering.

"This number hasn’t worked for the past three years since Voy died," Priska said. "So how did he ring yesterday?"

"I don’t know," Rachel replied. "I don’t know. It rang the normal way a phone would ring."

"That cannot be true," Priska said. "That number was disconnected the day after the funeral. So Rachel, don’t tell me there’s something you’re not telling me. My late husband’s line was disconnected, and if it was ever reconnected, it had to be done by me. You said you saw Voy yesterday. That wasn’t enough. You said you called him. and said things about the estate,about the company. You were never married to Voy. I was, so all this information doesn’t make sense. If there’s something you want me to know, just tell me."

Priska’s thumb hovered over the call button. Three years of silence stared back at her from the screen.

She pressed it anyway.

One ring. Two.

Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it in her ears. Rachel had gone quiet, watching her like she was watching a car crash in slow motion.

Then the voicemail clicked.

But it wasn’t the old robotic message.

It was Voy’s voice exactly like she remembered.

"Priska, don’t go to the warehouse," he said. "Not yet. If you do, they’ll know you’re looking."

The line went dead.

Priska lowered the phone slowly. Her hand was shaking.

"That… that’s impossible," she whispered. "That number hasn’t worked since the funeral."

Rachel stepped forward. "So what do we do now?"

Priska didn’t answer right away. She was staring at the word warehouse on the screen, like it might bite her.

"We find out why he said that," she said.

Priska still held the phone after the call. Her voice was low.

"I remember two weeks before my husband died, he said something like, ‘If I ever disappear from this place, do not believe anything from the lawyers.’ But I just laughed it off. I don’t know what it means right now."

Rachel chuckled, stood up abruptly, adjusted her clothes, picked up her phone, finished her glass of juice, then grabbed her bag and walked straight to the door.

"Listen," Rachel said. "Evacuate this place in three hours. They’re coming for you. That’s all I can tell you."