THE LIE THAT BOUND US

Johanna's POV Johanna!” I looked up sharply. “What is it?” My colleague then pointed to the television hanging on the wall. “You need to see this.” I frowned. “See what exactly?” She didn't respond. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, and something about the expression on her face made me look across. A familiar face appeared on the television. My heart dropped to my stomach. It was Sebastian Moser. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The man on the screen looked nothing like the boy from college. He stood behind a row of microphones, surrounded by reporters, cameras flashing around him. Then the news anchor spoke. “Sebastian Moser the son of Business Mogul Andrew Moser has officially taken full control of the Moser Empire following the recent death of his Father.” My fingers tighten around the papers I was working on. Hearing that name alone was more than enough to bring back those memories, Memories I have been trying to bury for years. I looked back to the television the reporter continued talking about Sebastian Moser and his new position as CEO but this time I wasn't listening anymore and my mind had drifted somewhere else. Somewhere I had promised myself never to return again. There was a time when the Koller name meant something in Vienna. Honestly I don't remember a lot about my father's business but I do remember how our lives were before everything collapsed, before people started looking down on my family and my father as criminals, before we were stripped of everything we had. My father John Koller, started his business with very little but overtime managed to turn it into a successful business enterprise. My Father always had something he said “Business isn't all about making money, it is also about earning people's trust and keeping your word.” My father also had who he trusted; Mr Andrew Moser. Back then, they weren't just business partners, they were friends who helped each other build the other's business into a successful business enterprise. They merged both companies together creating an alliance that became one of Vienna’s top Empire. I remember back then I would attend some gathering with Dad and the Mosers would also be present; my Dad and Mr Andrew would talk about work while aunt Lillian and the other adults would laugh around them. Honestly everything was going perfectly, never would I have thought that those two families would turn enemies some years to come. Everything collapsed the day my father was accused of embezzling money from the company. I remember waking up that morning to my aunt watching the news; My father's name was everywhere on every channel. People calling him names, A Thief. A Criminal. Someone who betrayed the person who helped him. I couldn't understand everything clearly until I saw my father been dragged away by the police. He kept insisting that he was innocent and that he has never stolen anything. But the accusations grew stronger and at last my dad was sentenced to prison. Everything came crumbling down piece by piece. The people who had once respected us suddenly wanted nothing to do with us, investors withdrew their investments, bank accounts were frozen, assets were locked up. The business collapsed, our name was tarnished and the life I had been living disappeared overnight. But I refused to believe it all. I knew my father and I believed he couldn't do anything like that. He worked hard for everything he had. I had seen how proud he was of his company and how he took his responsibilities seriously. My father wasn't a Thief. So how he suddenly became the man everyone accused him of being is what i couldn't understand. And all the times I had tried looking for and answer, only one name appeared all the time; Moser. Mr Andrew Moser, my father's former business partner. To think that the embezzlement scandal didn't affect their family. They kept on rising while mine fell. I had always wondered what Andrew Moser knew about the scandal that happened. If he had believed that my father was guilty of such or if there was something he knew that he had never told anyone. But honestly I had no proof that the Mosers had anything to do with my father's downfall. I spent years watching my family suffer terribly while theirs continued to prosper like nothing happened. Eventually, all my suspicions became resentment. And resentment grew into hatred. I grew up with one thought constantly buried at the back of my mind. Someone had taken everything from my family. And I was going to find out who no matter what it takes . The sound of the television still playing in the office brought me back to reality. I looked up. Sebastian Moser's face was still on the screen. I just stared at him for a moment. The last we saw each other was in college where we had been rivals constantly trying to prove which of us was better. And now, he is the head of the Empire my family was once connected to. For the first time I wondered if his new position could give me something I have been searching for all along. A way back in. I leaned back in my chair and stared one more time at the television at Sebastian's face. He honestly did look different from the boy I remembered. He looked more serious, distant and there was something about the way he carried himself now that made it difficult to connect him to the mean college student who used to find every reason to challenge me. Back then, we couldn't stand each other so badly. If I scored higher than him on an exam, he would find a way to let me know that one good result didn't make me any smarter than him. If he won a debate, I would spend the entire evening looking for every mistake he had made just so I could tell it to everyone the next day. We were rivals for years. I hadn't seen him since we graduated. And yet, somehow, seeing him again on screen made those memories feel like they happened just yesterday. I looked away from the television. I couldn't care about Sebastian Moser any less. He was just another Moser. That was what I had been telling myself for years. But this time it was different. He wasn't just the son of Mr Andrew Moser anymore, he was the one person sitting at the top of the empire that had once been connected to my family. An empire that had continued growing while my family name was reduced to absolute nothing. My eyes drifted to the drawer beneath my desk. I hesitated a bit before opening it. Inside was an old photograph. The edges had become worn from the number of times I had held it firmly over the years. I pulled it out. My father stood in the middle of the picture, smiling beside Andrew Moser. They looked happy. Really happy honestly. Like two men who trusted each other completely with no doubt in mind. I stared at my father's face. For a moment, I felt like I could hear his voice. Never let anyone convince you that you don't know your own father, Johanna. That was one thing I had never forgotten. I placed the photograph back into the drawer and closed it. My phone suddenly began to vibrating against the desk. I looked at the screen. It was my aunt Lillian. I picked it up and answered. "Hello?" "Are you watching the news?" Her voice was quiet. I glanced at the television. "Yes." There was a brief silence on the other end. Then she sighed. "So you have seen him.” I frowned. "Do you mean Sebastian?" "Yes." Something about the way she said his name made me sit up properly. "Why? What is the matter" "I don't want you getting any funny ideas, Johanna." I almost laughed. "Why would I do such a thing?" "You know exactly why stop playing dumb." I stared at the television again. Sebastian was still on the news being interviewed as he spoke about the future of the Moser Empire. "Don't worry aunt, I haven't forgotten what happened to Dad," I said. "I know my child." Her voice softened. "And that's exactly what worries me." I didn't answer. She knew me a little too well. Maybe she knew that after all these years I still haven't erased what happened. Maybe she knew that beneath everything I had managed to build for myself, there was a part of me that still searched for answers, or revenge. Perhaps both. "Johanna," she said, "please promise me that you won't do anything reckless." "I don't have time for this talk aunt" and I ended the call. I looked at the television for the last time. I felt something strange. I didn't know what the future held. I didn't know why Sebastian Moser had suddenly returned. But there was one thing I knew. After years of trying to stay away from the Moser family, something had just changed. And this time around, I wasn't going to run from it.