Chapter 6: Olivia’s Reason
Ethan called Olivia.
She didn’t answer.
He called again.
Straight to voicemail.
A third time.
Nothing.
“Where would she go?”” I asked.
He was already grabbing his jacket.
“Probably home.””
“I’m coming.””
“No.””
I stared at him.
“Excuse me?””
“If Olivia has been following you for months, I don’t know what she’s involved in.””
“And you think I’m letting you confront her alone?””
“I think I don’t want you anywhere near someone who has secretly tracked you.””
“That concern would mean more if you hadn’t hired someone first.””
He stopped.
The words hit.
I regretted them immediately.
Not because they weren’t true.
Because they were.
Ethan looked down.
“I deserved that.””
I picked up the envelope.
“We go together.””
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
The drive to the Whitmore house felt nothing like the previous night.
Yesterday, I had worried whether they would like me.
Tonight, I wondered whether one of them had been monitoring my family.
When we arrived, Richard’s car was in the driveway.
So was Olivia’s.
Ethan parked sharply near the entrance.
The front door opened before we reached it.
Richard stood there.
He looked from Ethan to me.
“What happened?””
“Where’s Olivia?”” Ethan asked.
“Upstairs.””
“Get Mom.””
Richard’s expression hardened.
“Ethan—”
“Dad. Please.””
Something in his son’s face convinced him.
We entered.
The same marble floor.
Same chandelier.
Same room.
But nobody commented on my clothes this time.
Caroline appeared from the hallway.
When she saw me carrying the envelope, her face changed.
“You spoke to him.””
“Yes.””
Ethan looked at his mother.
“You told Clara you found this in my study?””
Caroline frowned.
“Olivia found it there.””
“No, she didn’t.””
“What do you mean?””
Ethan removed one photograph and placed it on the table.
“Her car is in the background.””
Caroline picked it up.
Richard moved beside her.
His expression darkened.
“What is this?””
Caroline whispered, “Richard…”
He looked at her.
“What is going on?””
Before she could answer, a voice came from the stairs.
“Why is everyone acting insane?””
Olivia.
She descended slowly, dressed casually now.
Then she saw me.
Her steps stopped.
“Why is she here?””
Ethan held up the file.
Olivia’s face changed.
Barely.
But enough.
“You tell me,” he said.
She recovered quickly.
“I already told Mom. I found that.””
“In my study?””
“Yes.””
“Interesting.””
He placed the photograph on the table.
“Then why is your car following Clara?””
Olivia looked down.
Her expression froze.
Richard picked up the photograph.
“Olivia?””
She said nothing.
Caroline whispered, “Please tell me there’s an explanation.””
Olivia laughed nervously.
“You’re all being ridiculous.””
“Then explain it,” I said.
She looked at me.
The arrogance returned for a second.
“Why should I explain anything to you?””
Richard’s voice thundered.
“Because I’m asking.””
Olivia flinched.
I had never heard him speak that way.
She crossed her arms.
“It isn’t what you think.””
Ethan shook his head.
“Apparently that’s the family motto.””
Under different circumstances, I might have laughed.
Richard stared at his daughter.
“Did you hire someone to follow Clara Bennett?””
Olivia didn’t answer.
“Olivia.””
“Yes.””
Caroline covered her mouth.
Ethan looked stunned despite already suspecting it.
“Why?””
Olivia’s eyes moved toward me.
“Because I knew something was wrong with her.””
I almost couldn’t believe it.
“You knew nothing about me.””
“Exactly.””
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It does when Ethan suddenly starts dating a woman nobody can verify.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“You had no right.””
“I was protecting you.””
“From what?””
Olivia pointed at me.
“Her.””
The room exploded into silence.
I remained still.
“Explain.””
She looked at me with months of resentment in her eyes.
“You appeared out of nowhere.””
“I met your brother at a bookstore.””
“You knew exactly who he was.””
“I didn’t.””
“Bullshit.””
“Olivia,” Richard warned.
But she kept going.
“You expect us to believe Clara Bennett, daughter of Charles Bennett, randomly meets the son of the man trying to win the biggest contract of his career?””
Ethan stared at her.
“Yes, because that’s what happened.””
“You’re naive.””
“And you’re spying on people.””
“I was protecting our family!””
“By doing what?””
Her face reddened.
“By finding out whether she was using you.””
The accusation hurt less than it should have.
Maybe because I had expected worse.
I looked at her.
“And what did you find?””
Olivia hesitated.
“What?””
“You followed me for months.””
I stepped closer.
“You photographed my apartment. My mother. My workplace.””
Her confidence began slipping.
“So what did you find?””
She looked away.
“That you were hiding things.””
“So were you.””
“That’s different.””
“How?””
“Because you had power over us!””
Richard’s face changed.
There it was.
The real issue.
Power.
Not protection.
I said quietly, “You were afraid I could influence Rivergate.””
Olivia didn’t answer.
Richard stepped toward her.
“Did you use anything you discovered?””
“No.””
“Did you contact anyone?””
“No.””
“Olivia.””
“No!””
Her voice cracked.
Then Ethan asked the question I hadn’t considered.
“Who paid the investigator?””
She froze.
Richard slowly turned toward her.
“Answer him.””
Olivia stared at the floor.
“I did.””
“With what money?””
“My own.””
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You don’t have enough personal cash for four months of professional surveillance.””
Her eyes flashed.
“You don’t know anything about my finances.””
“I know enough.””
Caroline suddenly looked sick.
“Olivia.””
Her daughter wouldn’t look at her.
Caroline moved closer.
“Where did the money come from?””
No answer.
Richard’s voice became dangerously calm.
“If company funds were used—”
“They weren’t.””
“Then where?””
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears.
For the first time, the polished cruelty disappeared.
She looked frightened.
“I borrowed it.””
“From whom?”” Richard asked.
She shook her head.
“Olivia.””
“I can’t.””
Ethan stepped toward her.
“You can.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because you don’t understand.””
She looked at me.
And something in her face made my anger shift into unease.
“This was never supposed to go this far.””
My skin prickled.
“What was supposed to happen?””
She pressed her lips together.
Richard said, “Olivia, tell us everything.””
Her shoulders began trembling.
“I thought I could prove she was after the contract.””
“Why?”” Ethan demanded.
“Because someone told me she was.””
The room became still.
“Who?”” I asked.
Olivia looked toward the windows.
“I got an email.””
“From?””
“I don’t know.””
“You hired surveillance based on an anonymous email?””
“It had information.””
“What information?””
Olivia looked at her father.
“Details about the Bennett board.””
Richard frowned.
“What details?””
“Things that weren’t public.””
My stomach tightened.
“What things?””
She stared at me.
“That Clara had final authority over Rivergate.””
David and only a handful of executives knew the exact approval structure.
That information was confidential.
“When did you receive this email?”” I asked.
“Almost five months ago.””
Before my relationship with Ethan became serious.
“What else did it say?””
Olivia swallowed.
“That you were targeting Ethan.””
Ethan laughed in disbelief.
“And you believed it?””
“It included photos of her before I hired anyone.””
That silenced everyone.
I stepped closer.
“What photos?””
“You outside Bennett headquarters.””
“When?””
“Around six months ago.””
My pulse slowed.
Six months ago was when Ethan and I met.
“Did the message tell you to hire an investigator?””
“No.””
“What did it tell you to do?””
Olivia looked ashamed.
“To watch you.””
“Why?””
“To protect the Rivergate bid.””
Richard slammed his hand against the table.
“My company does not spy on clients.””
“I know!””
“Apparently you don’t.””
“I was scared!””
“Of losing a contract?””
“Of losing everything!””
Her voice broke.
We all stared at her.
Olivia wiped at her eyes angrily.
“You never tell them.””
Richard’s expression changed.
“Tell us what?””
She looked at her father.
“That Whitmore Development is in trouble.””
Caroline went pale.
Ethan frowned.
“What are you talking about?””
Olivia laughed through tears.
“You really don’t know.””
Richard’s voice hardened.
“Enough.””
But Olivia turned on him.
“No, Dad. You wanted secrets?””
She pointed toward me.
“Here’s one.””
Richard took a step forward.
“Olivia.””
“Our company is drowning.””
Ethan stared at his father.
“Dad?””
Richard said nothing.
Olivia continued.
“Two projects failed. Lenders are tightening credit. Rivergate isn’t just another contract.””
She looked at me.
“It’s the contract keeping Whitmore alive.””
Caroline gripped the back of a chair.
“Richard, is that true?””
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked twenty years older.
“Yes.””
The answer stunned everyone except Olivia.
Ethan stepped back.
“How bad?””
Richard stared at the floor.
“If we lose Rivergate, restructuring becomes likely.””
“Restructuring?””
“Asset sales. Layoffs.””
Caroline whispered, “The house?””
Richard didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Suddenly Olivia’s obsession made sense.
Not justified.
But understandable.
She believed I was secretly manipulating the deal.
She believed her family was collapsing.
And someone had fed that fear.
I looked at her.
“Show me the emails.””
“I deleted them.””
“Of course.””
“But I saved one screenshot.””
“Where?””
“Upstairs.””
“Get it.””
She hesitated.
Richard said, “Now.””
Olivia disappeared up the stairs.
Nobody spoke while she was gone.
Ethan looked at his father like he barely recognized him.
“You hid this from us?””
“I was trying to fix it.””
“By pretending everything was fine?””
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“I was protecting the family.””
Ethan shook his head.
“Apparently we all use that excuse.””
Richard had no response.
Olivia returned carrying a tablet.
She opened a photograph.
“I took this because the message scared me.””
She handed it to me.
The screenshot showed an anonymous email.
Most of the message contained accusations about me.
But one line stopped my breathing.
ASK YOURSELF WHY CHARLES BENNETT’S DAUGHTER CHOSE ETHAN WHITMORE.
Below that was another sentence.
SHE KNOWS WHAT HER FATHER DID.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
Ethan noticed my face.
“What?””
I handed him the tablet.
He read the message.
“What does that mean?””
“I don’t know.””
But I did know one thing.
My father had personally negotiated with Whitmore Development years earlier.
Long before Rivergate.
A deal he almost never discussed.
A deal that ended suddenly.
I looked at Richard.
He had gone completely pale.
Not confused.
Not curious.
Terrified.
“You know what this means,” I said.
Richard said nothing.
I stepped toward him.
“My father did something involving your company.””
Still nothing.
“Richard.””
Caroline stared at her husband.
“What happened?””
He looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.
Guilt.
Then he whispered, “Clara, you need to ask your mother what happened twelve years ago.””
My heart stopped.
“What happened twelve years ago?””
Richard swallowed.
“The night your father nearly destroyed Whitmore Development.””
May you like
He looked toward the old family portraits.
“And why, the next morning, he gave me enough money to save it.””
