บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire Husband Who Tried to Kill Me : บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Olivia's POVThe hours after the police left felt like drowning in slow motion. I lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling tiles, counting the dots in each square to keep my mind from spiraling completely out of control. Forty-three dots per tile. Two hundred and fifty-eight tiles visible from where I lay. Eleven thousand and ninety-four dots total.Numbers were safe. Numbers didn't lie or manipulate or throw themselves against walls to destroy your life.The nurses avoided eye contact when they came to check my vitals. Word had spread quickly through the hospital, the crazy patient in room 314 who attacked a visitor. I could see it in their faces, the way they hurried through their tasks and left as quickly as possible.Marcus had gone with Sophia to get her "injuries" properly documented. Before leaving, he'd squeezed my shoulder in what anyone watching would think was a loving gesture. But his fingers had dug in hard enough to leave marks."This could have all been avoided,"

POV: OliviaThe phone felt like ice against my ear. My mother's voice, usually warm and welcoming, was cold enough to freeze my blood."We need to talk about what you've done."I gripped the edge of David's desk, my legs threatening to give out. "Mom, please, you have to listen to me. What happened wasn't..""Victoria showed me everything." Her voice was sharp, clipped. Each word felt like a slap. "The video. The police reports. The hospital records. I'm disgusted, Olivia. Absolutely disgusted."The betrayal cut deeper than any knife. "Mom, that video was edited. Sophia attacked herself and blamed me. I swear, if you just..""Don't lie to me!" Her voice rose, and I flinched. In all my years with this family, I'd never heard her yell at me like this. "I watched you hit that poor woman. I saw it with my own eyes.""You saw what they wanted you to see!" My voice cracked, desperation clawing at my throat. "Please, you've known me for twenty years. You know I wouldn't..""I thought I knew

POV: MarcusI typed the words without blinking.Do it.. But make it look like an accident.My thumb hovered over the send button for half a second. Not from hesitation. I was never someone who hesitated. I was just savoring the finality of it. The clean, cold satisfaction of closing a problem permanently.Then I pressed send. I set the phone on the desk and stood, walking to the cabinet where Olivia kept her good scotch locked behind glass like she was protecting something sacred. I found the key in the top drawer, opened it, and poured two fingers into a crystal glass. Her glass. Her scotch. Her office, which was now mine.Everything that was hers was now mine. That was always how this was going to end. I walked to the window and looked out at the city. Thousands of lights below, thousands of people going about their small lives. None of them knew what had just been decided in this room. None of them ever would.I took a slow sip and let the burn settle. The encrypted phone vibrated

POV: OliviaI did not open the file immediately. I sat there and looked at it. A thin manila folder, slightly worn at the corners like it had been handled many times before reaching this table. My name was not on it. Nothing was written on the outside at all. But Rena's eyes were on my face with the careful attention of someone who already knew what the contents would do to a person."Where did you get this?" My voice came out steadier than I felt."It came with the drive," Rena said. "Separate envelope. Same courier, same drop point."David leaned forward from where he sat beside me. "What's in it?""Open it," Rena said to me. Not to him. To me.I opened it. The first page was a photocopy of a newspaper clipping. Old paper, the kind that had gone slightly yellow at the edges even in reproduction. The headline was small, tucked in the bottom corner of what looked like a local publication.Tragic Road Accident Claims Lives of Prominent Couple. Authorities Rule Cause as Brake Failure.B

POV: DavidI told myself it was a practical decision. Her accounts were frozen. Her apartment lease had been cancelled three days ago, a quiet legal maneuver through a property management company that Wheeler had connections inside. She had nowhere to go that Marcus did not have some thread attached to. Zara's place was already compromised as a work location. A hotel required a card. And I was not putting Olivia Collins on the street.So I told myself it was practical."You'll take the bedroom," I said, carrying her single bag through the front door of my apartment. She had not packed much. There had not been much left to pack.She stood in the middle of my living room and looked around slowly. It was a good apartment. Clean, not warm exactly, the kind of place a man lives in when he spends more time at his office than at home. Bookshelves along one wall. A desk by the window. Not enough cushions."David," she said."The sheets are clean. I changed them this morning.""David.""There'