Chapter 2: The Voice I Recognized
PART 2
I drove to my sister Dana's house and didn't look back.
For three days, Julian called.
I let every call go to voicemail.
Evelyn texted once: *"You're embarrassing this family."* I didn't reply.
On the third night, my phone rang at 11 PM.
Julian.
I almost ignored it again.
I picked up.
"Come back," he said.
His voice was different.
Quieter.
"Something terrible has happened."
"What happened?"
A long pause.
"Mom found the folder."
My hand tightened on the phone.
"She wasn't snooping," he added quickly.
"She was looking for a pen and—"
"Which drawer?"
Silence.
"Julian.
Which drawer?"
"The desk.
In the guest room.
She said it was unlocked."
It wasn't unlocked.
I had locked it before I left.
Which meant Evelyn had gone looking.
"She's been calling her lawyer," Julian said.
"She says you've been stealing from us for years.
She's going to—"
"She's going to what?"
He didn't finish the sentence.
But I heard a second voice in the background.
Not Evelyn's.
A woman's voice.
Low.
Familiar.
My stomach dropped.
"Julian," I said slowly.
"Who is in our house right now?"
He didn't answer.
The line went quiet for just a moment too long.
---
May you like
What Julian said next stopped me cold — and the woman in that house was the last person I expected.
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