Chapter 4 - The last night

Olivia's hands are still shaking as she pulls out of the library parking lot. She grips the wheel, forcing herself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

Her father was murdered. Robbin helped. And now she's going to marry a Logan.

She checks her rearview mirror. A black sedan sits three cars behind her. She noticed it earlier, didn't think much of it. But now…..

The sedan speeds up. Closes the distance.

Olivia's heart slams against her ribs. She presses the gas. The car lurches forward.

The sedan matches her speed. Closer. Closer.

She takes a sharp turn onto a side street. Tires screech. The sedan follows.

No, no, no….

A purple car comes out of nowhere. It doesn't have plates. Doesn't slow down.

It slams into the sedan.

The crash is deafening. Metal twisting. Glass exploding. The sedan flips once, twice, then tumbles into a bush at the side of the road. Smoke rises from the wreckage.

The purple car doesn't stop. It speeds away, disappearing around the corner.

Olivia follows it. Her hands are frozen on the wheel. Her whole body is trembling.

She doesn't look back.

She bursts through the apartment door twenty minutes later, chest heaving, face pale.

Chloe is standing in the hallway, phone in hand, eyes wide. She rushes forward.

"Oh my God, Liv! I've been calling you….where have you been…did you see the news…"

"What news?"

Chloe holds up her phone. A video is playing. A fatal accident on Downtown Street. A black sedan, flipped over, smoke pouring from the engine. Police cars. Ambulances. Yellow tape.

"That happened fifteen minutes ago," Chloe says, voice shaking. "I saw it and I thought….you weren't home yet…..I thought maybe….."

Olivia grabs her sister's arm. "I was there. That car was following me. Someone hit it. On purpose."

Chloe's face goes white. "What? Following you? Who…."

Olivia pulls her into the bedroom. Closes the door. Then she tells her everything.

The library. The woman in black. Doctor Weiller. The poison. The photograph of Robbin.

Chloe listens, silent. Her hands curl into fists. Her jaw tightens. When Olivia finishes, a sound escapes her….something between a sob and a scream.

"They killed him." Her voice cracks. "They killed our father. And you….you helped them because you trusted them….because you were trying to save him…."

Tears stream down her face. Hot. Angry.

Olivia pulls her close. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't know."

"I know." Chloe's voice is muffled against her shoulder. "I know, Liv. It's not your fault. It's theirs."

They hold each other on the edge of Olivia's bed. The room is quiet except for their breathing, their sniffles, the occasional shudder running through Chloe's body.

Minutes pass.

Finally, Chloe pulls back. Wipes her face with her sleeve. Her eyes are red but steady.

"Marry him," she says.

Olivia blinks. "What?"

"Marry Aiden. Go into their house. Find the proof." Chloe grips her hands. "Let's seek justice for Father. Together."

"You're not angry anymore?"

Chloe laughs, wet and raw. "I was never angry at you. I was scared. I thought I was losing you. But now….." She squeezes Olivia's hands tighter. "Now I understand. We're in this together. You have my full support."

Olivia's throat tightens. "Together?"

"Together. Whatever it takes."

They hug again. Longer this time. Two sisters, holding on.

Across the city, Sebastian Logan stands in his penthouse, remote in hand, watching the news.

"A fatal accident on Downtown Street tonight. A black sedan was struck by a vehicle without license plates. The driver, identified as Robbin Jonathan, CEO of Jonathan Holdings, has been hospitalized with severe injuries. The suspect remains at large."

Sebastian's jaw tightens. His knuckles go white around the remote.

Robbin was supposed to handle it. Instead, he's lying in a hospital bed, and Olivia Hughes is still out there.

The screen shows the wreckage. Twisted metal. Shattered glass. Blood on the pavement.

Sebastian turns off the TV.

He walks to the window. The city glitters below, millions of lights, millions of people who don't know who they're dealing with.

He pulls out his phone. Types a message: "The girl is still alive. Handle it."

He hits send.

Olivia and Chloe sit on the bed, backs against the headboard, shoulders touching.

"We have to tell Mom," Chloe says quietly.

Olivia's stomach twists. "She'll break. You know she will."

"Then we don't tell her everything. Not yet. Just that you're getting married. To someone who can help us."

"She knows what the Logans did. She'll never agree."

Chloe is quiet for a moment. Then: "What if we tell her the company is merging with Logan Industries. That the marriage is part of the deal. That it's the only way to keep your job, to pay for her treatment, to keep us afloat."

"That's a lot of lies."

"That's protection." Chloe meets her eyes. "When we have the proof ….. when Sebastian is destroyed….then we tell her the truth. All of it. But not yet. She's not strong enough."

Olivia wants to argue. But Chloe is right. Their mother is fragile. The truth would kill her.

"Okay," she whispers. "We do it your way."

Magdalene is on the couch when they come out. Her glucose monitor beeps softly beside her. She looks up with tired eyes.

"You two made up?" she asks.

Chloe sits beside her, takes her hand. "We need to tell you something, Mom."

Olivia kneels in front of the couch. Takes Magdalene's other hand.

"The company I work for is merging with another company," she says slowly. "As part of the deal, I'm getting married."

Magdalene's brow furrows. "Married? To who?"

"Aiden Logan."

The name hangs in the air. Magdalene's face goes pale. Her hand goes limp in Olivia's grip.

"No."

"Mom…."

"No." Magdalene pulls her hand away. "A Logan? After what they did to your father? After what they took from us?"

"It's the only way, Mom. If I don't do this, I will lose my job. We lose everything. Your treatment, the apartment, Chloe's education….."

"I don't care about any of that." Magdalene's voice cracks. "I won't let you marry into that family. I won't let you become one of them."

"I'm not becoming one of them." Olivia takes her mother's face in her hands. "I'm doing this for us. For you. For Chloe. For everything Father lost."

Magdalene's eyes fill with tears. She holds Olivia's face too, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. "You don't have to do this. We can find another way."

But they both know there is no other way.

Olivia lies. "I want to."

Magdalene searches her face. Looking for the truth. But Olivia has learned to hide it.

After a long moment, Magdalene pulls her close. Holds her tight. "My brave girl," she whispers. "My brave, foolish girl."

That night, Olivia lies in her childhood bed. The ceiling is familiar. The cracks, the water stain in the corner, the glow-in-the-dark stars Chloe stuck up there years ago.

She should be sleeping. Tomorrow, she moves into Aiden Logan's penthouse. Tomorrow, she becomes his wife. Tomorrow, her new life begins.

She thinks about her father. His laugh. His hands covered in paint. The way he called her his little artist.

She thinks about the woman in black. The poison. The pills she handed him night after night.

She thinks about Robbin. Lying in a hospital bed. Broken. But alive.

Who hit him? Who saved her?

She doesn't know. But someone is watching. Someone is playing a game she doesn't understand.

Her phone buzzes on the nightstand.

She picks it up.

Unknown number: "You're safe. For now. But they'll come for you again. Marry him. Find the proof. And trust no one. Not even me."

Olivia stares at the screen.

She types: Who are you?

Three dots appear. Then disappear. Then nothing.