“Burn those who burned me!” Chapter 149

**Chapter 21: Everybody’s got a secret.**

The day after Josie met with her therapist, she had a meeting with her PO Georgia. It was then she learned they found out the truth about the Taylors.

*“I’m sorry Josie.”*

Those were the first words Georgia said to her; confused, Josie nodded her head.

*“Ms. Georgia there’s no reason to apologize-”*

*“Yes there is. You were trying to tell me that day when you came to me about switching locations and…I wasn’t listening.”*

Josie’s eyes widen; she didn’t blame Georgia for not knowing the truth. How could she. This wasn’t exactly a usual situation.

*“Ms. Georgia, you don’t have to apologize. While I appreciate it, the truth of the matter is….this wasn’t your fault. My fam….those people….they are the ones that did this to me.”*

Georgia smiled lightly, regardless of who’s fault this was…she knew she wanted to help Josie.

*“So…how can we help you.”*

Josie was stunned, she hadn’t expected Georgia to say that.

*“Um…I’m not sure what you mean.”*

Georgia raised an eyebrow. She may not have understood everything that was going on, but she knew resolve when she saw it. Josie had resolve…she had determination…and she had hatred. Georgia recognized that look more than anything. She’d seen it countless times with many of her other parolees. But there was something different about Josie than the others…in her…she also saw revenge.

*“Josie…I want you to know you have both my and Evelyn’s support. You’re not in this alone…let us help you.*

Now, four months later…it was almost time for Josie to begin her take down of the Taylors.

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*“And nobody knows where he’s been these past four months?”*

*“No ma’am. It seems he’s been moving around. Four months ago he quit his job at Bridgeton’s women prison. Since then, he’s been on the move.”*

*“I see. Well, continue to try and track him.”*

*“Yes Ms. Bowen.”*

Elizabeth Bowen sat the documents on Lawrence Tillman back onto her desk. For the past two months she had been trying to track him down with no luck. It was as if someone was making sure he couldn’t be found, and she knew exactly who it had to be….Christian.

Only he and Harlod had that type of power. She’d suspected for a long time that Vanessa was the one behind her being bullied and abused during her four years in prison. Now it seemed they were trying to cover up her mess at her expense once again. A sudden knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts.

*“C-Come in.”*

Joshua walked through the door carrying a bouquet of flowers. For the past several months he and Josie had been working together with the openings of two restaurants and galleries. After they signed the contracts four months ago, Joshua explained his overall plan to help Josie climb up the professional ladder.

*“Just so I understand, you want to become one of the most sought after designers in Bridgeton right?”*

*“That’s the goal. I need to become powerful enough for them to want to work with me.”*

Josie learned before her release that Christian and Harlod were trying to land a huge real estate contract to build condos and townhomes throughout the Southern Region. One of the largest property companies was seeking a new real estate developmental company to work with. In the beginning of the new year, a competition was going to be held amongst multiple companies throughout for a spot at landing the project.

The day Josie and Joshua signed their contracts; she promised him two things. One, she would allow him to use her designs for his new resort, and two…she would make sure Watts-Corp won that competition as Joshua informed her of his plans to expand the company to other real estate developments.

Now, four months later their plans were moving into motion as Joshua was able to land her four major projects.

*“What are the flowers for?”*

Joshua smiled brightly as he sat in the chair at her desk.

*“Congratulatory…for the opening of the new art gallery in the art district downtown.”*

Josie smiled as she took the flowers.

*“Did you see it?”*

*“I did. It was beautiful…as usual.”*

Josie blushed a little as she placed her flowers into the empty vase on her desk.

*“Thank you. That one was actually pretty fun. It’s good the owner was so eccentric.”*

For the past several months, Josie had been working under the name Elizabeth Bowen. Her company, Imperial Architecture and Designs was slowly becoming a huge success. After the signing of the contracts, Joshua helped her set up her company while also keeping her true identity a secret. All the meetings up until this point was done through her personal assistant Emily Wright.

She hired Emily right after she was wrongfully terminated from HT-Corp. Her father’s company. Emily was one of HT-Corp’s best assistants, but after pointing out several different errors Vanessa made on a proposal, Vanessa had her fired. With the exception of Marlon, Joshua, Evelyn, and Georgia…Emily was the only other person who knew the truth about Josie.

Joshau handed Josie a stack of papers.

*“What’s this?”*

*“My uncle is trying find out who you really are and where you’re located so he can poach you.”*

Josie’s eyes shot up at Joshua; she already knew about the power struggles happening at Watts-Corp. In a lot of ways, his grandfather sound a lot like her own father. Treating one child better than the other, giving him a sense of self satisfaction and indulgment. Josie could relate to the resentment.

*“Is that right…hmm…should I be worried?”*

Joshua smiled mischievously, this game of cat and mouse with his uncle was actually bringing excitement to him. The fact that he was already working with the prize made it all the more thrilling.

*“Not at all. Actually, I'd like to start working on the competition for Delgato Real Estate.”*

*“Have you told your board that you’re entering the competition yet?”*

Joshua grinned.

*“Nah…we’ll keep that a secret for now.”* 

Josie smiled lightly, she knew Joshua was having fun with all of this, but she couldn’t afford to lose sight of her overall goal no matter much *‘fun’* this was. Before she could respond, Emily ran into the office with an excited expression on her face.

*“Ms. Elizabeth…look at this!”*

Josie stood as Emily handed her the letter. Her eyes began to widen as she read over the contents. Suddenly, a huge grin appeared on Josie’s face. Confused, Joshua stood up.

*“What is it?”*

Josie looked up at Joshua, her face filled with glee.

*“Looks like the Taylors are interested in the services of Elizabeth Bowen.”*

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Like James, Christian had also been trying to find out who this *‘Elizabeth Bowen’* was. He’d saw the openings she’d designed for those high-end restaurants and galleries. Word was spreading that two more projects designed by her was coming out. He couldn’t help but feel he’d seen her work before; nonetheless, Christian felt that if HT was going to have a shot at landing that real estate contract by winning the contest, they would need this Elizabeth Bowen.

*“Dad, I think this would be a great opportunity, I mean her work is exquisite.”*

Harold stared at the pictures from the latest opening, his brows furrowed.

*“I admit, her work is definitely unique. But I don’t like the idea of going into business with someone I don’t know. Besides, what about Nessa?”*

Christian’s brows furrowed; he thought Vanessa was extremely talented, but he wasn’t sure she was ready for that type of competition.

*“Do you think she’s ready?”*

Harlod pondered that thought for a moment before finding a compromise.

*“Find out what you can on the Bowen girl…if she’s as good as many claims, maybe we can use both her and Vanessa.”*

Christian nodded, immediately sending his assistant on the task of finding Elizabeth Bowen.

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Josie smiled at Emily.

*“Time for phase two.”*