My breath became shallow, and my chest started to feel tight as if the walls of the room were pressing in on me.
The recording still echoed inside my head, louder than the beeping machines around me.
Dave and Grandpa Albert’s voices still rang in my ear so loud and relentless, I thought I might go deaf.
Their words kept repeating themselves, stabbing deeper every time I thought of them.
I turned sharply to Josh, my lips trembling as the words escaped from my mouth, "Where... where did you even get that recording from?"
Josh’s eyes flickered, like he had not expected me to ask such a question. His jaw tightened before he sighed, as if the weight of the truth was pressing on him too.
"I have been suspecting them for a while," he said in his low, broken voice, "I knew something was not right. And Today..." He took in a deep breath as if he was gathering the courage to speak further.
"When Grandpa Albert visited Dave’s hospital room, I got out to attend a phone call, and when I was about to enter, I heard them. Not wasting another second, I retrieved my phone and recorded their conversation." His shoulder shook as he could not accept the truth.
For a moment, his explanation seemed to make sense. I kept nodding at his reply until a thought struck my mind.
My stomach twisted. His words seemed believable, but some part of me was not letting it settle as my mind latched onto the one detail that did not fit.
James had told me earlier that Dave was in a serious condition, barely able to move or even talk properly. Then how in the world could he have sat there in his hospital room, discussing something so calmly with Grandpa Albert?
The more I thought about it, the more it became a fact that I could not ignore completely. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
I did not know what the truth was now.
Was Josh telling the truth? Then why did it not match the information I got from Dr. James, as he did not have any intention to lie to me?
Or if Josh was lying, then why was he acting all up? And most importantly, why did he want to include me in his plan?
To know who was telling the truth, I need to test him. And for that, I needed to bait him.
With this thought, I swallowed hard, knowing full well how dangerous the game was that I was about to play.
As I opened my mouth, the words came out almost like a stutter, "If that’s true, then I need to hear it from them directly. I want to talk to Grandpa Albert and Dave myself."
The moment the words left my mouth, his face shifted in a moment.
It was small, almost unnoticeable, but I caught it. His shoulders stiffened, and the faint panic in his eyes flashed before he quickly tried to mask it with a forced shake of his head.
"No... Elena, no." His tone grew urgent, almost sharp, carrying a warning I couldn’t ignore. "They will deny everything without hesitation. And worse..."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice as if the walls themselves might be listening, "They might twist it against you. Turn every word into a weapon. You don’t understand what they’re capable of."
His eyes burned with a mix of fear and frustration, the weight of his words pressing down on me. "If you walk into their den now, you will not come out the same. They will ruin you, Elena. Tear apart your name, your reputation... everything you’re holding onto. And if that’s not enough, they might do something worse. Something neither of us could imagine. Not just to you."
He hesitated, jaw tightening. "To us both."
My chest tightened further. His reaction was too fast and more importantly...defensive, like he already knew what I was going to say and had rehearsed his answer.
My suspicion started to solidify bit by bit.
I leaned back into the pillow as I stared at him, searching for cracks in his words. He was trying too hard, pushing me to believe only him, and not let me verify anything with the very people he accused.
That was when my mind began to whisper, Something is wrong here. Very wrong.
I forced a cough, clutching my chest as if the pain was spreading. My breaths came out ragged, and I whispered faintly, "Josh... I don’t feel good. Can you... Call a nurse for me? Please."
Instantly, he panicked, jumping up clumsily from the chair with his walking aid. "Okay, okay, I’ll get someone. Just hold on, don’t strain yourself." His voice cracked as he rushed out of the room, not even looking back.
The moment the door clicked shut behind him, my eyes darted to the phone he had left on my bed. My pulse hammered so hard in my ears I thought it would burst.
With trembling hands, I grabbed it while my eyes were still glued to the entrance, knowing fully well that any moment he would burst into the room again.
So, I did not waste a second and dialed Grandpa Albert’s number. My heart prayed he would pick up, that his voice would clear this madness, but all I heard was the busy tone.
I tried again, but it was still busy.
My throat tightened as panic crawled into my veins, but I forced myself to think clearly. If not Grandpa, then Dave. I quickly dialed Dave’s number with shaking fingers.
This time, a cold automated voice answered instead: "The number you are trying to reach is switched off."
The sound hit me like a punch in the gut.
No. No, this could not be real.
My last hope was to at least send them a message. Even if they could not pick up now, maybe later they would see it.
I quickly typed out a message, explaining everything I had just heard, pleading with them to tell me the truth. My thumb hovered above the "send" button, my breath shallow.
But just as I was about to press it, a shadow loomed over me, freezing my body in its place.