Broken Trust

Chapter 3

Camilla

I feel bad for not contacting the office, but I know that there's not much I have to do. My title as the CEO is just for show. True, I do most of the paperwork, but the real genius behind our business is Tamara. She was a young woman with a big heart and a lot of ideas, and she wanted to do something to help others, but had no idea how to do it. She created a simple app that helped non-profit organizations to create a network that connected them, creating a synergy of helping hands. It also allowed people willing to help to come into contact with them and find the best way to contribute, either with time, money or resources.

I was there at the very beginning, I gave her the money and the help she needed to start. She never wanted to make money out of it, neither did I for that matter, the issue is that as it started to grow we realized that we needed money, and she, young genius that she is, started to develop other apps with the intention to earn enough money to pay for the resources our original app required and keep it free and accessible for those who needed it. Before we realized it, we had to hire more developers and people to help us with everything we were doing. What started as a work of love, became a small empire. I was still at the head, as the original investor the company was mostly mine, at least on paper.

We could be millionaires with our earnings, but most of the money went to different charities we worked with, and we had our own programs to help the community. We already had offers for some of our apps, and people trying to buy us, but we knew that if someone else took control, most of the work we did would be forgotten. Most businesses were all about the money, not the people they could help.

"Hey, Boss, how are you? I haven't heard from you in a few days," Tamara answers.

"Well, I have a problem, I had an accident," it's better to think of it as an accident, I can just tell her that I was probably r***d, had a miscarriage, and that my husband wants nothing to do with me, "I will need a few days off."

"Oh my god? What happened? Are you okay? Do you need me to go to your house?" not that she would find me there.

"No, it's okay, I just need some rest, but, I need you to take care of things while I'm gone."

"Yeah, Boss, don't worry. The new guy, John, has everything under control, and I will help."

"Thank you, it makes me feel so much better to know you are there taking care of everything."

"Just focus on getting better. We will miss you!"

"Thanks. Say hi to everyone in the office for me."

I wasn't sure, but part of me was starting to think that it was not just about getting rid of me, they also wanted my business. They took it along with everything else I had, and I was pretty sure that their intentions are far from noble. Scott's family owns a corporation that was all about the money. Even if I still believed that Scott was a good person, I have no doubt that the rest of his family would have no problem getting rid of any app that wasn't earning them money, and making my business into a money making machine, no matter who they hurt in the process. There is no way I would allow them to get their hands into the business and take everything good about it out.

I'm not willing to let them win again, but even with previous knowledge about the tactics they would use, I need to protect my legacy, make it so they would have to keep supporting all the non-profit apps. A lot of people depend on them, and I'm not about to let them down. The first time I was too broken about my miscarriage to think about things like that, and to be fair, I never expected them to come after me the way they did. Now I know better than to expect them to behave like decent human beings, they are all greedy monsters that would sacrifice anyone to make a dollar.

"How are you feeling?" I jump at Rachel's voice, I was too lost in what happened in my previous life to notice her walking in.

"Better, I think," I say, and I see the pity in her eyes.

"Ready to get out of here?"

"As ready as I'm going to be. But yeah, I want to get out of here. Have you talked to Scott?" I hate myself for asking as soon as I do. I can see in her face that she doesn't have good news. "It's okay. I heard when the doctor tried to call him, I guess you didn't have better luck than her."

"He wasn't happy to hear from me," she says.

"No, it's not that, he wasn't happy to hear you calling about me, his problem is not with you."

"But it will be. Once we have the test results I will go and confront him again," she says.

"I don't even know if that will work," I respond. I need to find out if he was part of it, or if he just got himself caught in the spiderweb of lies.

"I have no idea of what is going through his mind, but he will listen to me!" and I want to believe her, but I know it won't be that easy. "But first, let's get you home," she winces at that, it's not my home, she is taking me, and she knows that, she can't leave me there alone, and I'm sure that once I do try to go back to what was my home for three years, I will find the access blocked, just like I did in my previous life. "I brought you a change of clothes, you can't go outside wearing that," she points to the hospital gown that I have been wearing.

I take the clothes, I guess she bought something, since we are not the same size. I'm pretty tall, and Rachel, even if her personality makes her seem like a giant, it's smaller than me. There's no way her clothes would fit me properly. Once I change, Rachel starts the process of getting me discharged. Since this is a clinic and not a hospital, it's easier. I was never supposed to be here for so long, it was only because of the help I gave them that they bent the rules to allow me to recover here.

She drives me back to her house in silence, and I go back to planning. I need to take some time and try to work on what I remember. First, it's what happened when I got out of the clinic. I stayed for a longer time, and it was Nando's mom who took care of me at first. I was really depressed, and after a couple of calls to Scott trying to get him to visit, and with him yelling at me and calling me names each time, I was in a really bad headspace. But it was worse once I got out and tried to go back to our apartment, only to discover that I was no longer allowed inside. The day of my death was the first time I had been able to step inside since Sharon's party.

"We are here," Rachel announces, as she parks the car. She then comes to help me out. I feel awful, and I don't know how long my body will feel this weak. I want to cry, but I need to be strong. Soon my real test will start, and I have a lot of work to do before that happens.

"Thank you, for everything. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for you. I really don't understand how Scott can act this way, and don't even give me a chance to talk to him."

"Well, as soon as I have the results I will be able to confront Scott and make him see reason," part of me thinks that she doesn't believe me completely, but the fact that she is willing to take my side until she sees evidence that I'm lying makes me like her even more. I have no idea of what the results will show, but I do know that they drugged me. Try as I might I can't remember everything that happened that night, and it goes beyond trauma, they gave me something.

"I just don't understand why this happened," I say, and I mean so much more than she can understand.

"Don't worry about any of that, just, take it easy, relax, and try to recover."

"I will try, but I can't stop thinking. I can't shut my mind off."

"I won't pretend that I understand what you are going through, but I'm here for you, okay?" she says, and I feel like falling apart.

She takes me to my room, and we both get into bed. I know it won't take long. Soon Rachel will confront Scott and I'm sure he will take that chance to start moving things along. It won't be long before he asks for a divorce.